Scaling Fast with Marketplaces

We launched Yango in Lusaka and the reception has been amazing. Couple of things to note if you are building a transactional marketplace.

1. Understand what part of the market is constrained. This means the part of the market that's more difficult to attract. In our case, this was the drivers.

2. Once you've figured out what part, double down on increasing the density of that part of the market. We had dozens of scouts out to register drivers and get them ready for launch date.

3. Open the floodgates for the other side of the marketplace. To be viral, you need to shock people or do things on steroids. For instance 90% discounts on trips. Stickiness of steroids is low so you have to be careful how you use it. But you definitely will get your new cohort.

4. Prioritize platform efficiency. Start tightening controls and managing quality from day 1. Quality guarantees stickiness.