Benjamin Lauzier has been building and scaling marketplaces for almost 15 years. He was the VP of product and growth at Thumbtack, where he rebuilt the product team and Thumbtack’s growth levers, re-architected their revenue model, and helped double the company’s growth within three years. Prior to Thumbtack, Ben was at Lyft for six years, where he led the supply side of the product organization to a point where 1% of U.S. workers were driving for Lyft every month. Currently, he advises marketplace teams and founders, teaches a Reforge course on marketplace growth, and has recently launched a health tech company called Nurra, which connects users with care advocates to navigate the health-care system. In our conversation, we cover:
• What defines a marketplace business
• Strategies for growing supply and demand in the early stages
• How to measure liquidity and other marketplace health metrics
• How to evaluate if a marketplace model is right for your idea
• Lessons from Lyft, Thumbtack, and other successful marketplaces
• The differences between product management in the U.S. and Europe
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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-marketplaces-win-benjamin-lauzier
Where to find Benjamin Lauzier:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminlauzier/
• Ben’s Reforge course: https://www.reforge.com/courses/marketplace-growth/details
Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Ben’s background
(02:24) Defining a marketplace
(07:52) Challenges in building a marketplace
(13:28) Methods for growing supply
(15:57) Understanding marketplace liquidity
(21:36) Identifying product-market fit in marketplaces
(24:10) Evaluating marketplace business models
(27:20) Common pitfalls and failures in marketplaces
(36:23) Managed marketplaces and quality control
(42:26) Lyft’s rental car initiative
(46:35) Mentorship and ambassador programs
(51:21) Driver recruitment strategies
(54:12) Lyft vs. Uber: a strategic analysis
(59:24) Cultural differences in tech: Europe vs. U.S.
(01:10:30) Building a health advocacy platform
(01:16:52) Lightning round and final thoughts
Referenced:
• Craigslist: https://www.craigslist.org/
• Lyft: https://www.lyft.com/
• Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/
• Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/
• eBay: https://www.ebay.com/
• Faire: https://www.faire.com/
• Rover: https://www.rover.com/
• Thumbtack: https://www.thumbtack.com/
• Taskrabbit: https://www.taskrabbit.com/
• OpenTable: https://www.opentable.com/
• DoorDash: https://www.doordash.com/
• The Sean Ellis Test for Measuring Product-Market Fit: https://productcoalition.com/using-sean-ellis-test-for-measuring-your-product-market-fit-c8ac98053c2c
• The original growth hacker reveals his secrets | Sean Ellis (author of “Hacking Growth”): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-original-growth-hacker-sean-ellis
• Sidecar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidecar_(company)
• Cherry Is Shutting Down Its On-Demand Car Wash Service, Will Refund Pre-Paid Customers: https://techcrunch.com/2012/12/23/cherry-car-wash-shut-down/
• Toptal: https://www.toptal.com/
• Lyft Express Drive: https://www.lyft.com/expressdrive
• Ambassadors and Partnerships at Lyft: https://www.lyft.com/ambassador
• Twilio: https://pages.twilio.com/
• Mozza: https://www.mozza.io/
• Mistral AI: https://mistral.ai/
• Hugging Face: https://huggingface.co/
• Gemini: https://gemini.google.com/app
• Paul Graham’s “Founder Mode”: https://paulgraham.com/foundermode.html
• Nurra Health: https://nurra.me/
• Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics: https://www.amazon.com/Misbehaving-Behavioral-Economics-Richard-Thaler/dp/039335279X
• Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World: https://www.amazon.com/Range-Generalists-Triumph-Specialized-World/dp/0735214484
• Immune: A Journey into the Mysterious System That Keeps You Alive: https://www.amazon.com/Immune-Journey-Mysterious-System-Keeps/dp/0593241312/
• Kurzgesagt YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@kurzgesagt
• The Last of Us on HBO: https://www.hbo.com/the-last-of-us
• The Arc browser: https://arc.net/
• Competing with giants: An inside look at how The Browser Company builds product | Josh Miller (CEO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/competing-with-giants-an-inside-look
• John Muir quote: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/john_muir_3802
Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.
Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
