Built by someone who got burned.
Truvado didn't start as a business idea. It started as a bad experience.
I just wanted to sell some everyday stuff.
Like millions of people, I listed items on the usual local marketplaces. Nothing exotic — everyday things, fair prices, quick local pickup. Simple, right?
What I got instead was a parade of people who were never interested in buying anything. They were interested in me — my information, my identity, my address. Fake buyers fishing for personal details. "Is this still available?" followed by a link I was never going to click. Accounts that appeared, ran their script, and vanished before anyone could do a thing about it.
And when I looked for help, I found what everyone finds: there wasn't any. No real identity checks. No real consequences. Report a scammer and they're back the next day under a new name. The platforms had been built to connect people — not to protect them. Somewhere along the way, everyone just accepted that.
I didn't accept it. I'd had enough. So I built something better.
What if trust wasn't a feature — but the whole product?
Every major platform treats safety as an afterthought — a help-center page, a report button that goes nowhere. Truvado flips that completely. Verification, accountability, privacy, and real consequences aren't bolted on at the end. They're the foundation everything else is built on.
Billions of dollars are lost to online fraud every year, and no major marketplace has made trust its core product. That's not a gap in the market. That's a failure of priorities — and it's the one we exist to fix.
"I got tired of listing everyday items only to realize the person on the other end wasn't interested in buying — they were interested in me, in my information & identity. I'd had enough. So I built something better."
— Adan, Founder & CEO, Truvado Marketplace
Three promises we won't bend on
We protect first
We stand between you and bad actors — and we're unapologetic about it. Every product decision starts with one question: does this keep people safer?
We don't hedge
Zero scam tolerance — not "we try to minimize scams." When we say verified, we mean verified. When we say banned, we mean gone for good.
We're on your side
Truvado was built by someone who got burned. We know exactly how it feels when a platform shrugs — because that's the moment this one was born.
Why we're starting local
- Trust is local — it's built neighbor to neighbor, one good exchange at a time
- One city, done right, beats ten cities done halfway
- Houston's founding members get a real say in how Truvado takes shape
Houston first. Then everywhere people deserve better.
We're starting in Houston, Texas — a big, diverse city full of people buying and selling locally every single day. We intend to earn this city's trust before asking for anyone else's.
The first chapter of this story belongs to the founding members — the people who show up before launch and help shape what Truvado becomes. If that sounds like you, there's a spot with your name on it.
Limited founding spots
Help us write the next chapter.
Founding members receive a founder's badge and exclusive perks — for those who showed up first.
We're starting in Houston — claim your spot before we open.
Claim your founding spot