Client Overview
Type of Marketplace: Peer-to-peer platform for renting outdoor gear (bikes, camping kits, kayaks, snow equipment)
Stage: MVP validated, soft-launched in 6 cities, struggling to gain traction beyond early adopters
Geography: US with strong seasonal usage patterns
Founding Team & Stack: 3-person team (1 technical cofounder, 2 ops); basic listing functionality but no dynamic matching logic or demand-side intelligence
Buyer/Seller Dynamics:
- Fragmented, hyperlocal supply
- Low repeat usage on both sides
- Pricing inconsistencies and logistical friction (pickup/drop-off, communication delays)
Role & Duration
Role: Fractional Marketplace Architect + GTM Orchestration Lead
Duration: 90-day engagement with hands-on implementation and C-level advisory
The Challenge
Despite promising early press and some SEO-driven signups, the platform was stuck:
- Supply was scattered — many cities had a few idle listings, but no liquidity
- Buyers were bouncing after search — they couldn’t find gear nearby or trust the experience
- Churn was brutal: less than 14% of users ever completed a second rental
- Founders had tried ads, blog content, influencer partnerships — but nothing was converting consistently
This wasn’t a traffic problem. It was a liquidity orchestration failure.
In two-sided platforms, more users don’t equal more transactions — unless you engineer density, trust, and relevance at the point of search.
Strategic & Operational Approach
1. Geo-prioritization system to kill fake liquidity
We ran a full data sweep: 80% of the supply was inactive, duplicative, or priced outside realistic market ranges.
I designed a “focus-market protocol”:
- Paused all listings in non-priority zip codes
- Created liquidity clusters around 3 high-volume cities (Denver, Seattle, Salt Lake City)
- Built hyperlocal SEO + referral loops to concentrate new user acquisition in those zip codes only
This shrunk surface area but increased actual transaction probability by 5x.
2. Rebuilt search and browse flows to match for trust, not just proximity
The original UX showed gear based on location — but it ignored trust signals.
I introduced a Trust-Weighted Matching Layer:
- Surfaced listings with high fulfillment scores, verified profiles, and flexible pickup rules
- Built urgency triggers (e.g. “Booked 2x this week”, “Pickup ready within 2 hours”)
- Added listing badges based on completeness, past transaction score, and responsiveness
Suddenly, renters knew what was bookable — and providers were incentivized to clean up and optimize.
3. Activated silent supply through personalized GTM workflows
We created a 3-email reactivation journey targeted at existing listers with incomplete or idle gear:
- Day 1: Personalized earnings forecast based on recent local rentals
- Day 3: 2-click “Get Featured” path for completing profile and adding availability
- Day 7: Invite to a “Top Lister” beta group with early access to bulk upload + promo slots
Result: over 600 dormant listings reactivated — and 112 new listings went live in under 3 weeks.
4. Introduced usage-based monetization that aligned incentives
The platform had been monetizing through flat booking fees — but this penalized large-ticket rentals and gave no advantage to consistent providers.
We redesigned monetization as follows:
- Introduced tiered earnings boost for providers with 5+ successful rentals/month
- Created weekly featured placement upsells tied to past performance (not pay-to-play)
- Piloted “Rental Protection Plus” — a paid guarantee layer for both sides that increased buyer confidence and added $12K/mo in net-new margin
Results & Business Impact
- GMV increased by $90K in 90 days, without increasing ad spend
- Average booking value up 38% due to trust-weighted surfacing of high-quality gear
- Supply activation rate increased 4.2x — with over 50% of previously dormant providers now transacting
- Buyer-to-booking conversion jumped from 6% to 17.5%
- Introduced monetization upgrades that now contribute 23% of monthly revenue
But more importantly, the platform now functions like a marketplace — not a dusty classifieds board.
Instead of trying to grow everywhere, we grew where it mattered — and engineered usage that could be repeated, measured, and scaled.
Why Partnering With Me Was the Advantage
If your marketplace has “users” but no liquidity, you’re not broken — you’re just un-orchestrated.
I don’t bring hacks. I build systems that turn fragmented noise into concentrated motion.
- I knew how to spot fake growth (vanity listings, empty cities)
- I restructured trust into the product — not just the messaging
- I gave the team clear levers they could pull today to grow without overbuilding
This wasn’t just a win for metrics. It was a reset for the business model.
If your platform feels stuck — scattered listings, bouncing users, ops teams underwater — I’ll help you shift from chaos to clarity.
Growth doesn’t mean more. It means orchestrated. That’s what I bring.