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A roadmap for marketplace domination. Level 1: Focus on a "thimble" to maximize Happy GMV. Level 2: Tip the market via growth loops. Level 3: Dominate to capture economic rents. Not all GMV is equal.
Codex 또는 Claude로 설치 이 Prompt를 복사해 Codex, Claude 또는 다른 어시스턴트에 붙여 넣으면 Skill 페이지를 검토하고 설치를 진행할 수 있습니다.
SOC 직업 분류 기준
| name | Hierarchy of Marketplaces |
| description | A roadmap for marketplace domination. Level 1: Focus on a "thimble" to maximize Happy GMV. Level 2: Tip the market via growth loops. Level 3: Dominate to capture economic rents. Not all GMV is equal. |
"Not all GMV is created equal... It's a lot easier to get to $1M of GMV when you're skimming the cream on this big ocean of a market, than to be very, very focused on a smaller market." — Sarah Tavel
A roadmap for marketplace domination. It begins with extreme focus to prove value ("Happy GMV"), moves to tipping the market via loops, and ends with dominating the market to achieve profitability.
▲
/│\
/ │ \ LEVEL 3: DOMINATE
/ │ \ Be #1 by wide margin
/ │ \ Capture economic rents
/────┴────\
/ │ \
/ │ \ LEVEL 2: TIP THE MARKET
/ │ \ Organic growth via loops
/────────┴────────\Supply brings demand
/ │ \
/ │ \ LEVEL 1: FOCUS (THIMBLE)
/ │ \Constrain to maximize
/────────────┴────────────\"Happy GMV"
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Constrain the market (geography or category) to maximize "Happy GMV"—transactions where customers are satisfied and will return.
Reach a saturation point where growth becomes organic via tipping loops (e.g., supply brings demand).
Become #1 by a wide margin to capture economic rents and withstand competition.
You can only dominate if you tip → You can only tip if you focus.
STEP 1: Define Your Thimble
└── Pick ONE geography or category
└── Small enough to dominate quickly
STEP 2: Measure Happy GMV
└── Not raw GMV—retention-led transactions
└── Customer NPS, repeat rate, supplier quality
STEP 3: Prove the Model
└── Can you create tipping loops in this thimble?
└── Does supply attract demand organically?
STEP 4: Expand Only After Tipping
└── Replicate the model in new thimbles
└── Don't expand before proving loops work
STEP 5: Dominate or Exit
└── #2 in marketplaces often means death
└── Wide margin of victory required
❌ Chasing total GMV by expanding too fast (skimming the ocean)
❌ Confusing raw GMV with Happy GMV (satisfaction-led)
❌ Expanding before tipping loops are proven
DoorDash focused on suburbs (a thimble) where competition was low, allowing them to perfect the model before expanding. Postmates spread too thin across markets and struggled to tip any of them.
Source: Sarah Tavel, General Partner at Benchmark, Lenny's Podcast
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