One of the biggest challenges when launching a marketplace, any sort of marketplace, is the ability to create liquidity of classifieds. Furthermore, the challenge of bringing together both the buyer and seller side at the same time is one just as equally complicated.
Over the years many startups have failed to dethrone Craigslist, and create a safer, more reliable and efficient marketplace. With the exponential growth of mobile smartphones on the market, industry analysts, journalists and tech aficionados saw an opportunity for classifieds disruption that doesn't come around often.
Therefore many new mobile apps have come to market with big ideas and dreams on how to disrupt the almighty Craigslist, but the road to success is long and at times presented with hurdles. One of the most common trait of these mobile apps is that none of them are "sexy." If you look at your iPhone or Android device, you probably use on average 5 to 7 apps every day. Many of these fall under the category of "sexy", translated into social, gaming or time-killers.
So how can one app break into this "Mafia of apps"?
Simple: by allowing its users to get the full benefits of the app without really using it.
Let's have a look at Grabio.com, a location-based marketplace that also aims to disrupt local classifieds. (Disclosure: I am the CEO & Co-Founder at Grabio).
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Grabio has a neat feature called Wish List which aims to help everyone find exactly what they are looking for, at their location. The passive Wish List allows the users to enter a wish, for example "Cubs tickets", and as one moves around the city, the app does a silent search in the background and matches your request against an inventory of items ....at your location. As Pando Daily described it, "for goods, it helps make your shopping journey a little more passive."
As always, users come first, and saving time and money is now more crucial than ever. Location-based technologies gives the developers the ability to turn their "not-so-sexy apps" into utilities that don't have to join the "Mafia of apps", but rather become the app in the shadow that satisfies all your needs.
Think about the Wish List concept as your Personal Local Search Assistant that is more awesome than SIRI.
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