S3E04 - Navigating marketplace growth: Lateral attacks and the power of the niche - Mira Mihaylova (Piton Capital)

In this episode, we are joined by Mira Mihaylova from Piton Capital. Since its inception in 2010, Piton Capital has focused solely on network effects businesses, having invested in over 100 businesses, all with network effects, and the vast majority of them are marketplaces.
Some of the things we’ll talk about:

• Frontal vs lateral attack strategy: Mira highlights the challenges of launching a marketplace that directly competes with an established player (frontal attack), advising founders to instead focus on a smaller adjacent market to gain traction and gradually expand into the larger market (lateral attack).
• The importance of starting in a small, adjacent market: Mira explains how focusing on a niche can lead to faster product-market fit and eventual scalability.
• Why liquidity is the core of any marketplace: She stresses the importance of building liquidity before worrying about advanced tech or scaling.
• The role of AI in disrupting marketplaces: Mira discusses how AI can optimize marketplace operations and help founders stay ahead of competition.

After this episode, you’ll again have a slightly deeper understanding of what makes marketplaces succeed!