.png)
This week we caught up with one of our newest Advisory Board members, Gabriel M Isserlis, to get his thoughts about what motivated him to join the Marketplace Risk Advisory Board.
Gabriel is the Founder & CEO of Tutti - the "opentable of creative spaces." With degrees in film making and software development, as well as a decade of work in music, theatre, and photography, Gabriel has a unique set of insights. These have inspired creative technical solutions to problems in the arts that he has experienced first hand. Beyond building Tutti, Gabriel loves helping other founders navigate the startup journey through introductions, mentoring, emotional support, or simply a friendly chat over a drink.
Our Advisory Board is the very lifeblood of everything we do at Marketplace Risk. From conferences and virtual events to resources and advice for startups, our board takes a hands-on approach to providing indispensable insight and guidance, drawing on their broad experience that spans a multitude of platforms and industries. We are so excited to welcome Gabriel to the Advisory Board!
As Marketplace Risk continues to grow, we have expanded our Advisory Board, with calls for new members who can use their skills and experience to help startups. We asked Gabriel a few questions to get to know him better:
What interests/fascinates you most about marketplaces/the sharing economy?
I love helping people make better use of resources they currently have access to. Whether that's by optimising booking processes so they take less time, or helping physical spaces that would otherwise sit empty get hired. Marketplaces are an awesome technology that enable me to offer that service to people at scale.
How were you first introduced to marketplaces/the sharing economy?
It's hard to remember, but I don't think I knew what a marketplace was when I came up with my original concept: "Airbnb for music rehearsal spaces." I then spent a lot of time learning about what a marketplace entailed from different online resources, my incubator Founder Institute, and eventually the technology that powered our MVP: Sharetribe. So I understood the concept before knowing the term. The more I've learned about marketplaces since then, the more I've loved them.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I went through phases:
-At 5 I wanted to be a cellist, like my dad. At 12, after being criticised by other kids that I wasn't better at cello because of my name, I gave up on that dream fast.
-At 14 or so, I wanted to be an architect - I still have a cross section of St Paul's Cathedral sitting behind me in all my video calls. I think I gave up on that when I learned from my mum that I'd have to study concrete for 6 months and that didn't sound fun to me.
-I always loved movies. Around 15/16 I discovered movie behind the scenes, particularly the ones from Lord of the Rings. That convinced me I wanted to make movies.
-I held onto this dream through to college where I got a degree in filmmaking. I wanted to make movies about what cool things there might be in the future. After a couple years of film school I realised I wasn't very good at turning a concept into a visual creation. Instead of making movies about what the future could be, I wondered if I could actually learn to build that future. I started a degree in software development, while finishing up my film degree.
-After a couple of years of that I realised I also wasn't very good at coding, but I loved the idea of inventing technology, so eventually I found a nice middle ground, that involves my knowledge of film, music, and IT, but doesn't require me to do any of those in depth: founding a technology company for the creative industries.
What motivates you the most about your business/platform?
I believe I have a unique insight into the intersection of creativity and technology. If I don't build it, no one will, at least not in the way I want to see it. So this thought often drives me. Also I'm constantly telling people about what I'm building and they're often super excited, especially if they personally experience the problems I'm working to solve. Hearing excitement about what you're building is always a good motivator.
Do your friends and family understand what you do?
My family are mostly musicians so they entirely understand the problem from their perspective and they get what solution I am trying to build. I don't think any of them except my fiancée truly understand what I do day to day though. Founding can be such a lonely journey sometimes because there are so few who truly grasp the hurdles a founder has to overcome in order to make their idea a reality.
Who inspires you from a business point of view?
A number of people:
- From a visionary point of view in 2 very different industries: Elon Musk & Kevin Feige
- From a fundraising point of view: Mathilde Collins - founder of Front
- Product management: Lenny Rachitsky
- Being a decent human being in this world: Alexis Ohanian
- For being one of the most hard working founders I know: Mike Williams (Yoroomie)
- For being one of the hardest working, self-driven people I know: my fiancée: Amarins Wierdsma
- For being one of the most judgemental, supercilious supervisors I have in my life, my cat Macadamia
What’s your favourite social media channel, and what was the last thing you posted on it?
LinkedIn at the moment. So much reach and a place that if you curate it enough, it can unlock a wealth of information.
Most recent post now: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gmisserlis_tuttispace-music-musicmaking-activity-6943491242676637696-K_gc?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web
Most recent post when you see this email will likely be more interesting and all about SaaS enabled marketplaces - supposed to post it sunday night.
What do you think the world of marketplaces / sharing economy will look like in 10 years?
I have no idea - 10 years is hard to predict, but I expect Web 3 & GDPR will have made quite an impact about who controls data within a marketplace.
I expect most will capture the payment side to things. And I imagine there will be a lot more B2B marketplaces, and a lot more market networks.
If you’d like to be part of a dynamic group of founders, operators and subject matter experts, and your expertise and ideas could help us to better support the marketplace ecosystem, reach out to us at info@marketplacerisk.com.