The classic startup marketplace exists to do one thing — Eliminate The Middlemen.
Travel agents, real estate brokers… really all the brokers. They’re going down, c/o startups.
But as brokers become increasingly aware of our plans, how do we proceed?
Here’s how setting up a marketplace used to work:
- Free and open communication between buyers and sellers
- Start charging the top sellers
- Charge everyone
Here’s how setting up a marketplace will work in the future:
- Build tools for brokers
- Controlled communication between buyers and brokers
- Onboard sellers
- Charge everyone
Brokerages go away between 2 and 3. Nowadays, we just have to empower them first.
1. You give the realtor, for example, an easy way to list his properties online.
2. XYZ website shares the realtors’ listings with their audience.
3. When an XYZ customer connects with the broker about a specific property, XYZ website lets the property management company know they were responsible for the deal, not the realtor.
Are you empowering your victims?