Socialbnb is a marketplace for responsible travel alternatives. What started as a student initiative has grown into a platform supporting 500+ organizations across 45 countries. Nils Lohmann and Alexander Haufschild proved their marketplace concept through two years of manual operations before hitting the limits of their WordPress setup and bringing their idea to life as a full-scale marketplace with Sharetribe.
What you'll learn:
- The value of validating a marketplace idea by starting with manual operations and one project
- Why launching during COVID-19 taught the founders the value of "positive naivety"
- How they transitioned from a "Frankenstein's monster" WordPress site to a proper marketplace platform
- Why socialbnb chooses to curate hosts rather than allow open listings to maintain impact credibility
- How word-of-mouth and storytelling drive demand for authentic travel experiences
- A business model insight to align monetization with impact: only charge travelers, keep the platform free for communities
- Why starting "niche" often beats starting "big and global" for marketplace founders
Episode transcript: https://www.sharetribe.com/customers/socialbnb/
Where to find Nils Lohmann and Socialbnb:
Where to find Mira and Sharetribe:
