Does the World Need Another Two-Sided Marketplace Startup?

Anyone can drive an Uber, but how do you validate demand for an expert service marketplace?

Over the last year, I’ve received a ton of inbound asking for advice on building two-sided service marketplaces for experts — everything from plumbers to nurses to attorneys.

These are not your everyday service marketplaces, like Uber or Wag, where anyone with a Prius or an extra leash can make some side cash. These are Expert Two-Sided Marketplaces (E2SM), offering services that require more rigorous training, certifications, licenses, or even advanced degrees.

I’ve got plenty of experience building E2SMs. In 2013, I sold a company called ExitEvent that, among other things, matched entrepreneurs with services from attorneys, recruiters, code shops, even investors.

And over the last three years, I’ve been building my current startup Spiffy from a mobile car wash to a nationwide mobile provider of all things vehicle, including services we do very well (oil changes) and services we’d rather farm out (windshield replacement).

E2SMs are everywhere, and furthermore, recent shifts in the economy are going to make these marketplaces even more necessary. Why sit for hours in a cramped Oil Change Shop…