Wantboards – Startup with unique way of connecting buyers and sellers
Wantboards is the newest way for buyers to connect with sellers in a demand-based marketplace. That means, shoppers post a Wantboard, similar to a customized billboard, of exactly what they want. Sellers are then alerted of each Wantboard posting that matches their inventory through a patent-pending alert system. Once the buyer and seller are connected, the transaction can be completed. The idea was conceived of in 2012 and we’ve since then gone through two iterations of the platform. The product we have today went into market at the beginning of July, 2015.
They currently have a small team of 9 people based out of Los Angeles, CA, 6 of whom are among the core leaders. Rudy Marilla and Ray Hahn are the original founders of the company and have since brought on 7 other individuals that equally believed in the model and its future. With varying backgrounds in corporate-level executive management, design and development in the technology space, online marketing, and small-to-large business sales, their team covers the core requirements to run a highly successful startup.
Wantboards strives to change the fundamental mindset in the basic concept of “shopping” by turning it backwards. Rather than going through normal motions of looking for a better price of product by shopping around different stores or waiting for coupons/sales, they cut out that process for the consumer by simply having them post on wantboard with what they want at a desired price and they find them sellers to connect to. Their hope is to create an environment that fosters consumers to post things that they want that would lure in businesses that are willing to make a deal and ultimately a sale. In many ways, it’s a more advanced and modern-day classifieds.
Their platform is designed to connect buyers with sellers for a percentage of the asking value. When a buyer posts a Wantboard for something he/she wants at a particular asking price (whether it is fixed or flexible), the seller may connect with the buyer for .x% of that asking price. The buyer’s name and contact information remains anonymous otherwise. Once the seller decides he/she wants to sell the buyer what they want and pay for the .x%, the buyer and seller are notified of each other’s contact information and will be able to complete the transaction separately. This allows for sellers to negotiate prices if allowed by the buyer and any additional revenue goes directly to the seller.
They, as a company, always try to stress the importance of what their model is striving to achieve. It’s by nature a very disruptive concept and they do our best to make sure it remains demand-driven. They’re unlike any traditional eCommerce platform and Many companies on both small and large scales in some way, shape, or form have picked up on this consumeristic trend and they are simply trying to be early movers before this even becomes an emerging market.
They’re confident that demand-based buying is the next step to a better shopping experience and the Wantboards platform can be the one-stop-shop to foster that environment. Their existing buyers and sellers already believe that and they’re just making incremental steps to spread the word to the mass market.
Geekopedia wishes Wantboard best of luck for future endeavors.
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