How dtcmvp uses Cal.com to power a marketplace of 30+ teams

Problem

dtcmvp.com connects ecommerce operators from Shopify brands with SaaS companies looking for product feedback. Their platform enables structured conversations where SaaS founders and product teams can learn directly from operators running real ecommerce businesses.

Coordinating those conversations at scale quickly becomes complex.

dtcmvp must schedule meetings across a large and diverse network that includes:

• Hundreds of ecommerce operators, each with different areas of expertise

• Multiple SaaS companies running concurrent research programs

• Participants distributed across multiple time zones

• Different availability and eligibility rules depending on the program

• Payment structures dependent on completed meetings

Because the platform functions as a two sided marketplace, scheduling must work seamlessly for both groups. SaaS companies need easy access to qualified operators, while operators need a frictionless way to book and attend research calls.

When scheduling works, conversations happen, insights are generated, and feedback partners are paid for their time. But when scheduling breaks down, the entire process stalls. Meetings are delayed, research programs slow down, and the marketplace loses momentum.

As dtcmvp’s Sean Wendt explains, the challenge was not just booking meetings. It was building “a marketplace of connected calendars with complex data schemas and custom rules.”

Traditional scheduling tools are designed for individual users or small internal teams. They are not built for systems where dozens of teams and hundreds of participants interact through a shared scheduling infrastructure. For dtcmvp, scheduling needed to function as reliable infrastructure for the entire marketplace.

Solution

dtcmvp built their scheduling layer on Cal.com, using its API driven architecture and Organizations-level capabilities to support the complexity of their marketplace.

“​​We wouldn’t be where we are today without the Cal app and cal platform,” Sean says.
The flexibility and security has allowed us to scale to a marketplace of hundreds of participants without a ton of dev time and while maintaining a very custom and high bar for UX and seamless scheduling and rescheduling.”

“We are super thankful that Cal can scale with us. We power over 600 meetings per month, growing every month, with one full time person. That would not be possible without Cal.”

With 34 teams to schedule for, flexibility was essential for the dtcmvp team. Their platform requires custom logic that connects operators, SaaS partners, and research programs in different ways.

“We needed scheduling infrastructure that could support a marketplace of connected calendars,” says Wendt. “Cal.com gives us the flexibility to build scheduling around our own platform and data model instead of forcing our workflows into someone else’s structure.”

The API first architecture was equally important. Because their system coordinates interactions between operators and SaaS companies across multiple programs, dtcmvp needed the ability to control scheduling programmatically.

“The API is a big reason we chose Cal.com,” Wendt explains. “We’re managing complex relationships between operators, partners, and programs. Being able to control scheduling through the API lets us enforce the custom rules our marketplace depends on.”

Cal.com has the most robust scheduling API with more than 150 endpoints. 

Design also matters in a marketplace environment. Scheduling is part of the experience for both operators and SaaS partners, so the interface needs to feel seamless.

“Scheduling is part of the product experience for us,” Wendt says. “Cal.com’s design makes it easy to embed scheduling directly into our platform so it feels native for both operators and SaaS partners.”

Together these capabilities allow dtcmvp to operate what is effectively a marketplace of interconnected calendars.

Results

With Cal.com powering the scheduling layer of their platform, dtcmvp has been able to scale their feedback network and research programs efficiently.

To date the marketplace has facilitated:

• 3000+ paid research meetings

• 800+ enrolled ecommerce operators providing feedback

• $600k + paid to feedback partners

• 30+ teams operating within a single Cal.com organization

With scheduling handled programmatically through Cal, the dtcmvp team can focus on recruiting the right operators and delivering insights instead of coordinating calendars. The result is a marketplace where thousands of conversations between SaaS companies and ecommerce operators can happen smoothly at scale.