Network Effects in Marketplace, Communities and Social Platforms
These days, we’re hyper-focused on marketplaces, communities and social platforms. We love these platforms for many reasons, but the primary one is the power of their network effects and how they create a high degree of defensibility for startups. What are network effects? “Network effects” is a frequently used term and it is sometimes confused […]
Marketplace KPI Dashboard
A few months ago, I wrote about the questions that we typically ask when evaluating a marketplace opportunity. Now, inspired by our friend Christoph Janz at Point Nine Capital who created a KPI dashboard for early-stage SaaS, we have put together a KPI template for marketplaces. We recognize that every marketplace is different, but each […]
Introducing an earlier investment: Volley, a friendly place for helping others
Last October, we made our first investment out of Fund II and are excited to announce this news today as the company launches publicly out of beta. Volley is a friendly place for helping others solve problems online. Volley members can post requests in response to the question, “What are you looking for?” You can sift through […]
Our latest investment: Shift Messenger, a communication tool designed for hourly workers
With more and more messaging platforms emerging, members within groups and communities are more likely to communicate across multiple platforms (SMS/iMessage, Whatsapp, WeChat, Facebook messenger, etc.), and therefore, in a less consistent and disparate manner. As a result, we feel there is a great opportunity for startups to provide a better, more targeted experience for […]
The data we use to evaluate marketplace traction
At Version One, we love marketplaces and platforms. Over 50% of our portfolio companies fall into this category including our recent investments in Headout (a mobile-first marketplace for last-minute travel experiences) and VarageSale (a mobile-first community-driven Craigslist). We’re often asked what we look for in a marketplace. While there are many factors to consider (Bill […]