Connor Finlayson, Founder, Unicorn Factory

1. How to build
a marketplace
without code
C O N N O R F I N L A Y S O N
@FinlaysonConnor
www.connorfinlayson.com/ncc

2. Kia ora, my name is Connor 👋
Wellington, New Zealand 🇳🇿
Freelance Digital Marketer
Creator of Unicorn Factory 🏗
A B O U T M E

3. About Unicorn Factory
15 mins
The No Code Marketplace Setup
15 mins
No Code Workflow Examples
15 mins
Q&A
until end
O V E R V I E W

4. I want to inspire you to build your own
marketplace without code!

5. A marketplace that connects freelancers and business owners in New Zealand.
W W W . U N I C O R N F A C T O R Y . N Z

6. Feb
2018
Built Prototype for Unicorn Factory
May
2016
Starting referring work to
freelancers + other startups
U N I C O R N F A C T O R Y S T O R Y
Nov
2015
Created apps for local business
to fund our startup

7. June
2019
Monetize the platform
for the first time
U N I C O R N F A C T O R Y S T O R Y
Feb
2018
Opened it up to NZ-based
freelancers

8. 240 NZ based
freelancers
180+ direct enquiries
per month
20+ community
projects per month
50-75 new
businesses each
month
$600/mth in
membership revenue
$2000/mth in
commission revenue
U N I C O R N F A C T O R Y T O D A Y

9. The No Code Setup

10. Automated Onboarding
Process
(with a review system)
Automated comms with
Clients and Freelancers
(with a review system)
Tiered Memberships for
freelancers
Metrics & Reporting
Dashboard in Airtable
Users can update their profile
W H A T C A N U N I C O R N F A C T O R Y D O ?

11. Webflow
Front-end build of the
website
Memberstack
Gated Content and
Monetization
Airtable
No Code
Database
Zapier
Workflow
Automation
T H E N O C O D E S T A C K

12. Build & Admin Time
12 hrs
Build the MVP
Freelancer CMS, Messaging
8 hrs
Memberstack + Community
Projects
8 hrs
Workflow Automation +
Airtable Setup
2 - 4
hrs
Weekly Maintenance and Admin

13. Webflow

14. Webflow

15. Memberstack

16. Memberstack

17. Airtable

18. Airtable

19. Zapier

20. Zapier

21. Building the Site

22. B U I L D I N G T H E S I T E : P R O F I L E P A G E
Create Profile Template
using CMS Collection.

23. B U I L D I N G T H E S I T E : P R O F I L E P A G E
Link a profile to other CMS
collections like case
studies or skills.

24. B U I L D I N G T H E S I T E : P R O F I L E P A G E
Create a custom contact
form on each profile page.

25. B U I L D I N G T H E S I T E : L I S T I N G P A G E S
Create listing pages for
categories like locations or
skills.

26. B U I L D I N G T H E S I T E : L I S T I N G P A G E S
Using the CMS sorting
feature to order
freelancers by availability.

27. B U I L D I N G T H E S I T E : L I S T I N G P A G E S
Integrate schema.org into
the CMS collection pages
to generate rich text on
Google.

28. B U I L D I N G T H E S I T E : S E O B E N E F I T S

29. Monetizing the platform

30. M O N E T I Z I N G T H E P L A T F O R M : M E M B E R P R O F I L E
Create pages in Webflow
and use Memberstack to
hide them if they don’t
have an account

31. M O N E T I Z I N G T H E P L A T F O R M : A P P L Y I N G F O R C O M M U N I T Y P R O J E C T S
Give paying freelancers
access to additional
features like community
projects.

32. How it all works together

33. Client makes enquiry
Freelancer Applies to Join
Freelancer is Approved
Client creates a community
project
Freelancer requests intro to
community project
Freelancer makes payment
A Record is Created in
Airtable
Creates CMS Items
Sends Onboarding Emails
Review Process
Tweets
Updates CMS Items
H O W I T A L L W O R K S T O G E T H E R

34. Unicorn Factory Examples

35. Clients submits enquiry form
Clients submits the enquiry form
E N T R Y S U B M I S S I O N Z A P S

36. Clients submits enquiry form
Creates a record in “Messages”
Create record in “messages”
E N T R Y S U B M I S S I O N Z A P S

37. Clients submits enquiry form
Creates a record in “Messages”
Sends me a notification in Slack
Send “review” Slack notification
E N T R Y S U B M I S S I O N Z A P S

38. Select Approve Checkbox
Select the “approve” checkbox
E N T R Y S U B M I S S I O N Z A P S

39. Select Approve Checkbox
Move Record to “Approved
Messages” View
Record is moved into “Approved Messages” view
E N T R Y S U B M I S S I O N Z A P S

40. Select Approve Checkbox
Move Record to “Approved
Messages” View
Forward Message to freelancer
Forward enquiry to the freelancer
E N T R Y S U B M I S S I O N Z A P S

41. Freelancer Application Completed
Freelancer application submitted
F R E E L A N C E R A P P L I C A T I O N Z A P S

42. Freelancer Application Completed
Added to Freelancer Funnel for
Review
Creates a record in “Freelancer” funnel
F R E E L A N C E R A P P L I C A T I O N Z A P S

43. Freelancer Application Completed
Added to Freelancer Funnel for
Review
Sends me a notification in Slack
Send a “Review” notification
F R E E L A N C E R A P P L I C A T I O N Z A P S

44. Review Application
Review application
F R E E L A N C E R A P P R O V E D Z A P S

45. Review Application
Click Approve and move to
“Approved Freelancer View”
Approve application
F R E E L A N C E R A P P R O V E D Z A P S

46. Review Application
Click Approval and move
“Approved Freelancer View”
Create a Webflow CMS Item
Automatically creates Webflow CMS item
F R E E L A N C E R A P P R O V E D Z A P S

47. Review Application
Click Approval and move
“Approved Freelancer View”
Create a Webflow CMS Item
Update the Airtable Record with
Webflow CMS Item ID and Slug
Update CMS Item ID and Slug (MUST DO)
F R E E L A N C E R A P P R O V E D Z A P S

48. Publish website
Stage profile for publish & publish to the interwebs
F R E E L A N C E R A P P R O V E D Z A P S

49. Publish website
Change Status from “In Review” to
“Active Profile”
Stage profile for publish & publish to the interwebs
F R E E L A N C E R A P P R O V E D Z A P S

50. Publish website
Change Status from “In Review” to
“Active Profile”
Send a Welcome Email
Send a welcome email
F R E E L A N C E R A P P R O V E D Z A P S

51. Publish website
Change Status from “In Review” to
“Active Profile”
Send a Welcome Email
Share with Community on Twitter
Share on Twitter
F R E E L A N C E R A P P R O V E D Z A P S

52. Client makes enquiry
Freelancer Applies to Join
Freelancer is Approved
Client creates a community
project
Freelancer requests intro to
community project
Freelancer makes payment
A Record is Created in
Airtable
Creates CMS Items
Sends Onboarding Emails
Review Process
Tweets
Updates CMS Items
H O W I T A L L W O R K S T O G E T H E R

53. Tips for your first No Code
Marketplace

54. Where to start
STEP
1
Start building the pages in
Webflow

55. Where to start
STEP
1
Start building the pages in
Webflow
STEP
2
Integrate Memberstack and hide
pages

56. Where to start
STEP
1
Start building the pages in
Webflow
STEP
2
Integrate Memberstack and hide
pages
STEP
3
Setup Airtable + automate
workflows with Zapier

57. Where to start
STEP
1
Start building the pages in
Webflow
STEP
2
Integrate Memberstack and hide
pages
STEP
3
Setup Airtable to collect all
information.
STEP
4
Share with the community

58. Download Slides and get in touch:
connorfinlayson.com/ncc
T H A N K Y O U
Let me know how your No Code project is going on Twitter:
@FinlaysonConnor