Getting the Flywheel Spinning: Why Marketplaces Are Tough to Launch (And How to Start Anyway) 

This morning, I spoke to an Arden student with a promising startup idea — a two-sided marketplace. He's got a clever concept with real potential. But, like so many marketplace founders, they’re stuck in the early stage catch-22: users on one side won’t sign up without the other side already there. 

What is a marketplace, exactly? In simple terms, it’s a platform that connects two distinct groups who need each other — buyers and sellers (like eBay), hosts and guests (like Airbnb), or freelancers and clients (like Fiverr). The platform doesn’t sell a product; it enables transactions between others. 

So, what’s the problem? Marketplaces depend on both sides showing up — but neither wants to be first. That’s what makes them so hard to start. 

This might sound counter-intuitive, but for student startup founders the key is to think smaller, sooner. Forget trying to launch a nationwide platform from day one. Instead, pick a tiny niche where you can generate real activity.  

Focus first on one side of the market – usually the one that’s harder to find or more valuable to attract. For example, if you’re building a marketplace for tutors, go out and recruit quality tutors manually before you even think about marketing to students. If you are building a marketplace for local services, focus on a single neighbourhood.  

Getting users on the platform is your priority. At first, doing things that don’t scale isn’t just OK – it's necessary. That could mean acting as the matchmaker yourself behind the scenes, offering users heavy discounts and freebies, or, dare I say it, even faking things on one side of your market to gain attention from users on the other side. It’s not about being perfect – it’s about creating the illusion of activity long enough to break the catch-22 and get real traction. 

Getting enough activity between buyers and sellers in a small, focused segment so that the marketplace starts to generate value on its own – that's when the flywheel begins to turn. 

Also, remember that marketplaces only succeed when they solve a real problem. People don’t join marketplaces just because they’re marketplaces — they join because you help them save time, make money, or solve a pain point. 

At the Arden Enterprise Incubator, we help student entrepreneurs navigate tough models like this. If you’ve got an idea for a marketplace — or any kind of venture — and you’re hitting roadblocks, let’s talk. These are hard problems, but they can be cracked with the right strategy and support. 

Come to our next Founder Friday or contact me directly bmcclure@arden.ac.uk 

At today’s Founder Friday session, we met an Arden student running an online therapy business. She spoke openly about the challenges she’s facing in today’s tougher economic climate. In better times, word of mouth kept her business running. But these days, fewer people are coming to her through referrals.  

And like many founders with a service mindset, she admitted: “I don’t really like selling.” 

It was a moment many in the room related to. She’s focused on helping people — not pitching products — and doesn’t want to lose that integrity. 

I suggested a mindset shift: Stop thinking of business as selling and start seeing it as helping people at scale. Selling is just a conversation — one that starts with care and curiosity. And as it turns out, she’s already brilliant at this. 

She begins every client relationship with a free consultation. No pressure, just listening and understanding. And here's the kicker: 95% of those free consultations convert into paying clients. That’s an incredible success rate — far better than most startups can claim. 

So, the question isn’t how to “sell” more. The question is: how can she start more conversations like the ones she’s already having? If almost everyone who speaks with her becomes a client, then the goal should be to multiply those entry points. That means sharpening her marketing — not changing her values. 

I encouraged her to dig into her current client base. Ask them a few simple questions: 

• What first attracted you to my service? 

• What made you feel confident working with me? 

From those answers, she can find patterns — shared values, needs, or pain points — and turn them into clear, honest marketing messages that resonate with others like them. This kind of marketing isn’t about hype or gimmicks. It’s about clarity. 

And when you speak clearly to the people you’re best suited to help, more of them will find their way to you — even in a tough economy. 

So for any founder feeling stuck right now: Don’t get louder. Get sharper. Focus on starting meaningful conversations, and the right clients will come. 

Because in the end, the best kind of growth still starts with trust and making sure the right people hear about you. 
 

Join us at Founder Friday — an informal, supportive space for Arden founders to share challenges and spark ideas. Or, if you’d prefer a more personal conversation and explore how the Arden Enterprise Incubator can support your business, book a 1:1 call by contacting us here: aei@arden.ac.uk 

At our latest Arden Enterprise Incubator Founder Friday  session, a powerful conversation emerged from one of Arden’s own — an undergraduate who runs a business as a solo cleaner — running her own high-quality home cleaning service that leaves clients’ spaces spotless and stress-free.   

She spoke candidly about her frustration: despite years of experience and a long list of extremely happy clients, she feels she is stuck earning £18 an hour because she competes with high volume competitors in the area. While she loves her work and the reward of satisfied customers, it's hard work, and she knows she’s worth more, given the feedback on her quality service. 

Her challenge? How to grow — and how to make that growth sustainable. 

Her question at Founder Friday sparked a discussion that hit at the heart of what entrepreneurship is about: rethinking value, not just adding volume. 

We explored how she might reposition herself not just as “a cleaner” but as a specialist — someone who delivers a high-end, detailed, results-driven cleaning service for customers who genuinely care about outcomes.  

Think of the difference between someone who mows lawns and someone who manicures gardens. It’s not about doing more of the same. It’s about elevating the offer and speaking to the right clients. 

Repositioning means changing the conversation. Instead of selling “hours of cleaning,” she could start selling outcomes: spotless kitchens for foodies, pristine homes for busy professionals, or deep cleans for new mums or elderly homeowners. The emphasis shifts from time spent to peace of mind delivered.  

The discussion on Friday highlighted how the difference between being an entrepreneur and simply selling a product or service comes down to mindset — it’s not just about what you offer, but why the client chooses you over anyone else.  

Consider the shift in her value proposition: not just “cleaning,” but “home pride”; not just “immaculate results,” but “trust that the job is done exactly as needed”; not just “efficiency,” but “confidentiality and a dependable work ethic.” Each of these adds value to what’s being sold.  

By defining her cleaning offer by the experience and outcomes her clients care about most, she will stop competing on price and start building real brand value. 

But what about growth? We didn’t sugar-coat the challenge. Scaling a personal service business is tough — especially when your brand is built on excellence. Hiring others to clean the way you clean isn’t easy. Standards vary. Training takes time. And trust is earned slowly. 

We looked at options: She could start by productising parts of her offer — for example, creating fixed-fee packages with clear deliverables, or offering premium one-off services like deep cleans for AirBnB holiday lets. These could be easier to price, market, and potentially hand off to trusted partners or staff.   

All good ideas, but does this move from service to entrepreneurial mindset that can grow?  

Through candid and thoughtful discussion, we reminded her — and ourselves — that growth doesn’t have to mean a big team or national reach. Growth can mean earning more per hour, attracting better-fit clients, and building a business that works on your terms. 

Her story is one of hard work, pride, and ambition. And it’s exactly what Founder Friday is about: helping everyday founders think differently about what they already do — and where it could take them next. 

Founder Friday is held online every Friday at 12 noon UK time. 
All Arden students are welcome – no pitch deck required. Just curiosity, ideas, and a willingness to share and learn. 

 Join us here at Founder Friday

Paul Marshall, an Arden University student, is the founder of Focus Cyberspace — a bold EdTech startup aiming to transform how we teach and learn using immersive technology. Combining virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI), Paul is building a platform that delivers personalised, inclusive, and engaging learning experiences — starting with the learners who are most often left behind. 

Paul’s motivation for launching Focus is deeply personal. His experiences have instilled in him a passion for making education more inclusive and accessible, particularly for neurodiverse learners.  

His personal experience has become his fuel for innovation: 

 “Education needs to evolve,” he says. “It needs to work for everyone, not just for those who fit the system’s mould.” 

Focus Cyberspace is still early-stage — but Paul’s ambition is anything but small. His vision is to develop a VR learning platform where students can explore historical events, conduct virtual science experiments, and receive real-time support from AI-powered virtual tutors. The system will analyse student interactions to tailor learning paths that fit individual styles — visual, auditory, or experiential. 

While the vision is big, Paul knows execution starts with small first steps. With guidance from the Arden Enterprise Incubator, he’s now focusing on a specific wedge opportunity: delivering immersive, accessible content for students with Special Educational Needs (SEN). This use case aligns with Focus’s mission and gives the team a concrete way to build, test, and improve the product with real-world feedback and insights. 

Paul’s background — from managing events to co-founding creative ventures — shows his entrepreneurial drive. But he’s the first to admit that building a tech platform is a steep learning curve. That’s why he’s surrounding himself with mentors, collaborators, and technical support through Arden and beyond. He’s also in early discussions about building a prototype that can be tested by educators, with a view toward securing grant or angel investment. 

At the Arden Enterprise Incubator, we champion bold ideas that tackle real-world problems, and HealthBlokk is one of the most promising ventures currently emerging from our student founder community. 

Founded by Shideh Heravi, an Arden Psychology student with a decade of experience in digital product design and user experience, HealthBlokk is on a mission to transform the way people with food allergies, intolerances, and dietary restrictions navigate eating out. 

The problem is all too familiar: more than 30% of the population lives with a dietary restriction. Whether it’s gluten, dairy, nuts, or a specific health goal, the stress of unclear menus, limited options, or being misunderstood often makes eating out feel like a chore, and a gamble. 

HealthBlokk is building a solution: a personalised food discovery platform that will recommend trusted restaurants and meals based on your specific dietary needs. But more than an app, it’s a movement for dignity, ease, and inclusivity in dining. 

Shideh explains it well:  

“I’ve always loved turning complex problems into simple, meaningful solutions. HealthBlokk is for people who are tired of asking, explaining, or compromising, just to eat a meal with friends.” 

Interested in helping? Contact the Arden Enterprise Incubator at aei@arden.ac.uk 

If you think you need a big budget, years of experience, or even a business degree to become an entrepreneur, meet Caine Monroy.

At just nine years old, Caine built a cardboard arcade in his dad’s auto parts shop in East Los Angeles. Using nothing but scrap cardboard, tape, and imagination, he created a functioning game space—then sat patiently, day after day, waiting for customers. 

One day, a filmmaker named Nirvan Mullick walked in, became Caine’s first customer, and was so blown away by the kid’s creativity that he made a short documentary. That video went viral. Within days, hundreds of people lined up to play Caine’s games. Over $240,000 was raised for his college fund. More importantly, a global movement—The Imagination Foundation—was launched to support creative entrepreneurship in kids around the world. 

Why does this matter to you, an Arden student entrepreneur? 

Caine didn’t wait for perfect conditions. He didn’t worry about funding, business plans, or market validation. He just started. 

Too many students get stuck in “planning mode.” They hesitate to launch because they’re waiting for more time, more money, or more confidence. But action—however small—is what builds momentum. Caine’s story reminds us that resourcefulness, grit, and a willingness to be seen are often more important than formal know-how. 

So what can you do today with what you’ve got? 

Start small. Test an idea. Put something into the world—even if it’s made of cardboard. You never know who might walk through the door. 

Watch Caine’s story here: Caine’s Arcade – 10-minute doc