Marketplace Startups - #NYTechWeek
Tackling the Cold Start Problem is the single biggest challenge facing marketplace founders—how do you build both sides (buyers and sellers) at the same time and keep them coming back? Join us for a raw, no-BS conversation about the good, the bad, and the ugly of launching and scaling two-sided platforms.
🧠 What You’ll Learn:
Real Solutions to the Cold Start Problem : Learn actionable ways to jumpstart supply and demand simultaneously in 2025.
Customer Engagement & Retention: Battle-tested strategies to convert early adopters into loyal, long-term users.
Organic Growth Strategies: Proven tactics to transform early traction into a vibrant, self-sustaining community.
Unfiltered Insights & Hard Lessons: Raw stories about the failures that led to success—no sugar-coating.
🎙️ Who’s on the Panel
Ari Kimmelfeld - CEO of Trade My Stuff
Ari Kimmelfeld is the Co-Founder of Trade My Stuff, a logistics and payments enabled local marketplace for Peloton and other gym equipment. Trade My Stuff is on a mission to recycle the more than 1.5M unused Pelotons in the US.
Rebecca Kelly - Founder & CEO of Venue Scanner
Rebecca Kelly is a marketplace founder, board advisor, and investor. She started VenueScanner to bring independant venues to market and make it easier to find and book awesome event spaces. After growing VenueScanner into the UK’s leading venue marketplace, they're now expanding into the US. After navigating countless ups, downs, and pivots (including a pandemic!), she’s passionate about the startup & marketplace journey and is currently exploring how AI can transform the future of marketplaces.
Nancy Rhodes - Cofounder & CEO of Alternew
Nancy Rhodes is CEO and Cofounder of Alternew, an AI-enabled B2B2C marketplace reinventing after-sales care through seamless tailoring and repair services. With nearly 20 years of experience across design, retail, and sustainability including roles at Kenneth Cole and Beyonce's Dereon, Nancy brings deep expertise in fashion and circular innovation. She holds a Master’s in Sustainability and is on a mission to make circular fashion scale. Nancy has discussed tariffs on Bloomberg and shared insights in Vogue Business, Sourcing Journal, and more. She champions data-driven, scalable solutions that extend product life, reduce returns, and transform how brands engage customers after the sale.
Moderator:
Conor Lyden - CEO of Trustap
Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Trustap, an award winning Irish Fintech startup with a specific focus on helping marketplaces efficiently run their transactions from end-to-end
👥 Who Else Is Going
Early-stage to mid-stage marketplace founders hungry for growth
Marketplace investors scouting the next big thing
Product/tech teams tackling two-sided network challenges
Anyone aiming to build trust, growth, and revenue in a marketplace model
🎯 Why You Should Attend
Tried-and-True Tactics: Hear exactly how seasoned entrepreneurs overcame the cold start and kept their platform thriving.
A Playbook for 2025: Get strategies that work in today’s hyper-competitive landscape—user acquisition, monetization, brand building.
Network with Real Movers: Forge meaningful connections with marketplace experts, potential partners, or even future co-founders.
No-Sugar-Coating Allowed: Ugly Talk is about real stories, real mistakes, and real breakthroughs.
🤝 Co-Hosted With:
Trustap - an end-to-end transaction solution that seamlessly integrates payments, fulfilment and support into your marketplace or ecommerce store.
GREY Journal – Media partner spotlighting modern entrepreneurs (Apple News + Google News)
⭐ About Ugly Talk (UglyTalk.com)
Started in 2019, Ugly Talk has been turning business breakdowns into breakthroughs through unfiltered events featuring real-world founders. We’ve built a community across NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, and Miami — creating thousands of real connections, real lessons, and real results.
Guest List
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