The Hierarchy of Marketplaces—Introduction and Level 1

Homogeneity of buyer need,” she points out, kills the possibilities for a winner-takes-all marketplace. “Each buyer on Airbnb has a different preference, which means that each additional unit of supply creates more marginal happiness for buyers.

This is not to say that you shouldn’t grow. In marketplaces, saturation of a market is critical, and the only way to do that is to grow. But if you think of growth as a means to increasing the average level of happiness per transaction (instead of the goal itself), it will focus you on quality growth over vanity growth.