How Marketplace Roadmap Works
Building a marketplace is hard—not because you lack ideas, but because it’s unclear what matters most right now.
Why This Process Is Different
Most roadmap tools start with features. Marketplace Roadmap starts with reality.
Marketplaces don’t grow in a straight line. Different problems matter at different stages—getting people in, helping them transact, getting them to return, and keeping the system alive.
This tool is designed to help you:
- Understand what’s actually holding your marketplace back
- Focus on the one thing that matters most
- Turn ideas into clear, testable bets
- Build a roadmap that feels intentional—not overwhelming
Describe Your Marketplace Context
Before anything else, Marketplace Roadmap asks you to describe how your marketplace actually works today.
Why this matters:
"Advice without context leads to the wrong roadmap."
Identify What’s Getting in the Way
Next, you’ll go through a short diagnostic that helps surface where your marketplace is most constrained.
Instead of metrics, you’ll respond to statements that feel true, such as:
“People sign up but don’t do anything”
“Transactions happen, but don’t repeat”
“Things work, but only when I’m involved”
Behind the scenes, the tool evaluates your answers across four core marketplace stages: Bringing the right users in, helping them complete a first transaction, getting them to come back, and keeping the system healthy over time.
Why this matters:
"Roadmaps that don’t address the real constraint waste time and money."
Clarify Direction (Vision)
Before building a roadmap, Marketplace Roadmap asks one important question:
"If this marketplace is successful 12 months from now, what will be true that isn’t true today?"
This isn’t a mission statement. It’s a practical description of change.
Why this matters:
"A roadmap without direction becomes a list of tasks."
Turn Ideas Into Focused Initiatives
Now you’ll start defining initiatives—but not as features. For each initiative, you’ll answer:
- What specific problem are you trying to change?
- Why does this matter now?
- What would success look like?
- What evidence suggests this is worth trying?
Why this matters:
"Not all good ideas deserve immediate focus."
Build a Now / Next / Later Roadmap
Once initiatives are defined, you’ll place them into a simple roadmap:
Now
What deserves attention immediately
Next
What follows if learning goes well
Later
What’s intentionally deferred
This isn’t a delivery plan. It’s a sequencing tool.
What You Walk Away With
By the end of the process, you’ll have a clear understanding of what’s holding your marketplace back and a focused strategy for what to work on next.
Clear Constraint
Focused Strategy
Defensible Roadmap
Reduced Overwhelm