Social commerce is a rapidly emerging industry, reaching over $600B annually in China and rapidly emerging in the US. The leading platform for social commerce in the US is WhatNot. They recently raised a $260M Series D, and might be the fastest growing marketplace ever.

In this conversation we chat with Whatnot founder Grant Lafontaine about the origins of Whatnot, his approach to product, his experience in Ycombinator, how he thinks about network effects and the dynamics of marketplace businesses, how he finds talent, and much more.

Learn more about Whatnot here: http://whatnot.com

If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a review! https://kite.link/disruptors-whatnot

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast website: https://manifold.group/podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3EbkMEk
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3nqwNiD
RSS: https://bit.ly/3ntcFw1
Full episodes playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdnqR-lZH65HqCM09dwh6otuU7TArkq8J
Clips playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdnqR-lZH65HrrlaeQZnf1sicFkprjpqk

SOCIAL:

- Sean Johnson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/intentionally
- Sean Johnson on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanjohnson
- Sean Johnson on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/intentionally_

- Manifold on Twitter: https://twitter.com/manifold_group
- Manifold on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/m/company/manifold-group
- Manifold on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themanifoldgroup
- Manifold on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manifold_group/
- Manifold on Medium: https://medium.com/build-better-products

The components manufacturing industry is the perfect example of a legacy niche ripe for disruption. But it has some interesting nuances to it, ones that Gearflow has worked hard to understand.

Initially setting out as a two-sided marketplace business leveraging long-tail search to drive distribution, they quickly learned that rather than going around or cutting out the middlemen, they needed to partner with them very closely and solve their problems as well.

Their willingness to listen and adapt worked, and today Gearflow plays an increasingly large role in the space.

In this conversation with Gearflow cofounder Ben Preston, we discuss the origins of Gearflow, what he’s learned about how to stay close to customers and build businesses satisfying multiple constituencies, how he pivoted to use his strength in organic search to drive marketing qualified leads versus sales, and much more.

Learn more about Gearflow here: http://gearflow.com
Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benpreston1/

If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a review! https://kite.link/disruptors-gearflow

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast website: https://manifold.group/podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3EbkMEk
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3nqwNiD
RSS: https://bit.ly/3ntcFw1
Full episodes playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdnqR-lZH65HqCM09dwh6otuU7TArkq8J
Clips playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdnqR-lZH65HrrlaeQZnf1sicFkprjpqk

SOCIAL:

- Sean Johnson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/intentionally
- Sean Johnson on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanjohnson
- Sean Johnson on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/intentionally_

- Manifold on Twitter: https://twitter.com/manifold_group
- Manifold on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/m/company/manifold-group
- Manifold on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themanifoldgroup
- Manifold on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manifold_group/
- Manifold on Medium: https://medium.com/build-better-products

The stigma around couples therapy is largely gone. People are more willing than ever to talk with someone who can help them process their issues. And yet many couples reserve it for then things get really bad. While they might recognize the benefits of a more proactive approach to couples counseling, the logistical headaches and cost make it something they never quite get to.

Ours is out to change that. With their unique hybrid delivery model and novel approach to delivering group counseling sessions remotely, they seek to eliminate the headaches associated with getting help.

In this episode we chat with Ours cofounder Adam Putterman about the origins of the idea, how he found the right cofounders, how they’ve intentionally iterated on the product, how they approach marketing and much more.

Learn more about Ours here: https://www.withours.com
Follow Chris on Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamputterman/

If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a review! https://kite.link/disruptors-ours

PODCAST INFO:

Podcast website: https://manifold.group/podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3EbkMEk
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3nqwNiD
RSS: https://bit.ly/3ntcFw1
Full episodes playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdnqR-lZH65HqCM09dwh6otuU7TArkq8J
Clips playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdnqR-lZH65HrrlaeQZnf1sicFkprjpqk

SOCIAL:

- Sean Johnson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/intentionally
- Sean Johnson on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanjohnson
- Sean Johnson on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/intentionally_

- Manifold on Twitter: https://twitter.com/manifold_group
- Manifold on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/m/company/manifold-group
- Manifold on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themanifoldgroup
- Manifold on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manifold_group/
- Manifold on Medium: https://medium.com/build-better-products