Announcing our investment in Patch, a platform for negative emissions
Few launches have been as timely. Over the past month, those of us on the west coast have been dealing with forest fires… if anyone ever doubted climate change, let us be the first to tell you that the orange, fiery, smokey skies and the ash raining down from it are all very real. At […]
How Sin-Mei Tsai, Shippo’s VP of Engineering, Defines Code Quality
Six weeks ago, we kicked off a new series where we profile an awesome operator in our network to learn about his/her work and contributions to his/her organization and community at large. Our inaugural guest was Bala Subramaniam and we asked him three questions on marketplaces. This time, I am very excited to introduce Sin-Mei […]
Is it time to rethink the healthcare marketplace model?
It’s been a year since we published our series on digital healthcare which I co-wrote with Jonathan Libov of Union Square Ventures. The reception was overwhelmingly positive (we’re thankful to all of you who gave us feedback) and opened up the floodgates to patients, medical professionals, entrepreneurs, and investors who still reach out to us with their pains, […]
Products that help power online marketplaces
As you’re building your marketplace, consider which tools and technology to leverage. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel as new infrastructure solutions are emerging to help facilitate transactions on your platform, including: payment software, background checks, shipping and fulfillment solutions, and data privacy. With help from the Marketplaces Facebook Group, we have curated a […]
Introducing our latest investment: Shippo, simplified shipping for small e-commerce sites
Shipping is a huge pain point for smaller e-commerce businesses of any size. They don’t process enough volume to grant them bulk discounts from the major providers. It’s costly and resource-intensive to work with shipping carriers, and the barrier to entry is extremely high. Prices aren’t transparent and negotiating as a small business is next […]