watch time: 21 minutes

What makes marketplace business models so attractive, especially as compared to classic ecommerce and retail? (Hint: network effects.)

From the classic unbundling of Craigslist to entirely new marketplaces enabled by smartphones and mobile, a16z general partner Jeff Jordan — a veteran of numerous marketplace businesses and currently on the boards of many such a16z companies — shares examples, drivers of profitability/margins/moats, and what makes marketplaces superior for consumers as well: identity, reputation, payments, trust and safety, frictionlessness, and transparency.

This video is based on a talk given in 2015.

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