If you can solve the problem better than any other existing solution, you have a window of opportunity.

Remember to do this for both sides: suppliers and customers.Īs you research your target market, you may find another marketplace already operating in your space. Then validate all these assumptions by talking to members of your intended audience. Start validating your marketplace idea by identifying who your target users are, what problem you assume they have, and how your concept offers an improvement to the status quo. (For more rental marketplace inspiration, check out great Sharetribe examples in our customer gallery!) With these building blocks in mind, let's dive into step one: validating your business idea following a path similar to Airbnb's.Īnd you can do that before spending any time or money on building your actual marketplace website.

The rented property can be some type of space or anything from swimming pools to music studios or cameras. A rental website needs different features than product-selling marketplaces like Amazon or eBay. B2C (business-to-customer) or B2B marketplaces (business-to-business) can also be successful, but they might require slightly different functionality than a peer-to-peer platform.Ī rental marketplace brings together people who have idle assets with people who want to rent those assets. On peer-to-peer marketplaces, private individuals can act as sellers, buyers, or both. Peer-to-peer describes Airbnb’s primary user groups. This affects both feature requirements and business strategy. Location-based means that the customer needs to be at the same location as the listing to make a transaction.

In a nutshell, Airbnb can be described as a. Before we dive in, it helps to understand how Airbnb works.

Airbnb type site