Writing
2023MarketplaceFounder
Recess
A handloom marketplace, founded and bootstrapped
Summary
Rural handloom weavers in India have stunning product but no path to digital buyers. Resellers want authentic stock without inventory risk. Existing marketplaces don't speak to either.
01How I worked through it
- 01Spent a week embedded in a rural weaving village — interviews, sketches, working days alongside the looms.
- 02Mapped distribution gaps via Facebook groups and WhatsApp reseller communities.
- 03Bootstrapped distribution on WhatsApp + Facebook rather than building a full marketplace stack.
- 04Iterated on packaging, returns, and credit terms with the first ten sellers.
02Notes
Building a marketplace v1 on WhatsApp instead of an app sounds like a hack. It was actually the only correct choice — the buyers were already there. We removed friction, not built rails.