A marketplace MVP that proves both sides will show up
Seed one side by hand, bring in the other, and get the first deal done.
A marketplace MVP has a harder question to answer than most first builds. Will buyers and sellers both show up, and will they transact through you? We build the listings, the search, and the one transaction that matters, then help you seed the thin side by hand until the numbers say whether it's worth scaling.
The short answer
A marketplace MVP is the smallest two-sided product that lets real buyers find real sellers and complete one transaction through you. We build profiles, listings, search, and a single booking or checkout path, with payments on a hosted split-payment provider or matched by hand. It answers whether both sides show up and come back.
What it does
- Seller onboarding short enough to list in one sitting
- Listings with the fields your buyers filter on
- Search and filters sized for the first few hundred listings
- One transaction path, from request to confirmed deal
- Profiles, reviews, and a basic identity check on sellers
- An admin view for approving listings and matching by hand
Best for
Founders and businesses testing a two-sided idea who need to see buyers and sellers meet on their platform before building for thousands of either.
What you provide
- A short list of first sellers or providers you can reach personally
- The one transaction you want to see happen, described end to end
- Your fee model, even if it is still a guess
- An hour a week to review matches and talk to both sides
[HOW WE'D BUILD IT]
Built around the first transaction, not the feature list
Decide who comes first
Most marketplaces stall when one side arrives to an empty room. We pick the side that is harder to get, plan how you will recruit it by hand, and build onboarding around that side's first ten minutes.
Listing, search, transaction
Sellers list, buyers search, and one request turns into a confirmed deal. Profiles, reviews, and an identity check sit on that path, so a stranger feels safe enough to pay another stranger.
Payments that match your volume
Early volume rarely justifies custom payout code. We connect a hosted split-payment provider that holds funds and pays the seller, or keep matching and invoicing manual while the first deals are few.
From hand-matched deals to a market at volume
[TALK TO A BUILDER]
Which side of your market is harder to win?
Bring the category, a few sellers you know by name, and the deal you most want to watch happen. Discovery is paid, and it picks the seed side and how money moves between them.
Seeded by hand first
Onboarding built for the side you recruit personally, so the first listings go up fast.
Trust on the deal path
Profiles, post-transaction reviews, and a seller check at the moment strangers decide to pay.
Payments sized to volume
A hosted split-payment account or manual invoicing, upgraded once deals start repeating.
Your code, your market
The source is yours, so the marketplace grows into production without starting over.
[QUESTIONS]
Answered before you ask.
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