Launch a Marketplace

Proof required

Define both sides of your marketplace in one sentence each: who is the supply side (who lists/provides/sells) and who is the demand side (who buys/hires/accesses). Share a screenshot or document showing 10 supply-side participants with active listings or profiles. Write one sentence on why you chose to recruit the supply side first (or, if you chose the demand side, why).

What gets checked

• Both sides are defined specifically — 'local tutors' and 'students needing maths help in London' is specific; 'suppliers' and 'buyers' is not.
• 10 supply-side participants with active listings — not 10 sign-ups, but 10 who have completed a profile or listing.
• Cold-start side choice is justified — the reason one side was recruited first should reflect a market insight, not a default.

Common mistakes

• Supply side recruited with empty profiles — a profile with no content is not an active listing.
• Both sides recruited simultaneously with fewer than 5 on either — the cold-start problem requires focus on one side at a time.
• No justification for which side was recruited first — the choice should reflect an understanding of marketplace dynamics, not default behaviour.

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• The 10 supply-side participants should have active listings — check that at least 7 of 10 have content visible in the screenshot, not just user accounts.
• The side recruited first should match a stated market insight — ask 'what would have happened if you had recruited buyers first?'
• Both sides must be defined narrowly enough to be testable — a supply side of 'anyone who wants to sell things' is not a marketplace, it is a classified ad platform.

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Proof required

Share a screenshot of the first transaction on the platform (payment confirmation, booking confirmation, or equivalent — the amount and date must be visible; names can be redacted). Write one sentence on whether the buyer and seller knew each other before the marketplace — if they did, explain why you consider it a valid first transaction. Write one sentence on what you learned about the transaction flow from observing the first transaction happen.

What gets checked

• First transaction is visible on the platform — a screenshot showing the platform facilitated the exchange.
• Buyer and seller independence is addressed — if they knew each other, an honest explanation is required.
• Learning from first transaction is specific — not 'it worked' but 'the buyer needed three message exchanges with the seller before committing, which suggests our listing templates need more detail'.

Common mistakes

• First transaction is between the founder and a friend — this is not a valid marketplace transaction because the social pressure to transact is not replicable.
• Transaction occurred outside the platform — if the first exchange happened via email or phone after the parties met on the platform, the platform itself did not facilitate the transaction.
• Learning from first transaction is 'it was smooth' — the first transaction almost always reveals at least one friction point in the flow.

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• The transaction screenshot must show the platform facilitated it — not a separate payment app used after parties met on the platform.
• Buyer-seller independence: ask 'how did the buyer find the seller?' If the answer is 'I introduced them', probe whether this was a true marketplace transaction.
• The learning from the first transaction is a credibility signal — a specific friction point named reveals genuine observation of the transaction flow.

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Proof required

Share payment processor evidence of 10 completed transactions (can be a dashboard screenshot; individual amounts can be redacted). State your current take rate as a percentage. State your current liquidity rate: of the supply-side participants who were active in the last 30 days, what percentage had at least one transaction? Write 50 words on one improvement you have made to the platform based on what you observed in the first 10 transactions.

What gets checked

• 10 completed transactions shown in a payment processor or platform dashboard.
• Take rate is stated as a specific percentage — not 'we take a commission' but '15%'.
• Liquidity rate is calculated — active supply-side participants who transacted divided by total active supply-side participants in the last 30 days.

Common mistakes

• Take rate absent — 'we haven't set a take rate yet' means the business model is not defined.
• Liquidity rate absent or described qualitatively: 'most sellers are getting transactions' without a number.
• Platform improvement absent — 10 transactions without any observable change to the product means no learning loop is operating.

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Take rate must be specific — ask 'of the last 10 transactions, how much did the platform collect in fees?'
• Liquidity rate should be calculable from the evidence — if 10 supply-side participants are active and 3 transacted, liquidity is 30%.
• The platform improvement should be traceable to a specific observation — ask 'which transaction made you decide to make this change?'

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