I'm Yoroomie, Mike Williams

Want to learn about marketplaces from someone who's successfully built & scaled them? (not 10+ years ago)

If so, you've come to the right place. I've built, launched, & scaled two marketplaces to successful acquisition. I've started sharing all about it and am making my most popular posts, resources, & more accessible here to help founders.

I'm always working with, helping, & investing in marketplaces through Everything Marketplaces

I recently started Everything Marketplaces, which is a community & world-class network of 1,500+ marketplace founders & leaders from marketplaces like Airbnb, Hipcamp, Turo, Thumbtack, Whatnot, Slice, Reibus, and more. I also started our marketplace fund, where we back founders & marketplaces from the earliest stages.

I'm known for sharing about marketplaces. This is usually in the Everything Marketplaces community, but I occasionally send out a newsletter. Subscribe below to be the first to receive it in your inbox.

Yoroomie?

Yo, I'm Mike Williams or you might know me as Yoroomie. Long story, but it's my nickname I was given by some of my friends (and former roommates) and it's stuck.I'm an entrepreneur that builds, works with, and invests in marketplace startups.

What I currently do

I'm currently focused on running Everything Marketplaces that I started, which is a community & world-class network of marketplace founders & leaders from top marketplaces like Airbnb, Hipcamp, Turo, Thumbtack, Whatnot, Slice, Reibus, and more. We also recently launched our fund, which invests $100k-$250k+ in early stage marketplaces part of the community.I also advise a few select marketplace startup CEO's & teams.

What I did before

Before doubling down to focus on Everything Marketplaces, I ran Thinkbox, which was a marketplace focused startup studio. We built and launched our own marketplaces, worked with others, and also invested in them. We raised $0 from investors and reinvested our revenue and profits into startups by backing some amazing founders and companies (20+ startups that have raised over $200M). As of late 2021, we wound down the studio model to focus on Everything Marketplaces.I also previously started Studiotime, which was the first company launched out of Thinkbox, scaled to 35+ countries, and the largest online marketplace for booking music studios. It's been called the "Airbnb of music studios" and has been featured in VICE, Forbes, BBC, and more. I share the story of how I cancelled dinner, initially built it in an evening using no code, and launched it here. Studiotime was a bootstrap and profitable marketplace that was eventually acquired (successfully) in 2021.I also built and launched Yoroomie App (fitting for my nickname), which was acquired within six months (all cash deal). This was our first acquisition for a Thinkbox company. I've written in-depth about how we built the app in 30 days, growth hacks we used to scale it, and then what we learned from it being acquired here.Prior to all of the above, I was the founder and CEO of Codeity, a hiring platform that was scaled to 500+ companies that used it to hire developers. It was a funded startup (we raised a seed round) and was acquired in 2015 by Angelhack (press release on that here).

A few random facts & things about me (outside of marketplaces)

1. I cycled semi-professionally during college and then was a professional cyclist (UCI Professional Team) for one season after graduating.
2. I went to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University for college (while cycling professionally still) and have my commercial pilot's license. I went from no flight training, private pilot, instrument rated, multi-engine, and then commercial flight rated in one of the fastest tracks anyone had completed it at the time I was in flight school.
3. I'm deep into watches, art, and collectibles. I'm also into cars (vintage & European).
4. A few of my hobbies are hiking, tennis, & running.
5. I enjoy cooking, wine (rose), & visiting new restaurants.

Want to know when I share a new post or resource?

I'm known for sharing about marketplaces. This is usually in the Everything Marketplaces community, but I occasionally send out a newsletter. Subscribe below to be the first to receive it in your inbox.

Marketplace Meetups & Events

Sometimes I host local meetups & events for marketplace founders, teams, & leaders. I regularly do them in cities like LA, SF, & NYC. These range from curated groups of 10-15 founders, up to 100+ with special guests joining (like Andrew Chen pictured at our LA meetup). You can find upcoming events & request to join here.

Want to know when I share a new post or resource?

I'm known for sharing about marketplaces. This is usually in the Everything Marketplaces community, but I occasionally send out a newsletter. Subscribe below to be the first to receive it in your inbox.

The Yoroomie Startup List

Since it might be hard to keep up with, I made a list view for all of the startups that I've started (and current), advise, and also invested in (some indirectly via AngelList syndicates) below. I've also included a few past side projects so you can see a few ways I've pursued my interests through weekend builds. I'll try to keep this list updated.

Started
Everything Marketplaces
Thinkbox (wound down the studio model to focus on Everything Marketplaces)
Studiotime (acquired)
Yoroomie App (acquired)
Codeity (acquired)Investments
Leland
Laskie
Farmstead
Passport
Garten
Cabana
Publicist
Brandable
Burrow
mParticle
Zeotap
ProducePay
Public Goods
Cognomotiv
Drive Motors
Gone
Krue
Rinse
Service
Trusted (acquired)
VetPronto (acquired)
Interchange (acquired)Fund Investments
Shrug Capital (Limited Partner)
Bitwise Asset Management HOLD 10 Crypto Index

Advising
Offsiter
Trust.co
CryptoCribs
Crumbs App (acquired)Side Projects
Uni
Peerkey
Art Chatbot

Want to know when I share a new post or resource?

I'm known for sharing about marketplaces. This is usually in the Everything Marketplaces community, but I occasionally send out a newsletter. Subscribe below to be the first to receive it in your inbox.

Marketplace Startup Resources

I'm sharing everything I've learned about building, launching, and scaling marketplace startups. Two have been acquired so far and I've also worked with top marketplace teams. Since I've been fortunate to have so much recent experience (and hard learnings) with marketplaces, I've created content and resources to help others who are interested in learning more about them.

Books

The Guide To No Code Marketplaces New

Popular posts & resources

Shared in the Everything Marketplaces community:25 creative ways to get your first marketplace users or supplyA brief guide to building a community-first marketplace (and being community-driven)The comprehensive guide to marketplace SEO with steps for getting started & resources"Marketplace metrics & KPIs 101" on marketplace metrics, KPIs, how to measure them, & template examples you can useHow-to: "Asking for warm introductions to angel investors & VC's 101", tips when doing so, & example emailsHow-to: "Reaching out to press & media when launching 101", a strategy & approach to use, tips for doing so, etc

Videos & tutorials

A few popular marketplace video tutorials that I've shared:How To Bootstrap A MarketplaceHow To Onboard & Grow Supply For MarketplacesHow To Generate Marketplace Bookings, Liquidity, & Revenue

Marketplace founder & leader interviews

I've had the chance to chat with 120+ founders & leaders from top marketplaces like Airbnb, Hipcamp, Turo, Thumbtack, Whatnot, Slice, Reibus, and more. I've also chatted with leading marketplace investors like Andrew Chen, Pete Flint, Jeff Fluhr, Fabrice Grinda, and more that you can see here.

Want to know when I share a new post or resource?

I'm known for sharing about marketplaces. This is usually in the Everything Marketplaces community, but I occasionally send out a newsletter. Subscribe below to be the first to receive it in your inbox.

Want To Chat, Pick My Brain, Or Dive Into Marketplaces?

You can schedule a call with me to dive into marketplaces, especially the early stages and all of the nuances around them. These calls are not for pitches, but for 1:1 feedback, deep dives, or discussion. They're also not for bootstrap or early stage founders that are looking for ongoing support, advice, or feedback. For that, you can join the Everything Marketplaces community and our weekly office hours that I'm usually on.Note that these calls are for funds, later stage startups, or serious founders that are looking for the most marketplace insights per minute. I've had 10+ years of experience as a marketplace founder, directly worked with 50+ marketplaces, & easily spent 10k+ hours talking with & helping marketplace founders across various stages. These 1:1 meetings are priced accordingly at a 45 minute call or Google Hangout being $575. If this is out of your budget, you've already referenced resources that I've shared before, and still have questions, you can ask me on social and I'll try answer you there.To book a call, you can do the following:1. Pay using the "Book a call" button below, which takes you to a secure Stripe checkout link page.
2. When your payment is successfully completed, I will send you a link with a few times and dates for availability within 24 hours.
3. Once confirmed, I will be available via email to answer also answer any specific questions you might have in advance of our call.

Book a call by clicking "Book a call" below

Want to know when I share a new post or resource?

I'm known for sharing about marketplaces. This is usually in the Everything Marketplaces community, but I occasionally send out a newsletter. Subscribe below to be the first to receive it in your inbox.

You might have seen marketplaces I've started featured in:

Sometimes I host events for marketplace founders & leaders