Chicago is home to some of the top marketplace startups in the world, according to a new report from well-known venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Andreessen Horowitz, otherwise known as a16z, released its Marketplace 100 report Tuesday, which ranked the largest consumer-facing marketplace startups and private companies. The report examines the "rising marketplace startups that will define the industry landscape in the coming years," taking a look at the top companies that have built two-sided networks that offer consumers a range of different products, from food delivery to sneakers to celebrity shoutout videos.
The list ranked businesses by gross merchandise value (i.e. the total value of merchandise sold over a given time period, in this case December 2018 to November 2019). a16z worked with data company Second Measure, a firm that analyzes billions of purchases made via credit cards, debit cards and bank transfers, with the goal of seeing which marketplaces are capturing the most dollars.
Chicago had eight startups on a16z's Marketplace 100, which was more than any city outside of California or New York City. Parking marketplace SpotHero was Chicago's top upstart on the list, ranking No. 15. Other local companies include gift card marketplace Raise (19), parking app Parkwhiz (30), private tutor marketplace Wyzant (39), babysitter marketplace Sittersitty (59), celebrity shoutout app Cameo (67), food delivery startup Chowbus (78), and Pearachute, a place to book kids' classes and activities (99).
"Marketplaces are Chicago's bread and butter," Peter Wilkins, managing director at Hyde Park Angels, told Chicago Inno. "Not only do we have publicly-traded companies such as Groupon and Grubhub, but we are also seeing the creation of new categories like Cameo's sizzling-hot celebrity marketplace ... It is undebatable, Chicago has one of the strongest marketplace technology ecosystems in the world."
The Marketplace 100 report also broke out the fastest-growing startups based on year-over-year sales growth between December 2018 through November 2019 vs. December 2017 through November 2018. Cameo was the second fastest-growing company behind only Faire, a wholesale marketplace for indie brands.
"By offering celebrities an easy way to make money and build rapport with their fans, Cameo (#67) unlocked a tidal wave of demand among consumers yearning to purchase celebrity shout-outs for friends, family, even themselves," the report said.
Other Midwest startups on the list include Detroit sneaker marketplace StockX (10), St.Louis education startup Varsity Tutors (27), Akron-based RV marketplace RVshare (35) and Minneapolis kids' clothing marketplace Kidizen (84).
The report, written by a16z's Bennett Carroccio and Andrew Chen, found that the top four companies on the Marketplace 100 accounted for the bulk of consumer spend. Airbnb, DoorDash, Instacart and Postmates accounted for 76 percent of observed gross merchandise value.
