The percentage you keep from each transaction.
7 insights tagged with this pattern
This foundational guide breaks down the core mechanics of building a two-sided marketplace, from defining the rake model to solving the chicken-and-egg problem, building trust infrastructure, measuring adoption, and deciding whether to build or buy. It draws on real examples from
NFX partner James Currier coached Recess founder Jack Shannon on how to evolve from a two-sided sponsorship marketplace into a software-mediated market network. The conversation centered on three concrete problems: how to structure take rates to incentivize supply without destroy
Stripe published a guide on API monetization — the practice of charging for access to software interfaces. The article outlines pricing models including pay-per-use, subscriptions, freemium, transaction fees, and revenue sharing. It also covers how businesses can monetize indirec
Stripe published a guide aimed at SaaS platforms on how to monetize embedded payments — not just use them for transactions. The guide outlines five distinct pricing strategies, from transaction markups to feature-gating, and points to real examples like Shopify, DocuSign, and Sty
Stripe published a structured breakdown of how AI companies are monetizing their products, covering usage-based pricing, subscription hybrids, and outcome-based models. The article identifies why most AI businesses fail to turn technical capability into sustainable revenue — not
NFX General Partner Pete Flint argues that the next major wave of marketplace value creation will come from embedding financial services — insurance, financing, and banking — directly into the platform. He traces a consistent evolutionary pattern across real estate, hospitality,
Li Jin at a16z published a comprehensive glossary of marketplace terminology covering core concepts like liquidity, take rate, disintermediation, and network effects. The piece defines structural terms (vertical vs. horizontal, B2B vs. P2P, managed vs. unmanaged) and behavioral t