Due Diligence Checklists › Marketplace › Series A
Marketplace Startup Investment Checklist: Series A Stage (2026)
This checklist covers 23 due diligence items for Marketplace startups at the Series A stage. Each item has been validated against institutional investor practice. DDR automates the majority of these checks from a single pitch deck PDF upload.
23 checklist items · 4 red flags automatically detected · See a sample DDR report
Series A Requirements
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$1M+ ARR or strong path within 12 months
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Proven repeatable go-to-market motion
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Net Revenue Retention >100% (expansion > churn)
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Gross margins indicating sustainable unit economics
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Management team capable of scaling to $10M ARR
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Clear competitive differentiation and moat building
Marketplace Sector
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Liquidity metrics verified by category and geography
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Take rate trend confirmed and stable
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Bypass rate estimated through user interviews and transaction audit
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Network effect evidence documented in cohort analysis
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Worker classification legal opinion obtained
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Key supplier concentration: top 10 suppliers < 20% of GMV
Deep Dive
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Measure true liquidity: percentage of listings that result in transactions by category
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Check bypass rate: survey samples of buyers/sellers about off-platform behavior
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Review take rate trend: has it been stable, rising, or declining?
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Assess network effect evidence in cohort and geographic data
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Interview both supply and demand side users independently
Regulatory
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Verify: Worker classification: gig economy platforms face ongoing IRS and state scrutiny on contractor vs. employee
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Verify: Antitrust: dominant marketplaces face regulatory scrutiny on self-preferencing and exclusivity
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Verify: Consumer protection: transaction guarantees, fraud liability, and dispute resolution obligations
OSINT Signals
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Check: App Store / Play Store downloads and ratings trend
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Check: Supply-side community forums (Reddit, Discord) for sentiment
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Check: Google Trends for marketplace brand and category terms
DDR AUTOMATES THIS CHECKLIST
Upload a Marketplace startup pitch deck and DDR automatically completes 16+ of these 23 checklist items — sourcing data from 13 OSINT signals, benchmarking against 3 comparable companies, and detecting all 4 critical red flags.
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