Online marketplaces have had a strong resurgence in the startup ecosystem as of late with the breakout successes of companies like AirBnB and Etsy. This class will take a closer look at the characteristics that make these startups successful, as well as challenges that they face.

Pre-Class Homework

- Please come prepared with an example of your favorite online marketplace and a few points as to why you think it has been successful.
- Identify a new market that you think would benefit from an online marketplace.

Class Format
- We'll start with an overview of marketplaces as a business model and use a few popular companies as case studies.
- Q&A
- Group discussion with prepared examples and new markets to consider.