Joseph Woodbury didn't set out to build another software company.
He set out to solve a problem his co-founder experienced firsthand after struggling to find affordable storage. That simple idea grew into Neighbor, the largest self storage marketplace in the United States, connecting people with unused space in their homes, businesses, and storage facilities.
In this Start School conversation, Neighbor Founder and CEO Joseph Woodbury joins Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts to share what it really takes to build a marketplace business, raise venture capital, navigate changing markets, and create a company with lasting network effects in the age of AI.
They discuss:
• How the idea for Neighbor came from a personal frustration
• Why marketplaces only succeed in massive industries
• Lessons from raising capital through different market cycles
• Building network effects that AI cannot easily replace
• Why distribution has become the new competitive moat
• How Neighbor uses AI to move faster without forcing it into every product
• Creating trust between strangers in a peer to peer marketplace
• The fundraising story that led to Andreessen Horowitz leading Neighbor's Series A
• Why founders should build technology only after validating customer demand
• The importance of solving problems that genuinely change people's lives
00:00 Introduction
01:10 The story behind Neighbor and the marketplace opportunity
05:20 Going all in after college and raising the seed round
10:15 Why every fundraising round is different
15:05 AI, network effects, and why distribution is the new moat
22:00 Using AI to build more with a smaller team
26:00 Building trust in a peer to peer marketplace
33:45 Scaling from homeowners to enterprise real estate partners
39:20 The Andreessen Horowitz fundraising story and lessons on perseverance
45:00 Speed of execution, founder mode, and leading in the AI era
48:10 Regulatory challenges and validating marketplace ideas
50:05 Final advice for founders: Build something that changes people's lives
50:43 End
Whether you're building a marketplace, launching your first startup, or trying to understand how AI is changing software businesses, Joseph shares practical lessons on product market fit, fundraising, execution, and building a durable company.
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