How to Create a Marketplace App: Solving the Two-Sided Problem

Learning how to create a marketplace app means solving a problem regular apps don't have: it's useless to the first buyer if there are no sellers, and useless to the first seller if there are no buyers. Marketplace app development is part engineering and part launch strategy. We built Gigswap, a marketplace connecting DJs, producers and artists that got 100+ sign-ups on its first day, so this guide covers both the build and the cold-start problem.

Solve the two-sided marketplace cold start first

• Start narrow: one city, one niche or one category, so a small supply feels complete.
• Seed the harder side yourself: recruit the first providers by hand.
• Give one side value even when the other is thin (tools, profiles, a portfolio).
• Use a community that already exists. Gigswap targets music professionals who already collaborate.
• Do things that don't scale at first, such as manually matching early users.

MVP features for a marketplace app

How marketplaces make money

• Commission on each transaction (common for services and goods).
• Subscriptions for providers or users (Gigswap's model).
• Listing or lead fees.
• Featured placement and promotion.

Your model determines the build. Commissions need payments flowing through the platform, with payouts to providers (Stripe Connect is a common choice). Subscriptions need billing and plan access. Choosing early avoids rebuilding the core later; our breakdown of how apps make money covers the tradeoffs.

How to build a marketplace app step by step

1. Choose the niche and the side you'll seed first.
2. Define the one transaction the marketplace exists for.
3. Scope the MVP: profiles, discovery, messaging, one trust mechanism, one revenue model.
4. Build cross-platform (web, mobile or both depending on where users are).
5. Launch in your niche, manually onboard early supply, and measure matches and repeat use.

Common marketplace mistakes

• Launching everywhere at once instead of in one niche or city.
• Building complex matching algorithms before there's enough supply to match.
• Charging commission before the marketplace delivers enough value to justify it.
• Letting buyers and sellers move off-platform after the first contact, with no reason to stay.
• Treating trust and safety as a later feature.

Marketplace payments

If your marketplace takes a commission, money usually needs to flow through the platform: the buyer pays, the platform keeps its fee and the provider receives the rest. That requires payment accounts for providers, identity checks and payout handling, which services like Stripe Connect are designed for. If you charge subscriptions instead, as Gigswap does, the payment flow is simpler, but you need a compelling reason for users to subscribe.