Fractional CPO for Marketplace Founders
Darren Cody: The Marketplace Product Leader Your Platform Has Been Missing
Marketplace-only product leadership since 2016. Fractional CPO engagements for founders who need senior strategy without the full-time hire, and working prototypes in a week for founders who need proof before they build.
Two Ways to Work With Me
Run the product, or prove the idea
One is ongoing leadership for a marketplace that already exists. The other answers whether the one you are imagining is worth building at all.
Senior marketplace product leadership, without the full-time hire
I embed with your team, own the product decisions that matter, and take you from cold start to a marketplace that compounds. Strategy, roadmap, and execution from someone who has done it since 2016.
Monthly engagement, scoped on the first call.
How the engagement works →AI BuildsA working prototype that answers your riskiest question in days
Not a development quote in weeks. A real, clickable marketplace prototype built against the one assumption that decides whether the idea is worth building: will providers list, will buyers pay a take rate, does the loop make sense to someone who is not you.
One build week, $9,500. Two, $18,500.
What fits in a build week →By Marketplace Type
What kind of marketplace are you building?
Each shape breaks in a different place. Pick yours and I will tell you what is genuinely hard about it, and show you the ones I have built.
Rental
Tools, gear, venues, vehicles, space. Availability, deposits, and the return leg.
Service or booking
Trades, professional services, events. Where the provider is the product.
Niche or community
One community, deeply. Where credibility cannot be bought.
Not sure yet
Start with the question rather than the build.
What Comes With It
End-to-End Marketplace Expertise
Product Strategy
Define where your marketplace is going and how it will get there. Roadmaps, prioritization, and stakeholder alignment.
Go-to-Market
Solve the cold-start problem and build sustainable liquidity across buyers and sellers.
Marketplace Optimization
Improve conversion, retention, and trust signals at every stage of the marketplace funnel.
Advisory & Coaching
Structured guidance for founders who want a thinking partner, not a consultant.
Recent Work
Marketplaces I Have Built
5HC
An AI services marketplace connecting businesses with vetted specialists.
Stay Aros
A housing marketplace matching tenants with verified mid-term rentals.
White Label Experts
A B2B services marketplace for agencies sourcing white-label delivery partners.
Rent Anything Store
A peer-to-peer rental marketplace covering everything from tools to equipment.
About Darren
In the Marketplace Trenches Since 2016
I have worked exclusively on marketplace platforms since 2016, spanning B2B, B2C, P2P, and service categories. I have made the mistakes so my clients do not have to.
From cold-start strategy to Series A readiness, I help founders make better product decisions faster. That runs from product roadmaps through go-to-market execution to ongoing advisory. In 2021 I co-founded Marketplace Studio to formalize the work.
Writing
Marketplace Strategy Articles
Practical thinking on the problems marketplace founders actually hit: cold start, liquidity, take rate, trust, and going to market on two sides at once.
Vertical Marketplace Strategy: Why Niche Beats Broad Every Time
The most common mistake early marketplace founders make is launching too broadly. Here is why vertical focus wins, how to pick the right niche, and when to expand.
Read →How to Build a Marketplace with AI: A Prototype-First Guide
AI tooling made marketplace prototypes cheap. Here is the prototype-first method: what to build, what reliably breaks, and where you still need a developer.
Read →How to Hire a Fractional CPO for Your Marketplace
When a marketplace needs a fractional CPO, what one actually does, engagement models, real pricing, and the interview questions that separate operators from advisors.
Read →Ready to accelerate your marketplace?
Book a free 30-minute discovery call and find out if working together makes sense.
Book a Discovery Call