Max Brun explains the marketplace-plus model, where a SaaS layer embedded in supply or demand creates stronger reasons to use the platform. Outdoorsy gives hosts real-time access to inventory calendars and rates, speeding up bookings. Founders should look for gaps where a system of record can unlock liquidity.
Chapters
How do you, I guess, advise kind of founders that come to you when they say, hey, we're taking a SaaS-enabled approach kind of building a marketplace?
Yeah, I mean, I think for me, the SaaS-enabled marketplace concept is really about this, like what I call marketplace plus model. It's like a marketplace plus something else. And the reason you need a plus or don't need it is that you're trying to embed deeper within the supply or the demand side or both. Right. And so, you know, the SaaS software in the context of Outdoorsy was really about, hey, can we go deeper in the supply side to give them a reason to run their business on it so that we can have distribution of their inventory? And, you know, by having distribution, you had access to their calendar, their availability, real-time rates, you know, all of that, which is really important in the travel space, right? It's like if you don't— can't instantly book something, it just makes it harder to do. So other spaces are a little bit different on what matters, right? But I do think overall what matters is inventory of some kind and having visibility into it. So a system of record. And so kind of what I suggest to people as a place to start is, hey, if there isn't a really good system of record that you can either integrate into or like can be built, that is like an opportunity for a SaaS software, right? It's really about system of record and getting visibility into rates and availability for the supply side. Now there's other versions of the SaaS where, you know, you're like, maybe you solve another problem, maybe it's a compliance problem, maybe it's payments, you know, like whatever it is, there's some pain point that's really critical to the purchasing cycle that isn't solved. And if you could get in, get that solved, you actually get people onto your platform because that is getting solved. So I've seen a number of different ways, but you can also do it, you know, outside of SaaS, you can do it as like a community. I mean, I think that's a big part of, You know, a lot of these businesses and was part of the playbook at Outdoorsy was like, we built a big community. You can also do it through like insurtech, fintech, you know, the list goes on. Whatever is your wedge that allows you to get liquidity into marketplace, do it.
