Why Expert Two-Sided Marketplace Startups Rarely Succeed
This is what happens when your “experts” aren’t actually experts
When entrepreneurs ask me to review their plans for a two-sided marketplace, there are usually two glaring problems that stand out right away. One: Their marketplace probably doesn’t need to exist. Two: Their supply of providers sucks.
The latter becomes a much bigger problem when the a marketplace aims to match customers with experts.
Expert Two-Sided Marketplaces, or E2SMs, offer customers more than just a quick ride across town (Uber) or handpicked fresh groceries (Instacart). These are services that require a higher level of skill, sometimes a license, certification, or even an advanced degree.
The idea of an E2SM is great. Magic. A good E2SM demystifies a complicated service offering, then acts as a digital concierge to match the customer with exactly the right expert they need, on demand, and at a fair price.
The execution of an E2SM, however, is often lacking. The matching is usually poor, the transaction isn’t easy or timely and, worst of all, the expert isn’t really an expert.
