Recording of the Everything Marketplaces Group Chat #096 (4/26) with Grant LaFontaine, who’s the Co-founder & CEO of Whatnot. Whatnot is a marketplace that's redefining how people are buying & selling collectibles. They've been mentioned as the fastest growing US based marketplace and have raised over $225M+ from top investors like Y Combinator, a16z, CapitalG, and more. Prior to Whatnot, Grant was also previously the Co-founder of Kit.com (acquired by Patreon).

0:05 Intro
‍1:20 Grant's background
‍2:30 Key learnings from Kit.com
‍9:10 The first steps for starting Whatnot as a marketplace
‍13:39 An overview of Whatnot as a marketplace for buying & selling collectibles
‍15:00 How Whatnot started with one niche category & expanded
‍18:56 How Whatnot founder product market fit before expanding
‍21:31 How Whatnot initially solved the cold start problem & jumpstarted growth
‍25:54 Tips for early stage marketplace founders
‍26:56 Group Q&A on how Whatnot cross-posted listings
‍31:57 Group Q&A on fundraising journey from initial friends & family checks to raising $225M+
‍36:04 Group Q&A on how Whatnot expanded categories & at what stage
43:17 Group Q&A on the stage Whatnot hired a head of growth
‍45:18 Group Q&A on being the CEO of the fastest growing marketplace
‍51:13 Group Q&A on how timing has played a part of the success with Whatnot
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Grant on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GrantLaFontaine
Whatnot: https://www.whatnot.com
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‍Connect with Grant in the Everything Marketplaces community.