I want to build a new social platform that will enable people to share their possessions

Further details

My idea is for my marketplace, the Beg&Borrow platform (app and or website) that will facilitate people sharing their possessions among trusted friends and existing community groups.

I need it to have 5 functions:
1. Creation and admin of sharing groups
2. Listing of items that are available to be borrowed
3. Requesting items that you would like to borrow (that are not listed already)
4. Facilitate the sharing transaction (request, lend, borrow, return, disputes / issues, messaging)
5. Reporting and monitoring of activity

Aim is to build a platform as a proof of concept no more than 3000 users – but should be scalable. If it can be built off an existing web platform (word press or other white label solution) this would be a preference.

Answer

This sounds like a very interesting marketplace idea and you’ll find that Sharetribe has the majority of the features that you need to build this as a proof of concept. You could start on their Sharetribe Go platform and then progress to their Sharetribe Flex platform. They offer a 30-day trial in the event that you’re looking to prove out a concept without an investment.

The only parts of the marketplace brief that Sharetribe doesn’t meet are the group feature and an advanced analytics feature (although you could use Google Analytics for your marketplace).

A hosted tool like Mighty Networks would work for the shared groups feature but isn’t able to facilitate monetary transactions at the moment…unless you wanted to monetise by allowing access for a fixed price per month.

There are marketplace builder WordPress themes available but they often are lacking the request feature that you’re looking to implement.