The Marketplace Challenge
Marketplaces face a unique challenge: buyers want sellers, sellers want buyers. Here's how successful UK marketplaces solved it.
Understanding the Cold Start Problem
A marketplace with no suppliers has nothing for buyers. A marketplace with no buyers has nothing for suppliers.
Breaking this cycle requires creative strategies.
Strategy 1: Single-Player Mode
Build value for one side that doesn't require the other side.
**Example**: OpenTable started by giving restaurants a reservation system. Restaurants got value immediately. Diners came later.
**How to Apply**:
Strategy 2: Fake It Until You Make It
Manually fulfill the supply side yourself.
**Example**: Zappos founder bought shoes from shops and shipped them himself to test demand.
**How to Apply**:
Strategy 3: Constrain the Market
Start hyper-local or hyper-niche.
**Example**: Uber launched in SF only with black cars. Facebook started at Harvard only.
**How to Apply**:
Strategy 4: Lead with Value
Give away something valuable to attract one side.
**Example**: LinkedIn let people build professional profiles—valuable without connections.
**How to Apply**:
Marketplace MVP Features
**Essential**:
**Skip for MVP**:
UK Marketplace Success Stories
**Deliveroo**: Started with 3 restaurants in Chelsea
**JustPark**: Started with specific car parks
**Treatwell**: Started with London salons only
All started small, solved the chicken-and-egg locally, then expanded.
Measuring Marketplace Health
**Supply Health**:
**Demand Health**:
**Market Health**:
Your Marketplace MVP Playbook
The best marketplaces solve the chicken-and-egg problem through clever constraints and manual hustle before automating.