Marketplace startup simulator
See what your marketplace would turn over, how many users you'd win and who you'd lose them to — quarter by quarter for four years — before you spend real money.
Two sides, one chicken-and-egg problem. This one opens as Gigly: A marketplace app matching local customers with people who do the work, taking a fee on each booking. Rename it, reprice it, or describe your own marketplace and let Nova rewrite it to fit.
What a steady marketplace ends up with
Played steadily for all four years — quality first, then growth, a fair share of the bank spent each year — a steady marketplace here ends its last year on $153k of revenue and $44k of profit, with 3,490 users and 2.1% of the market (#6 of 6).
It starts from nothing: $15k in the bank and you, 50 hours a week, with no users yet.
People who play it well do better, and a bad plan runs out of money.
Revenue in the last year: $153k
Profit in the last year: $44k
Users at the end: 3,490
Share of the market: From nothing to 2.1%
Where it finishes: #6 of 6
Years and decisions: 4 years, quarterly
What you'll decide each quarter
Each quarter you price the booking, split spend between winning users and keeping them, choose new features against reliability, and decide when to raise money.
Each decision shows on a forecast before you file it, and every period resolves against the rivals and the economy.
Who your users are
Downloads are cheap; the second week is the business. Most people who try it leave, so what matters is how many users stay and pay, and what it cost to find them.
400,000 users in all, across United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and Australia.
Occasional bookers: They try everything, pay for little, and leave for the next thing. About 200,000 of them, worth $35 a year each.
Regular customers: It is part of their week, and they pay because it earns its place. About 120,000 of them, worth $91 a year each.
Small businesses: They want every feature and will tell everyone when it breaks. About 40,000 of them, worth $175 a year each.
Providers paying for leads: One account for several people, bought by whoever is organised. About 40,000 of them, worth $154 a year each.
Who you're up against
Three rivals are already in it, and they play to win: they cut prices, spend on marketing and answer what you do. Most of the market is theirs on day one.
The category's dominant app: The biggest, and slow to change — it has stopped listening to its smaller customers. Holds about 34% of the market.
Facebook groups and word of mouth: Hasn't changed in years and is living off the customers it already has. Holds about 20% of the market.
The well-funded copycat: Clever and quick, but stretched thin and hard to get hold of. Holds about 8% of the market.
How it works
Free until you start: building and previewing cost nothing, and starting is $10, once.
Build it — free: Press build and you get your own copy of this market: four kinds of user, three rivals and five markets.
Make it yours: Change any number, describe your marketplace in a sentence or two and let Nova fill it in, or upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history to fit it to your real figures.
Preview — free: See what a steady marketplace ends up with, and every warning worth reading, before you pay anything.
Start — $10: Pay once to start, your seat included. Then run it quarter by quarter for four years.
Also for
two-sided · platform · booking · gig · matching
How much does the marketplace startup simulator cost?
Building and previewing are free: make your own copy of this marketplace market, change anything in it and see what a steady marketplace ends up with without paying. Starting the simulation is $10, once, and your own seat is included.
Can I make it match my own marketplace?
Yes. Every number can be changed — the users and what they pay, the rivals, the markets, the costs and the starting cash. Or describe your marketplace in a sentence or two and Nova, SparkTower's AI, fills every section in for one Nova action. If you already trade, upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history and the simulation is fitted to your real numbers, starting from where your business stands today.
Are the numbers realistic for a marketplace?
The template is checked against what real ones do: played steadily, a believable one finishes year four turning over between $60k and $2m, with between 2,000 and 30,000 users. This one's preview comes to about $153k and 3,490. Your own prices, costs and figures change that, which is the point of trying it here first.
Can I use it to test a marketplace business plan?
That is what it is for. Put your plan's prices, costs and starting cash in, play it forward quarter by quarter, and see whether the money lasts, how many users you would need and what a rival's price cut does to you — before you put real money in.
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