The marketplace guides I use with founders.
How I think about marketplace metrics, matching, and fundraising. Use the guides to work through a problem or copy a template to get started.
Are people finding what they need and coming back?
Start with completed transactions, repeat use, and what the platform earns. Then look at where buyers or suppliers get stuck.
Start with the transaction.
Who buys, who supplies, and why does the transaction happen here? The guides below help you work through those questions and explain the business to investors.
Early-stage pitch deck structure
What I want to learn from your deck, slide by slide. Includes an AI review prompt.
Read → 02 Founder templateStartup investor update
A template for the numbers, the good news, the bad news, and the help you need.
Use the template → 03 Founder templateStartup data room
Which documents to gather before a raise, where to put them, and who should have access.
Use the template → 04 Yonder frameworkMarketplace+
The software and services buyers and suppliers need beyond an introduction.
Read → 05 Founder guideMarketplace metrics
How to measure matching, repeat use, supplier activity, and what each transaction earns.
Read → 06 Marketplace referenceMarketplace dictionary
47 core marketplace terms, in plain language, with real company examples.
Explore the dictionary → 07 Yonder frameworkTypes of marketplaces
The four matching models, who picks whom, and the tradeoffs behind each one.
Explore the models → 08 from Take RateAI and marketplaces
How AI can create new supply, buy on behalf of users, and change matching.
Read ↗ 09 from Take RateMarketplace fundraising in 2026
What current venture data says about rounds, valuations, and the market for marketplace capital.
Read ↗ 10 from Take RateBuilding labor-marketplace liquidity
How to get workers and jobs matched across location, skills, and availability.
Read ↗ 11 from Take RateWhy marketplace revenue is so funky
How GMV, gross revenue, net revenue, and take rate create confusion in marketplace reporting.
Read ↗ 12 from Take RateWhat to look for in an angel investor
The questions founders should ask before adding an early investor to the cap table.
Read ↗ 13 NewsletterTake Rate
Marketplace operating ideas, company analysis, fundraising, and the Marketplace Memo.
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