Could you build a business around something people already own but rarely use?
Rebecca Heaps, founder of Tentshare, explains how she turned one underused bell tent into a peer-to-peer marketplace connecting tent owners with people who want to camp without buying more equipment.
What you’ll learn
- How to test a marketplace without developing expensive technology
- How to balance supply and demand on a peer-to-peer platform
- How partnerships can solve gaps in the marketplace
- Where repair, cleaning and maintenance services fit
- How to protect the original purpose as the business grows
- Why sharing platforms often take longer to establish
Watch this if
You are exploring a marketplace, rental or peer-to-peer business model and want a candid look at the practical and commercial decisions behind it.
Chapters
- 0:00 What is the sharing economy?
- 3:29 How the idea for Tentshare began
- 5:04 Starting with an affordable marketplace platform
- 7:00 Why peer-to-peer businesses are complicated
- 8:04 Making sharing more convenient than buying
- 10:37 New business models built around existing assets
- 13:05 Balancing supply and demand
- 14:21 Solving a marketplace gap through partnership
- 16:41 Repair, maintenance and the Tent Academy
- 20:09 Keeping tents out of landfill
- 28:36 Sharing-economy opportunities beyond tents
- 33:05 When a platform stops being part of the sharing economy
- 34:31 Protecting the values behind the business
- 42:24 Do you need investment to grow?
- 44:06 Testing the model before building expensive technology
- 48:35 Learning from mistakes
- 53:13 Why sharing platforms take time to grow
- 58:36 Creating work that aligns with your values
What to do next
Look for something people around you own but rarely use. Could access, rental, repair, maintenance, delivery or local knowledge turn that unused capacity into a useful business?