Ask HN: How to solve the cold start problem for two-sided marketplace?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47834213

Article

  • Founder building P2P package-carrying marketplace (travelers carry parcels between cities)
  • Asking for cold start strategies to bootstrap supply and demand simultaneously
  • Similar to Uship but peer-to-peer

Discussion

  • Consensus: be one side yourself first; Uber founders drove their own cars
  • Start hyperlocal — one route, one city pair, manual matching for first 20 deals
  • Legal risk flagged hard: carriers could unknowingly transport drugs/fentanyl
  • Andrew Chen’s Cold Start Problem book recommended repeatedly

Discuss on HN


Type Link
Added Apr 20, 2026
Modified Apr 20, 2026