Seth Gerard Back

Building the two-sided marketplace

Turning a sales-driven cloud distributor into a product-led marketplace, for the MSP partners who buy from it and the vendors who sell through it.

Pax8 · 2023–25

The marketplace's Opportunity Explorer: partner clients at the center of networks of product opportunities, beside a ranked list of opportunities by monthly revenue

A distributor takes orders.
A marketplace makes connections.

The Pax8 platform was built to sell cloud software to its partners: thousands of managed service providers (MSPs). In 2023 we set out to turn that distribution platform into a true two-sided cloud marketplace, a dual flywheel. On one side, software vendors reach new markets through Pax8’s partners. On the other, partners get the tools to build, sell, and manage solutions for the small businesses they serve.

I set the design direction for both sides, starting with design-led workshops that turned the CEO’s vision into prototypes, and led the designers who built them: first a partner marketplace that replaced the old platform for nearly every partner, then a self-service marketplace for vendors, launched as an MVP.

Pax8's marketplace at the center, surrounded by the MSP partners it serves. One arm reaches to vendors: products and prospects flow in, recurring revenue flows back, and the hook is a complete small-business go-to-market. The other arm reaches to small businesses: managed solutions and support flow out, recurring revenue flows back, and the hook for partners is a solutions and marketplace platform.

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About this project
Company
Pax8
Timeframe
2023–25
My role
Sr. Director → VP of Design · design direction
Focus
  • B2B SaaS & marketplaces
  • Product strategy
  • Visual design
  • Design leadership