Starting a marketplace is not the easiest thing in the world to do. But you can make it much more difficult if you start with technology and not with the customer.

What do I mean? #startwithwhy

There are a few key reasons you need a marketplace for your business:

• You want to be a leader for your customers at finding new vendors and introducing new products.

• Your management team is starting to tighten up their open to buy dramatically (who isn't?) compared to the past, and you need a relief valve for your assortment goals.

• You want to expand your assortment into adjacent categories and you need a way to do it without the largest risk of adding all inventory.

• You have identified a sizable pool of sellers whose products fit your brand vision.

• Your existing, successful dropship program has stalled out and you feel you need an extra level of scaling. (did I mention a dropship program is essentially table-stakes for most retailers, and even brands these days in new sites?)

• Your "zero search results" queries from customers remain persistently high, showing you are supply-constrained and not demand-constrained.

• Your customer surveys and interviews consistently cite new product introductions as one of the top reasons they come to you.