E-commerce marketplace concept is not a new phenomenon. Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Jet, Wayfair, Farfetch, Overstock, Groupon and many others are good examples of marketplace business models. These companies built multi-billion dollar businesses by connecting third-party sellers and customers. Several years ago I was involved in a startup that developed e-commerce marketplace software and we partnered with one of the best-known online marketplace platforms globally. The company was based in New York and, while working on this business, we got a good understanding of the marketplace business model benefits and challenges that need to be addressed, so that the business could function efficiently and profitably. 

Interestingly enough, though personalization, customer journey mapping, UX and UI have been the subjects of many professional e-commerce conferences, articles, blog posts and forum discussions, these topics have often been ignored or overlooked by startups and even larger companies due to other priorities and responsibilities they set for themselves. And I can’t blame them for that. When you build a startup, especially with no external funding, the founders’ major goal is to survive (not just in business but literally – have money to buy food, clothes, pay your bills etc.) So how do you go from point A (realization that you need to provide personalized approach to the customers) to point B (setting up procedures and business processes to deal with this in your so much loved e-commerce business)?

Starbucks is not always great at spelling your name but you must agree, the idea of writing names on a cup of coffee is brilliant. Whether it is a personalization technique or a marketing move, this simple act establishes an immediate personal connection between the company and the customer. It is easy to do when you can physically pass over the cup to your customer but it becomes much more difficult when you operate an e-commerce business. So how do you even go about personalizing your product/service?

Ok, so now you call yourself a founder and a CEO. Congratulations, you are on your way to an extremely difficult and stressful life!
​
Many people think it’s a nice fancy title, it gives you financial freedom, independence and ability to do whatever you want in life. Younger people often think it’s just cool and smart to be a founder of your own business. Well, whereas some of it may very well be true, the way to a real freedom and independence is much more difficult than it can look from a position of a fully employed “dependent” person.