Not my startup but worked for one until they pivoted. We had a photographer platform (https://picr.com) competing with Thumbtack (except our photographers were to be paid higher instead of a bid to the bottom.
Everything seemed right. We had the right market (Portland, OR), with a beautiful design and great customer experience. We managed to get roughly 100 photographers on board but the customers never came. After a year or so, Picr ended up pivoting to more of a photographer platform than a AirBnb/Thumbtack alternative. Most of the team was let go and only a few devs stayed.
Lesson learned: Building a two sided market is hard.
Everything seemed right. We had the right market (Portland, OR), with a beautiful design and great customer experience. We managed to get roughly 100 photographers on board but the customers never came. After a year or so, Picr ended up pivoting to more of a photographer platform than a AirBnb/Thumbtack alternative. Most of the team was let go and only a few devs stayed.
Lesson learned: Building a two sided market is hard.