We're Thinkbox, A Startup
Studio
We build, work with, and invest in startups at the earliest stages (usually marketplaces).
We're not your normal startup studio. We're completely bootstrap and have reinvested our profits into 15+ startups. We're operators ourselves, love working with startups, and playing our small part in backing incredible founders and companies.
"Mike and the Thinkbox team are experts in building online marketplaces. Their work has been extremely valuable to many Sharetribe users."
Juho Makkonen, CEO Sharetribe
"The Thinkbox team is always a huge help to our portfolio companies and founders. They're someone you want to work with."
Milan Koch, Partner Base Ventures
We're known for sharing everything about what we're working on (like with Studiotime), learning, and insights. Subscribe to our newsletter and be the first to know when we share.
About Thinkbox
Thinkbox was founded in 2016 by Mike Williams (Yoroomie), a serial entrepreneur. Prior to this, Yoroomie founded Codeity, which was a hiring marketplace platform that quickly grew to being used by 500+ companies to source and hire developers before it was acquired in 2015 by Angelhack (press release).
Post Codeity acquisition, Mike and the original core team stuck together and began to offer their services to other startups. Instead of building a development agency, Thinkbox not only continued to build revenue from projects, but also began to internally prototype ideas and launch products.
The first startup that was launched from Thinkbox was Studiotime, which has been called the "Airbnb of music studios" and has been featured in VICE, Forbes, BBC, and other press. It's the largest online community of music studios in the world (in 35+ countries) and Thinkbox continues to operate Studiotime as a highly profitable startup.
Shortly after Studiotime was launched, Thinkbox also built and launched Yoroomie App, which was acquired within six months in 2016. This was the first acquisition for a Thinkbox startup.
Thinkbox has raised $0 from investors and has reinvested profits from it's first acquisition, profits, and project revenue into now 15+ startups (that have now raised $110M+) and is also a limited partner in two funds.
Our Team
Thinkbox is a small core team that is multi-disciplinary in product, design, and development. We're all former (and current) operators and have worked with some of today's top startups. We are also active makers and are always contributing to projects, working on our own weekend side projects, and perfecting our craft.
Mike Williams (Yoroomie) - Founder
Yoroomie is a serial entrepreneur that has taken two startups from idea to acquisition (one funded & other bootstrapped). He is also a mentor at Founders Institute and helps mentor and advise other young startup founders.
Ben Collins - Technology Lead
Ben was the founding CTO of Codeity, has built and scaled multiple development teams, and has also served as interim CTO for various venture backed startups before leading technology and all development at Thinkbox.
Aure Gimon- Design
Aure is one of the most sought after designers in Los Angeles and has led design for various venture backed startups in the past. He also frequently runs design sprints with startups and leads design for various marketplace & blockchain projects such as Origin Protocol.
Want to join our team? Send us a message here.
Thinkbox Companies
Our team is always taking our own ideas and turning them into startups. We quickly build, launch, and if our product validates, we will then scale, operate, and support them as a Thinkbox startup.
Our first startup we successfully did this with was Studiotime, which has been called the "Airbnb of music studios" and has been featured in VICE, Forbes, BBC, and more. It's the largest online community of music studios in the world (in 35+ countries), and we continue to operate Studiotime as a highly profitable startup.
We also built and launched Yoroomie App, which was acquired within six months in 2016. This was the first acquisition for a Thinkbox startup.
We're always working on something new and the best way to stay updated is by subscribing to our newsletter or following us on Twitter.
Studiotime
Yoroomie App (acquired)
Services We Offer
We work on a project basis with founders and early-stage teams by offering our product, design & development, and growth services (usually with marketplaces).
Our work is award-winning, is frequently featured in industry-leading publications and media, and we're proud of being behind the scenes helping some of today's top startups.
Whether you're a solo-founder looking to take your idea to MVP or venture backed startup that's looking to increase product, design, or development capabilities, please let us know how we can help!
Looking For Our Sharetribe Services?
Just Some Of Our Work
Studiotime
Marketplace Idea To MVP, Sharetribe Customization, Shartribe Flex Build, Marketplace Support & Growth
We're the team behind the largest online marketplace for music studios in the world. Studiotime is in 35+ countries and is frequently mentioned in top media outlets such as Forbes, BBC, Hypebeast, Fader, Complex, and more. Our team continues to operate Studiotime as a highly profitable marketplace.
Roamer
Marketplace Idea To MVP, Sharetribe Customization, Marketplace Support & Growth
The Roamer team came to us with a napkin idea for a student housing marketplace and we helped them with go from concept to live MVP in 30 days. We leveraged our marketplace expertise to help Roamer also have a successful launch and achieve market liquidity to validate their business concept.
Stitch
Product Roadmapping, Rapid Prototyping
The Stitch team came to us with the challenge of defining, designing, and prototyping an app that would revolutionize the way fans interact with artist content. Stitch is a venture backed startup with a development team of 30+ and this was a product pivot for their business, so we integrated with their team to lead product with the pivot and delivered a full product roadmap, designs, and prototype in 30 days.
Lenny App
Product Roadmapping, Design Sprint
The Lenny team came to us with a challenge to design and create an entirely new user interface. We went through a branding exercise the team, conducted a design sprint, and created both mobile and desktop experiences that have gone on to win Fintech recognition, awards, and also showcase at notable events such as SXSW.
"Mike and the Thinkbox team are experts in building online marketplaces. Their work has been extremely valuable to many Sharetribe users."
Juho Makkonen, CEO Sharetribe
"The team is hands down invaluable and helped us take our idea to validated startup. They also expedited our learning curve as a marketplace startup."
Alexander Galicki, Co-Founder Roamer
Interested in working with us? We work on a project basis and cash-compensation only right now to keep things simple. We don't take equity and instead will invest our profits at a later opportunity if available. Please send us a message and let us know how we can help!
Thinkbox Fund
Our "fund" was initially started by our founder making angel investments via AngelList to build an initial "fund MVP".
Now that we're a bootstrap and profitable startup studio (with one acquisition), we've chosen to build out our initial portfolio and reinvest a large part of our profits from our acquisition and projects back into the startup ecosystem. We're proud to play our small part in backing some incredible startups and have invested in 15+ startups that have raised $110M in addition to two funds. We've done this in 18 months and plan to invest in 20-30 startups within the next 12 months.
If you'd like to invest alongside us, you can back our AngelList syndicate here.
Brandable
Burrow
mParticle
Zeotap
ProducePay
Public Goods
The Picks & Shovels Co.
Cognomotiv
Drive Motors
Gone
Krue
Rinse
Service
Trusted (acquired)
VetPronto (acquired)
Shrug Capital Fund Investment
Bitwise Asset Management Fund Investment
Working on something amazing and want us to invest? Send us a message here.
Helpful Marketplace Resources
We're currently working on building out curated resources to help other marketplace founders and startups. Signup and be the first to know when we launch our marketplace resources!
Looking for help with your marketplace? We're the team behind some of today's top early stage marketplaces. We're here to help you and you can see all of our services here.
We're Experts At Building Sharetribe Marketplaces
Looking to use Sharetribe to take your marketplace idea to MVP, customize your Sharetribe marketplace, or build a custom marketplace using Sharetribe Flex?
We're the team behind the most advanced Sharetribe marketplace customizations and also the most successful Sharetribe marketplaces to date. We're here to help you!
"Mike and the Thinkbox team are experts in building online marketplaces. Their work has been extremely valuable to many Sharetribe users."
Juho Makkonen, CEO Sharetribe
Marketplace Idea To MVP
Looking to launch a marketplace but don't have the budget for a custom build? We can help you go from idea to MVP in days leveraging Sharetribe's hosted platform and only a few thousand. We can also help you launch!
Sharetribe Customizations
Already have a Sharetribe marketplace but need help with customizations? We've done some of the most advanced Sharetribe customizations! We can build custom pages, subscription functionality, complex booking flows, native app versions, and more!
Sharetribe Flex Builds
Looking to build a custom marketplace that has advanced requirements? We can build fully custom marketplaces using Sharetribe's new Flex platform. We were the first to build and launch a Flex marketplace!
Sharetribe Marketplace Support
Need a team to help support your marketplace? You can count on us to be your team and we have full capabilities as operators ourselves. We've been there and can help save you time and money as you scale your marketplace!
Examples Of Our Work
Studiotime
Marketplace Idea To MVP, Sharetribe Customization, Shartribe Flex Build, Marketplace Support & Growth
We're the team behind the largest online marketplace for music studios in the world. Studiotime is in 35+ countries and is frequently mentioned in top media outlets such as Forbes, BBC, Hypebeast, Fader, Complex, and more. Our team continues to operate Studiotime as a highly profitable marketplace.
Venues N More
Marketplace Idea To MVP, Sharetribe Customization, Marketplace Support & Growth
Venues N More initially came to us as a solo founder with a big idea. We helped them go from idea, business validation, to marketplace MVP in days. We then leveraged our marketplace expertise to help Venues N More have a successful launch and achieve market liquidity to validate their business concept. The result was immediate bookings and even multiple press outlets and media coverage!
Roamer
Marketplace Idea To MVP, Sharetribe Customization, Marketplace Support & Growth
The Roamer team came to us with a napkin idea for a student housing marketplace and we helped them with go from concept to live MVP in 30 days. We leveraged our marketplace expertise to help Roamer also have a successful launch and achieve market liquidity to validate their business concept.
"Mike and the Thinkbox team are experts in building online marketplaces. Their work has been extremely valuable to many Sharetribe users."
Juho Makkonen, CEO Sharetribe
"Mike and his team are incredible resources and helped me go from idea to live marketplace in days! He really expedited my marketplace in every way from product, growth, to user validation. I highly recommend working with them!"
Laura AlOtaibi, Founder Venues N More
"The team is hands down invaluable and helped us take our idea to validated startup. They also expedited our learning curve as a marketplace startup."
Alexander Galicki, Co-Founder Roamer
FAQ
Why Thinkbox?
It's simple! We have the most experience working with Sharetribe, have built the most successful Sharetribe marketplace to date, and have are also operators ourselves with multiple successful marketplaces we've started (two acquired). We're of course obsessed with marketplaces and the value we can bring to projects with our experience and expertise can give marketplaces what's needed to succeed.
Who will I be working with?
You'll be interfacing directly with our founder and product lead, in addition to our core design and development team as needed for your project. Our team is all based in Los Angeles, CA and we do not offshore our work. You'll have the peace of mind by working with a team that has a proven track record, are operators ourselves, and are also marketplace domain experts.
What exactly do you offer?
We are full-service and can help with everything from initial idea to MVP, customizations, to even post-launch support. You can also think of us as your team as a service. You can view our full Sharetribe service offerings here.
How can we get started?
It's very easy and you can contact us here. Please let us know your needs, budget, and timeline that you're looking to get started. We'll get right back to you and get everything out of the way such as project proposal, timeline, deposit, and everything else so we can have a project start date confirmed.
How can we work together?
To keep things simple, we work on a project basis and cash compensation for all of our projects. We don't take equity and recommend projects have an initial budget of at least $5-10K to get started in addition to understanding their clear needs.
Not ready to engage, but want to learn more about Sharetribe, marketplaces, how we've used Sharetribe to build the largest marketplace for music studios in the world, and more? We've curated some of our favorite marketplace resources and are sharing it here.
Helpful Marketplace Resources
We're obsessed with marketplaces and always building, learning, and sharing along the way. We've curated some of our favorite and most helpful marketplace resources we've found and are sharing them with you!
Subscribe to our newsletter for marketplace insights, tips, what we're learning as we run Studiotime, and more.
Idea Stage Resources
How to come up with a great marketplace idea
What you need to know before starting your marketplace
Want to suggest an article for us to add here? Tweet at us @Thinkboxmakes and let us know!
Subscribe to our newsletter for marketplace insights, tips, what we're learning as we run Studiotime, and more.
Pre-Validating Marketplace Resources
How to validate your marketplace idea before building the platform
Want to suggest an article for us to add here? Tweet at us @Thinkboxmakes and let us know!
Subscribe to our newsletter for marketplace insights, tips, what we're learning as we run Studiotime, and more.
Building A Marketplace MVP Resources
Building A Marketplace MVP Without Coding Guide
How I Built The Airbnb Of Music Studios In A Single Evening
How To Build A Minimum Viable Marketplace
Want to suggest an article for us to add here? Tweet at us @Thinkboxmakes and let us know!
Subscribe to our newsletter for marketplace insights, tips, what we're learning as we run Studiotime, and more.
Launching A Marketplace Resources
Marketplace Scaled To Thousands Of Users In Hours
Want to suggest an article for us to add here? Tweet at us @Thinkboxmakes and let us know!
Subscribe to our newsletter for marketplace insights, tips, what we're learning as we run Studiotime, and more.
Building Marketplace Supply & Demand Resources
Liquidity hacking: How to build a two-sided marketplace
How the 100 largest marketplaces solved the chicken and egg problem
Lessons Learned Scaling Airbnb 100X (lessons on bootstrapping liquidity)
Marketplace Liquidity (TechCrunch overview article)
8 strategic hacks for building marketplace liquidity
How Modern Marketplaces Like Uber and Airbnb Build Trust to Achieve Liquidity
Want to suggest an article for us to add here? Tweet at us @Thinkboxmakes and let us know!
Subscribe to our newsletter for marketplace insights, tips, what we're learning as we run Studiotime, and more.
Scaling Marketplace Resources
Lessons Learned Scaling Airbnb 100X
Uber's virtuous growth cycle
All about Network Effects
Want to suggest an article for us to add here? Tweet at us @Thinkboxmakes and let us know!
Subscribe to our newsletter for marketplace insights, tips, what we're learning as we run Studiotime, and more.
Other Marketplace Resources
Four Questions Every Marketplace Startup Should Be Able to Answer
Not All Marketplace are Created Equal: Tales of a marketplace Founder
The Evolution of Managed Marketplaces
10 Marketplace KPIs That Matter
16 Ways to Measure Network Effects
What’s Next for Marketplace Startups?
The Next 10 Years Will Be About "Market Networks"
Want to suggest an article for us to add here? Tweet at us @Thinkboxmakes and let us know!
Subscribe to our newsletter for marketplace insights, tips, what we're learning as we run Studiotime, and more.
Marketplace Tools
Sharetribe -Marketplace platform. Easily build an Airbnb, Etsy, and more types of marketplaces.
Stripe Connect - Payments platform for marketplaces.
Chargebee - Easily manage susbscriptions, invoicing, and more for marketplaces.
Blockscore - ID verification API for user identity. Used by KitSplit.
Sift Science - Fraud and chargeback prevention software. Used by KitSplit, Airbnb, Shutterstock, Cabify, and more marketplaces.
Want to suggest a marketplace tool for us to add here? Tweet at us @Thinkboxmakes and let us know!
Subscribe to our newsletter for marketplace insights, tips, what we're learning as we run Studiotime, and more.