Roadmap: B2B Marketplaces

...we evaluate early B2B marketplaces on three dimensions:

- They are (mostly) horizontal

- Integrated payments and lending are unlocking new business models for software companies and vastly improving the user experience.

2.0 marketplaces possess the following qualities:

- GTM efficiency: How efficiently can the marketplace grow? How much does the marketplace spend to acquire and onboard a new buyer or seller?

B2B markets are many times bigger than B2C markets (annual global B2B spend is more than $100 trillion), and they’re much more offline. Indeed, massive B2B markets like wholesale and logistics remain opaque and intermediary-driven, with orders and payments flowing via email, SMS, fax, and paper check.

- They keep intermediaries reasonably happy.

- Millennials are taking the reins in legacy industries and hate clunky, offline workflows.

- They instill trust.

- They focus on “day 1” value.