Trade Show Marketplace Model

A trade show business model that creates a 3-day marketplace focused on facilitating paid meetings between buyers and sellers in specific industries. The model has been successfully replicated across different verticals like fintech (Money 20/20), retail (Shoptalk), and healthcare (HLTH).

Key Points:

• Core Business Model:

  • Create 3-day marketplace events
  • Focus on facilitating meetings between buyers and sellers
  • Charge $800 per 10-minute meeting
  • Must be top 2 in industry to have value

• Attendance Structure:

  • Free attendance option if attendees agree to take meetings
  • Paid option to avoid mandatory meetings
  • Sellers pay to access meetings with potential buyers

• Success Requirements:

  • Must be industry-leading event
  • Need significant scale to succeed
  • Only top-tier events survived post-2020
  • Fourth-tier events typically fail or have no value

• Market Entry Strategy:

  • Pick verticals with clear buyer-seller dynamics
  • Use consistent format across different industries
  • Maintain same website design and structure
  • Scale up events faster than industry standard

• Financial Metrics:

  • Successful exits range from $50M-150M
  • Events like Money 20/20 sold for $100M at $10M revenue
  • Can achieve 8-15x earnings multiple for established shows
  • British companies often acquire successful trade shows