When the ApeCoin DAO community began debating the launch of a dedicated marketplace for Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs this summer, existing major market startups such as Magic Eden and Rarible prepared proposals to build feature-rich platforms with no upfront fees.

However, when APE token holders voted, none of the well-capitalized, VC-funded companies were approved by the community. Instead, Snag Solutions, a two-person startup founded this summer by former DoorDash employees, received the only proposal approved by token holders with 88% positive votes.

In persuading ApeCoin DAO voters, Snag Solutions CEO and co-founder Zach Heerwagen told Decrypt, "It was a really interesting process." "Because we were small and agile, we were able to fine-tune our entire business approach to win."

The company's official ApeCoin NFT marketplace went live today, allowing the exchange of popular collectibles such as Bored Ape Yacht Club, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, and Yuga Labs' metaverse game Otherside. So, why do ApeCoin holders, the Ethereum-based crypto token created for the Bored Ape ecosystem, require their own private marketplace?

For starters, its fees are significantly lower than those of a general multipurpose NFT marketplace such as OpenSea, which has a standard fee of 2.5%. The ApeCoin platform charges a 0.25% platform fee on APE listings and 0.5% on ETH listings. In both cases, 0.25% of ApeCoin is returned to the DAO. Snag Solutions only profits from ETH sales and keeps the remaining 0.25% fee.

Other potential benefits stem from the Bored Ape ecosystem's deeper integration than typical NFT markets. For example, the ApeCoin marketplace will show ApeCoin staking details for any listed NFT and will highlight NFTs with matching numbers in Yuga projects. It will also inform buyers if a Bored Ape produces a Mutant Ape NFT using a Serum NFT.

Some of the preceding may be confusing to casual observers. The market watcher, on the other hand, is committed to the future of the Bored Ape ecosystem and likely owns some NFTs. All of these nuances and supporting details, as well as lower fees and DAO treasury contributions, may appeal to them.

Snag Solutions has only been around for a few months, but it has already created several specialized marketplaces for NFT projects, including GoblinTown, Genuine Undead, and Crypto Chicks.

However, the startup, which had only two full-time employees, Heerwagen and co-founder and CTO Jason Jong, had to compete with several large players in order to gain community support to build the market. Given its recent entry into the Ethereum space, Magic Eden, in particular, aggressively supported efforts to build the market.

As Heerwagen previously stated, smart centers were responsible for the victory. Snag Solutions' first move was a failure. Initially, the firm requested a $50,000 down payment and set higher overall fees. The community was uninterested, and the larger, lower-cost offerings from Magic Eden and Rarible prompted the Snag Solutions team to overhaul their models quickly.

"As with everything else in business," Heerwagen said, "his suggestions improved our offer."

So the duo messed up. Snag Solutions retracted its advance request and reduced its fees, but it also went a step further, identifying some key complaints about Magic Eden and spinning them into a growing narrative about the Solana-based NFT startup.