Single Player Mode

Jumpstart one side of your marketplace by tapping existing channels while building the other

Benjamin Lauzier
How marketplaces win: Liquidity, growth levers, quality, more

Single Player Mode

"Try to find a way to tap into existing channels that have one side of your marketplace already latent... Thumbtack, when we have someone who wants a job, we can, behind the scenes, go and post a job on Craigslist and then we'll bring on all the contractors who are browsing Craigslist looking for jobs, we'll bring them to our platform." - Benjamin Lauzier

What It Is

Single Player Mode (also called "play one player mode") is a tactical approach for early-stage marketplaces to solve the chicken-and-egg problem. Instead of building both sides of the marketplace simultaneously, you temporarily "hack" one side by leveraging existing platforms, channels, or manual processes—allowing you to focus your real effort on building the harder side.

The insight is that most marketplaces that succeeded found creative ways to bootstrap supply or demand from existing sources rather than building both from scratch.

How It Works

The Core Concept: One side of your marketplace likely already exists somewhere—on Craigslist, job boards, social media, or in offline communities. Instead of recruiting them from scratch, tap into where they already are.

Common Tactics:

  1. Platform Arbitrage: Scrape or integrate with existing marketplaces

    • Airbnb scraped Craigslist listings
    • Thumbtack posted jobs to Craigslist to attract contractors

  2. Job Board Integration: Leverage employment platforms

    • Lyft and Thumbtack used job boards to recruit drivers/pros

  3. Value-Added Services: Build tools that supply wants regardless of demand

    • OpenTable built restaurant management software
    • Supply joins for the tool, stays for the marketplace

  4. Side-Flipping: Convert one side to the other

    • Uber prompted riders without cars to become drivers
    • "No drivers available—people are making $50/hour, want to drive?"

  5. Manual Sourcing: Concierge the easy side while automating the hard side

    • Personally onboard early supply or manually match demand

How to Apply It

  1. Map where your sides already exist

    • Where does your supply currently find work/customers?
    • Where does your demand currently look for solutions?

  2. Evaluate integration options

    • Can you post to existing platforms?
    • Can you scrape/import from them?
    • Can you offer a tool that's valuable standalone?

  3. Choose your hack

    • Which approach requires least effort for most impact?
    • What can you start tomorrow vs. what needs building?

  4. Set a graduation timeline

    • Hacks should be temporary—plan when you'll build real acquisition
    • Monitor for platform dependency risks

  5. Focus your energy on the other side

    • The whole point is to free up resources to crack the hard side
    • Don't let the hack become a distraction

When to Use It

  • Pre-PMF marketplace: When you're trying to validate both sides simultaneously
  • New market launch: When expanding to new geographies or verticals
  • Supply crunch: When demand outpaces supply and you need to bootstrap quickly
  • Resource constraints: When you can't afford to build both sides at once

Examples in Practice

Company Hacked Side How
Airbnb Supply Scraped Craigslist listings, posted to Craigslist to attract hosts
Thumbtack Supply Posted customer jobs to Craigslist to attract contractors
Uber Supply Prompted riders to become drivers during supply shortages
OpenTable Supply Built restaurant management software that restaurants wanted
DoorDash Supply Manually uploaded restaurant menus without restaurant involvement

Risks and Mitigations

  • Platform dependency: Don't rely on a hack indefinitely—build organic acquisition
  • Quality control: Hacked supply may not meet your standards
  • Scalability: Manual processes don't scale—plan the transition
  • Terms of service: Scraping/posting may violate platform rules

Source

  • Guest: Benjamin Lauzier
  • Episode: "How marketplaces win: Liquidity, growth levers, quality, more"
  • Key Discussion: (00:09:13) - Explanation of jumpstarting one side with existing channels
  • YouTube: Watch on YouTube

Related Frameworks

Back to Growth