Deployed
Who tried this before, why they failed, and why you'll succeed where they didn't.
The good news: nobody's solved this yet. The bad news: plenty have tried. Let's understand why they failed—and why you won't.
Platform | Focus | Users | Limitation |
---|---|---|---|
Palico | LP Secondaries | ~2,500 | Fund stakes only, legacy UI |
Setter | PE Secondaries | ~800 | Unverified users |
BrickVest | Real Estate | ~1,200 | Asset-specific only |
StepStone | Fund Data | ~3,000 | No transactions |
Preqin | Market Data | ~10,000+ | Information only |
Notice the pattern? Nobody combines:
💡 Your Positioning
You're not competing on data (Preqin wins that). You're not competing on transaction volume (Palico has a 10-year head start). You're competing on workflow infrastructure. That's a different game with different rules—and you can win it.
What they did: Raised €5M, built real estate marketplace, got 1,200 users.
Why they're stuck:
Your advantage: Multi-asset from day one. Verification is non-negotiable. Institutional positioning.
What they did: €15-20M revenue, 2,500 users, clear category leader in LP secondaries.
Why they can't expand:
Your advantage: Modern tech stack. Infrastructure positioning (not marketplace). Greenfield opportunity.
What they did: Built data empire, 10,000+ users, dominant market position.
Why they won't respond:
Your advantage: You're building what they can't without destroying their core business.
Even if they wanted to copy you, here's what they'd face:
Incumbent | Barrier to Response | Time |
---|---|---|
Palico | Legacy codebase, business model lock-in | 18-24 mo |
Preqin/StepStone | Data business model, cultural resistance | 24-36 mo |
BrickVest | Asset-specific platform, limited resources | 12-18 mo |
New Entrant | No network, no credibility, cold start | 12-24 mo |
📌 Your Window Is Real
You have 18-24 months before any incumbent could build a competitive offering—assuming they start today and commit resources. Most won't, because of business model conflicts and technical debt. That's your advantage. Use it.
How you position matters more than what you build.
"We're the Stripe for private markets dealmaking. Not a marketplace, not a data provider—the infrastructure layer that makes institutional transactions actually work."