Online marketplaces and the chicken-and-egg problem
Subject in Entrepreneurship
Online marketplaces and the chicken-and-egg problem has come up in 1 episode across 1 podcast in TMT, including My First Million. 2 people have made recorded remarks about it.
What people said
Grant LaFontaineCanadian entrepreneur, co-founder and CEO of the live-shopping marketplace Whatnot
LaFontaine said Whatnot solved the chicken-and-egg problem by being the only seller itself, listing authenticated items it sourced after purchase.
“So we were initially the seller on whatnot. And so all of the early inventory was us”
My First Million: Whatnot founder: This is the future of e-commerce (Sep 21, 2026) · Listen from 20:29
LaFontaine argued that nearly every great company begins in a very small niche because small teams cannot create value in a mass market.
“And almost every great company starts an incredibly niche or small area and then takes that and catapults it forward”
My First Million: Whatnot founder: This is the future of e-commerce (Sep 21, 2026) · Listen from 16:36
Sam ParrEntrepreneur, founder of The Hustle and Hampton, co-host of My First Million
Parr argued marketplaces are both the most durable and the hardest kind of business to start.
“I think marketplaces are probably the most durable and also the most challenging”
My First Million: Whatnot founder: This is the future of e-commerce (Sep 21, 2026) · Listen from 3:55
Podcasts
- My First Million · 1 episode
Episodes
Whatnot founder: This is the future of e-commerceMy First Million · Sep 21, 2026 · 1 h 2 min
Whatnot co-founder Grant LaFontaine tells Shaan Puri and Sam Parr how a Funko Pop marketplace became a $20 billion live-commerce company.