Build software where the customers already are.
Learn how to find opportunities, build production-ready apps, launch into established software marketplaces, and turn platform distribution into a real software business.
From your first LINE app to enterprise marketplaces like Atlassian, Salesforce, Microsoft, and AWS.
Marketplace 01 · LINE · Taiwan
Start where Taiwan already talks: build on LINE.
LINE is the messaging app most of Taiwan opens every day, with more than 21 million monthly users by LINE’s own count, and it is also a platform. Official Accounts, rich menus, the Messaging API and Mini Apps let a small team ship a product customers can use without installing anything. That makes it the right first marketplace, and it is where our founding cohort begins.
- Customers are already there. Bookings, orders, loyalty and support all happen in a chat window people already have open.
- No app store between you and the user. A Mini App opens from a message, a rich menu or a QR code. Ship on Monday, get feedback on Tuesday.
- A real business model on day one. Build for your own business, for clients, or for a product idea, and learn what it takes to get paid.
Applying is free. Tuition is requested only after acceptance.
The problem we solve
Most developers learn to build products. Very few learn to build distribution into the product.
The hardest part of software is often not writing the code. It is finding customers, earning trust, integrating into existing workflows, and getting people to pay.
Build first. Search for customers later.
You start with a product, then spend months figuring out SEO, outbound, paid acquisition, partnerships, onboarding, integrations, and trust from scratch.
Start where customers already work.
Choose an ecosystem with active users, identify a workflow gap, build directly on the platform, publish into its marketplace, and use the ecosystem itself as part of your distribution strategy.
The BuildOn thesis
We teach developers, founders, agencies, and technical operators how to turn established ecosystems into launchpads for new software products.
Where you can build
Start simple. Graduate to enterprise.
Not every marketplace requires the same skill level. We organize ecosystems by technical difficulty, buyer sophistication, and go-to-market complexity. Each one gets its own guide on this site: who the buyers are, what the platform gives you, what to build first, and what launch really takes. LINE is first.
Messaging experiences, Rich Menus, Mini Apps, business workflows for Taiwan and Japan.
Cohort 1 · EnrollingBots, internal workflows, AI assistants, productivity tools.
EasyExtensions, automations, workflow products for operators.
EasyMerchant tools, operations, marketing, analytics, commerce workflows.
Easy → MediumSales, marketing, CRM, enrichment, reporting, automation.
MediumJira and Confluence apps for large B2B teams.
MediumCommercial CRM applications with enterprise buyers.
HardSaaS, AI, data, cloud products, and enterprise procurement.
AdvancedThe learning path
From first marketplace app to enterprise software company.
The curriculum is designed as a progression. Learn the mechanics on approachable ecosystems, then move into increasingly valuable B2B and enterprise marketplaces.
Marketplace Builder
Learn the fundamentals by shipping a real app.
- LINE · now enrolling
- Slack
- Airtable
- Shopify
- Chrome
B2B App Builder
Build software businesses inside work platforms.
- HubSpot
- Atlassian
- Google Workspace
- monday.com
- Zendesk
Enterprise Builder
Learn the architecture and expectations of larger buyers.
- Salesforce
- ServiceNow
- Snowflake
- Microsoft
- Okta
Cloud Marketplace Founder
Package and sell software through hyperscaler procurement.
- AWS Marketplace
- Azure Marketplace
- Google Cloud Marketplace
- AI agents
- Data products
How the founding cohort works
Four weeks. One real app. Built to launch.
Our live cohort format is designed around shipping, not passive watching. You work from a real product requirement through build, QA, and a demo-ready MVP, using AI-assisted development to move faster while understanding what ships.
Apply for the LINE cohortOpportunity + PRD
Choose the marketplace, define the user problem, validate the workflow, and create a buildable product requirement document.
Build + Integrate
Connect the platform APIs, authentication, UI, events, webhooks, and core application experience.
QA + Production Readiness
Test edge cases, tighten UX, improve reliability, prepare deployment, and make the MVP usable by real customers.
Launch + Demo Day
Finalize positioning, marketplace readiness, product demo, pricing hypothesis, and next steps toward publication and customer acquisition.
What you leave with
Education that ends with an asset, not just information.
A working application
A real MVP connected to an existing marketplace ecosystem.
A repeatable build framework
A process you can use again across other marketplaces and clients.
A commercial path
Clear next steps for publishing, pricing, selling, or turning the app into a business.
Who this is for
Built for people who want to ship.
Developers
Turn technical skill into products that have a clearer distribution path.
Entrepreneurs
Start with an ecosystem and customer workflow instead of a blank market.
Agencies
Add marketplace development as a specialized service for existing clients.
Technical students
Learn modern API-driven product development by building something real.
Frequently asked
A different kind of software education.
BuildOn Marketplaces · Founding cohort
Start with LINE. Build the app. Learn how to turn it into a business.
Eight seats in Taichung, taught in English, applications close October 20, 2026. Applying is free and takes about ten minutes.