Framework
Two-Sided Agentic Marketplace Framework
Mitchell Jones's model for building infrastructure that serves two distinct customers simultaneously: end users who want frictionless access to paid services without credential management, and merchants who want to monetize API traffic from agents without building new infrastructure. The gateway layer is the value — it solves a real problem on both sides at once.
How it works
- 1End-user problem: API keys, subscriptions, and credential management create cognitive tax that slows builders down
- 2Merchant problem: valuable APIs have no native way to meter, monetize, or convert autonomous agent traffic
- 3The gateway sits between both sides — handling auth, routing, and payments without requiring either party to change their stack
- 4Network effects compound: more merchants attract more end users; more end users attract more merchants
- 5Pricing flexibility is a feature: merchants set per-call, per-token, or outcomes-based pricing; the gateway enforces it
- 6This model works for any category where credential plumbing creates friction between supply (services) and demand (builders)
Hear it on the podcast
Your API Keys Are Killing Your ProductivityListen to the episodeMore from this episode
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