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Marketplaces and multi-sided platforms: trust is the product

A multi-sided platform serves groups who don't know each other: tenants who need a repair, property managers who pay for it, contractors who do the work. Each side needs reasons to rely on the others. The platform supplies them: who's verified, what each side may see and do, where the money is until the work is done, and one record everyone can point to.
Talk through your platformSee what each side needs ↓
tenantplatformproperty managercontractorfirm's ruleapprove up to $400no heat · unit 4Bphoto attachedmatch: nearbylicensed · insuredContractor Alicence expiredContractor BofferedContractor Baccepts · $360$360 within $400approvedpaymentauthorisedheat's backconfirmedpayment releasedboth sides rateContractor B sees the unit and access notes, not the tenant's phone number

What each side needs to trust

Three groups and the platform itself. Each needs something different, and each sees only its part.
Tenantsthat someone is comingstatus and an arrival windowtheir own request
Property managersthat the work and the price are rightapproval rules, photos and invoicestheir buildings' requests and spend
Contractorsthat they'll be paidpayment authorised before work startsthe job, the unit and access notes
The platformthat everyone plays fairverification, ratings and a record of every stepeverything, with each look recorded

What's hard about many sides

The software is the smaller part. These are the decisions that make or break it.

  1. 01

    Starting

    Each side waits for the other

    Contractors won't join without jobs, and firms won't post jobs without contractors. Usually one side is served by hand at first.

  2. 02

    Matching

    Who's offered which job, and why

    Distance, licence, availability and past work decide the order, and the reason is recorded.

  3. 03

    Trust

    Checks that mean something

    Licences and insurance are checked, with expiry dates, and checked again before they lapse.

  4. 04

    Money

    Held and released by rule

    The payment provider holds and releases funds; the platform decides when, from the job's state.

  5. 05

    Disputes

    One record both sides can point to

    Photos, messages and every step of the job, kept, so a disagreement is settled from facts.

How one job is matched

The usual case, and the two that test the design.

Unit 4B · no heat

  1. Contractors nearby

    6 within the firm's area

    done

  2. Licensed and insured

    5; Contractor A's licence expired

    done

  3. Available today

    2

    done

  4. Offered to Contractor B

    best match on past heating work

    done

  5. Accepted at $360

    within the $400 rule

    done

Matched and approved without anyone phoning around, and the reasons are on the job.

What a multi-sided platform hands off

In

Requests
from tenants and firms
Participants
verified, with expiry dates
Rules
each firm's approvals
Platform
match, approve, track

Out

Work
to verified participants
Payments
held and released by rule
The record
one, for every side

Worth building when you sit between groups who need each other

Good fit

  • Two or more groups need each other, and you sit between them.
  • Trust, payment or matching is where things go wrong today.
  • You can serve the first users by hand while the platform grows.

Not the right fit

  • Your own staff serve your customers. That's a portal or an operations platform.
  • An existing marketplace already serves your niche well.

Where this capability is used

Next to multi-sided platforms

Questions about multi-sided platforms

Do you handle the payments?

A payment provider holds and releases the money under its own licence and rules. We connect it and build the rules for when that happens.

How do we start when nobody's on it yet?

Usually by serving one side yourself at first, such as with contractors you already work with, and opening up once there's steady demand.

How are participants verified?

By the checks you decide on, such as licence and insurance documents with expiry dates, checked again before they lapse.

Can each side see the others' details?

Only what each needs. A contractor sees the unit and access notes; the tenant's contact details stay with the platform unless the tenant shares them.