B2B marketplace venture funding has matured into its own category. The Faire, Knowde, Ankorstore and Mirakl cycle reset expectations, and investors now underwrite on net take rate inclusive of embedded payments and financing, buyer-seller density inside a vertical, and credit loss performance. Adoption is slower than B2C because buying behaviour is slower, which compresses early metrics but produces durable retention once the network forms.

Active funds split between the marketplace specialists - Greylock, Bessemer, Forerunner and Union Square Ventures - and the generalists with active B2B marketplace books, including Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz and Accel. At growth stage the CVC arms of the major distributors increasingly take minority positions ahead of any later acquisition conversation. Flow has direct relationships with the specialist marketplace funds, the generalists writing the B2B thesis and the corporate venture arms of the major distribution incumbents.

Flow has experience running VC fundraising processes for B2B marketplace companies across wholesale and retail buying, industrial and MRO, food and beverage ingredients, chemicals and materials and professional services procurement. Our extensive investor network spans early-stage seed funds, growth-stage investors, and strategic and corporate VC arms.