28 Ways to Grow Supply in a Marketplace 📈
Jun 2019
OpenTable initially sold restaurants a useful reservation management system—valuable even with zero diners on the platform. Only after achieving critical mass of restaurants did the diner side become compelling. If your marketplace can deliver standalone value to one side, you remove the chicken-and-egg problem.
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This Week #2: Tackling the chicken-and-egg problem, building a growth team from scratch, and addressing overlap with PM peers 🤔
Sep 2019In marketplace cold-start problems, you're almost always supply-constrained first. Rather than trying to attract both sides simultaneously, focus on seeding supply through single-player mode, employee participation, or direct payment—this naturally draws in the demand side later.
28 Ways to Grow Supply in a Marketplace 📈
Jun 2019Airbnb discovered that 300 listings with 100 reviewed listings created a step-function change in booking growth. Below that threshold, guests couldn't find what they wanted; above it, the marketplace became self-reinforcing. Identify your magic number and treat reaching it as your primary early-stage goal.
28 Ways to Grow Supply in a Marketplace 📈
Jun 2019Users who have had a great experience on your platform are your most empathetic potential suppliers. They remember the friction they faced and can address it. This tactic is especially powerful early-stage because these converted users become your highest-quality supply and strongest advocates.
28 Ways to Grow Supply in a Marketplace 📈
Jun 2019Airbnb had a great idea—affordable travel and host income—but what actually mattered was relentless execution. The founding team's willingness to manually activate 100 listings, sleep in their own apartment as the first host, and travel city-to-city for meetups made the difference between success and failure. Execution compounds; ideas alone do not.
This Week #0: Advice on growth, product, and leadership
Sep 2019You can differentiate across 20+ dimensions—price, quality, experience, trust, tribe, story—or you can choose not to differentiate significantly and win by scaling faster. The best companies combine multiple dimensions, but some winners succeed purely through execution velocity.
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