Marketplaces are fundamentally different from other business models. You are building two businesses at once, and the value comes from the network, not the product alone.
You need supply to attract demand, and demand to attract supply. Investors want to see you have cracked this.
A marketplace without liquidity is just a listing site. Show that matches happen consistently.
The more participants, the more valuable the platform. Show how your network effects compound.
Your cut of each transaction determines unit economics. It must be defensible and fair.
Marketplace investors evaluate different metrics than SaaS. Know these and be ready to discuss them.
Gross Merchandise Value. Total value of transactions on your platform.
Monthly GMV, growth rate, and seasonality patterns.
Your percentage of GMV. This is your actual revenue.
10-30% for services, 5-15% for goods, varies by vertical.
Percentage of listings that result in transactions. Measures marketplace efficiency.
Match rate, time to first match, conversion funnel.
Ratio of supply to demand. Imbalances hurt liquidity.
Active supply, demand searches, match success rate.
How often buyers and sellers return. Retention differs by side.
Supply retention, demand frequency, cross-side referrals.
Cost to acquire supply vs demand. Often very different.
Blended CAC, channel breakdown, organic vs paid mix.
Marketplace investors focus heavily on these slides. Make them bulletproof.
This is where marketplace decks are judged. Investors need to see:
How you acquire both sides is critical:
Use this structure as your base. Each slide should answer: "Is this becoming the default place for X to happen?"
What the marketplace is, for whom, and current GMV/liquidity metrics.
What friction exists in current matching? Manual work, low transparency, high fees.
Your core promise: better matching, price discovery, access, or speed.
How suppliers onboard, how buyers browse/book, trust and safety mechanisms.
The vertical, segments on both sides, fragmentation or lack of dominant player.
Status quo, direct/indirect competitors, your defensible wedge.
GMV, liquidity rate, supply retention, demand frequency. Even early traction matters.
User signups mean nothing if they are not transacting. Show match rates and transaction velocity.
Business model must be crystal clear. Take rate from which side? What triggers payment?
Launching a marketplace requires aggressive GTM on both sides. No growth plan = no investment.
Marketplace demand is often episodic, trust-based, or seasonal. Retention metrics must reflect this.
What stops users from going direct after the first match? Address this explicitly.
Pitchkit helps you focus your narrative around what investors expect in marketplace businesses:
Marketplaces are often winner-take-most. Show your edge:
How you acquire each side cheaply and scalably. Break down supply vs demand.
Take rate, subscription, transaction + add-ons. Margins, payout cycles, pricing defensibility.
Experience in supply/demand ops, vertical credibility, marketplace building experience.
How much funding, what it unlocks: supply growth, liquidity milestone, demand expansion.