Colin Gardiner is the founder & GP of Yonder Ventures where he is investing in early-traction marketplace startups. Colin is also an experienced marketplace operator and was formerly the CPO & CRO of Outdoorsy, a highly valued outdoor experience marketplace.

In this episode, we talk about -

- Colin's story and how he started investing

- Their investment thesis at Yonder

- What are marketplaces?

- Why marketplaces make great business opportunities?

- Use of AI in marketplaces

& lots more

Links:

⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com

Yonder Ventures website - https://www.yonder.vc/Yonder-8ee3fa1f28f7420ca780f62f293b86cb

Subscribe to Take Rate newsletter by Colin - https://www.gardinercolin.com/

Colin on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/colingardine

🎙️ Hosted by Prashant Choubey

Follow Prashant on X - https://x.com/ChoubeySahab

Follow Prashant on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction to Colin Gardiner and Yonder Ventures

(02:11) Colin's story and how he got into investing

(04:43) Founding Yonder Ventures

(05:24) Investment thesis at Yonder Ventures

(06:49) Definition of marketplaces

(07:33) Why marketplaces make great business opportunities

(08:26) Application of AI in marketplaces

(10:37) Interesting examples of marketplaces

(13:09) How marketplaces benefit from network effects

(14:41) Evolution of marketplaces over time

(16:37) Portfolio companies solving important problems

(18:43) When marketplaces hit escape velocity

(20:38) Investing in early-stage marketplaces

(22:32) First-mover advantage in marketplaces

(23:21) Common mistakes marketplace founders make

(24:22) Sourcing high-quality deal flow for marketplaces

(25:47) Portfolio construction strategy at Yonder

(28:06) Investment return criteria

(30:08) Biggest learning from investing in startups

(32:00) Rapid fire round begins

For sponsorship or guest appearance requests, write to prashantchoubey3@gmail.com

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VC10X - Investing in Marketplaces - Colin Gardiner, Founder & GP, Yonder Ventures

VC10X - Startups, GTM, Investing, Venture Capital, Asset Management, Private Equity, Family Office