We believe the future of B2B marketplaces starts with vertical SaaS solutions. These initially look like software-enabled workflows that streamline operational inefficiencies between supply and demand, making online transactions possible where previously they may not have been. 

I do think that bringing the marketplace functionality too early can be a burden on the company, especially one that's not capitalized well... offer something with high intrinsic value and low marginal cost, start getting customers hooked into that workflow, and then expand into other parts of the workflow that leave you well-positioned to launch a... See more

My personal favorite are these vertical SaaS marketplaces. They start as vertical SaaS software, then layer in a marketplace later on. Usually, it begins with a software solution that is focused on a highly technical business problem. For example, a software provider may give away or charge a very low fee for something that has high intrinsic value... See more

We've learned over the years that B2B marketplaces are poorly positioned to own customer support on behalf of supply and demand, given the complexity of what follows a transaction.

The more complex and fragmented the market, the more likely you will have these many-to-many relationships, which get harder to manage without a software layer.

Consumer marketplaces thrive on high frequency, and B2B marketplaces need tons of volume. 

We look at [the taxonomy of B2B marketplaces] in a couple of different ways. High-level, there are aggregators, managed marketplaces, channel marketplaces, vertical SaaS-enabled marketplaces, and then tech-enabled brokerages.

If demand can only buy more from the supply side once they sell the goods because of balance sheet limitations, then payment terms are really important.

We love asset-light or asset-less B2B marketplaces that use existing infrastructure and think building endpoints to access that infrastructure is the future.