#65: Abodu General Manager, Alex Rodriguez, on Operating a 3-Sided Marketplace & Irreverent Ways To Build Partnerships @ UberEATS (Part 1)

didhedieyet

4 years ago

Ready for part 2? Click here!

~~~

Alex Rodriguez is the General Manager of Abodu, the premiere DADU company. What’s a DADU? Stay tuned and you’ll find out.

Before Abodu, over the course of 4.5 years Alex worked at some impressive marketplaces, where he was the Partnerships Lead and Operator @ UberEATS for Seattle & Portland and Regional Market Ops Manager @ Bungalow (co-living spaces).

Alex Rodriguez holds a bachelor’s degree at an American College in Greece, which you’ll hear more about soon!

This conversation was a delight! Alex comes from a unique background that brings a KEY perspective to marketplaces.

This episode is particularly valuable for an Operations Manager or Specialist in a physical marketplace and interested in hearing from someone who’s rolled up their sleeves & improvised at some fascinating marketplaces. As well, a founder or entrepreneur who wants to be the front-runner in a market and everything it takes to get there.

We dive deep into…studying & living in Greece, equine therapy, operating a 3-sided marketplaces, getting his hands dirty building partnerships w/ UberEATS restaurants, building supply AND demand @ Bungalow, How Abodu is a game changer for both families + investors, and the well-oiled machines of standing up an DADUs.

We think you’ll like this one!

Please help grow the show with us…by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Show Notes

What was it like going to school in a different country, Greece? [3:52]
Greek seems like a hard language to learn [5:00]
What was it like (going to college for 4 years in a foreign country) [6:02]
How Alex go to write and live to his “own script” [8:38]
What was hard about adapting back to American culture [9:36]
How did you get involved in equine therapy? [11:59]
When did you get started working with houses? [16:19]
How was your “intro to polo” class? [18:30]
Can horses run into each other in polo? [19:17]
How did you get involved in startups? [20:30]
From your perspective, what is the difference between 2-sided and 3-sided marketplace? [22:31]
How did you think about the driver-side & restaurant side of the UberEATS marketplace? [23:53]
What did it take to convince restaurant owners (to join)? [27:02]
What happened to restaurants who were not able to see the restaurant revenue data? [28:02]
How did you maintain relationships with restaurants, during a tougher marketing time for Uber? [29:27]
What were you able to pull from Uber, and bring into your next marketplace startups? [31:16]
Tell us a little about Bungalow [32:58]
How COVID-19 forced Bungalow, and Alex, to pivot [35:02]

Links from Episode

What’d you learn about marketplaces, that you didn’t know before? Drop a comment, why don’t you!