Etsy, Inc.
E-commerce MarketplaceFounded 2005- Updated July 2025
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Last reviewed: July 2025
CorpDigest
Etsy, Inc.
Company History
Founded 2005 in Brooklyn, New York
Last reviewed: 2025-07-15 · By Swet Parvadiya
2005, a Brooklyn apartment: Robert Kalin, a furniture maker who had been frustrated by the absence of an online venue for handmade goods, built the first version of Etsy in about two and a half months with co-founders Chris Maguire, Haim Schoppik, and Jared Tarbell. The initial sellers were craft fair regulars who already had an audience and inventory but nowhere to sell online that understood what they were making.
Union Square Ventures' Series A in 2007 and Accel Partners' investment in 2008 funded growth through a period when the founders were cycling in and out of the CEO role. Kalin departed, returned, departed again. Chad Dickerson joined as CTO in 2009 and eventually became CEO in 2011, bringing operational stability that the founding team had struggled to maintain. Under Dickerson, Etsy received B Corp certification in 2012 — a public commitment to mission that distinguished it from pure-commerce platforms.
The 2015 IPO valued Etsy at approximately $1.8 billion. The following years exposed the difficulty of operating a marketplace defined by handmade goods in a world where buyers want fast shipping and easy returns. Amazon Handmade launched in 2015 as a direct competitive threat. The pressure to loosen product standards — to allow manufactured goods that merely looked handmade — created a values tension the company never fully resolved.
Josh Silverman became CEO in 2017 and spent the following years on seller tools, search quality, and expanding the definition of Etsy-appropriate inventory. The acquisitions that followed — Reverb in 2019, Depop and Elo7 in 2021 — reflected a thesis that Etsy could operate a portfolio of niche marketplaces. The thesis proved difficult to execute. Kruti Patel Goyal inherited the portfolio and began the divestiture process.
Robert Kalin attended five colleges including MIT and NYU before graduating with a BA in individualized study in 2004. He worked as a carpenter and photographer, building 'inside-out computers' — functional PCs encased in wood with transparent tops. When he couldn't sell them, he realized other artisans faced the same problem. Through GetCrafty.com, he met Chris Maguire and Haim Schoppik, and the trio built Etsy in Kalin's Brooklyn apartment in six weeks. Kalin was the visionary and public face of Etsy, securing early funding from angel investors and later from Accel Partners. He was known for his eccentricity — wearing bright coral nail polish to announce his departure as CEO in 2008 — and his Marxist-inflected rhetoric about commerce. After leaving Etsy in 2011, he largely disappeared from public view.
Chris Maguire earned a BA in Art, Computer Science & Animation from NYU. He was the primary developer who built Etsy's backend systems, database architecture, and original marketplace functionality. Working alongside Haim Schoppik, he essentially moved into Kalin's apartment for six weeks to launch the site. After departing Etsy in 2008, he founded Waffl, a community marketplace for innkeepers, and Postling, a social media management tool. In a 2015 interview, when asked if he missed Etsy, he replied: 'No. Etsy was a fascinating community to build for and grow alongside, but the working environment was not something I've ever felt wistful about.'
Haim Schoppik was a web developer who met Robert Kalin through GetCrafty.com. He left NYU before graduating to build Etsy full-time. Along with Chris Maguire, he handled the software development and technical infrastructure while Kalin focused on vision and community. Schoppik and Maguire's departure in August 2008 marked the end of the original technical team. In their farewell blog post, they wrote: 'The last three years have undoubtedly been the longest and most eventful of our lives. We'd like to thank each and every one of you for enabling us to build Etsy into what it is today.' After Etsy, he joined Waffl as CTO.
Jared Tarbell was a programmer from Albuquerque who joined Etsy shortly after its June 2005 launch. He left a comfortable salaried position to work for a startup salary in a remote capacity, recognizing the opportunity in Etsy's mission. He contributed to the platform's early technical architecture and creative tools. Tarbell was part of the four-person team that grew Etsy to 10,000 sellers and 40,000 buyers within 10 months of launch, entirely through word-of-mouth and organic growth with no advertising spend.
Robert Kalin, Chris Maguire, and Haim Schoppik built and launched Etsy in June 2005 from a Brooklyn apartment. The first item sold on the fourth day. By mid-2006, the platform had 10,000 sellers and 40,000 buyers with zero advertising spend.
Etsy raised approximately $615,000 in a funding round led by Union Square Ventures, with Fred Wilson joining the board. The valuation reached approximately $10.7 million by November 2006. This was the first institutional capital after initial angel funding of approximately $193,000.
In January 2008, Etsy raised $27 million from Accel Partners and Jim Breyer at a valuation just under $100 million. In August 2008, both technical co-founders Chris Maguire and Haim Schoppik departed, and CEO Robert Kalin stepped down for the first time. Maria Thomas was promoted from COO to CEO.
Robert Kalin returned as CEO in December 2009 after Maria Thomas's brief tenure. Chad Dickerson, recruited from Yahoo, joined as CTO in September 2008 to professionalize the company's technical infrastructure. Kalin was fired for the final time in July 2011, and Dickerson became CEO.
Etsy became a certified B Corporation in 2012, recognizing its commitment to social and environmental responsibility alongside profits. This made it one of the first major tech companies to pursue this certification, aligning with its mission to 'Keep Commerce Human.'
Etsy went public on April 16, 2015, pricing shares at $16 each and raising $267 million. The stock surged 88% on the first day of trading to $30.01, giving the company a market capitalization of $3.4 billion. The IPO valued the company at $1.8 billion at the offer price.
Etsy acquired Blackbird Technologies, an AI startup, for $32.5 million to enhance its search and recommendation capabilities. This technology now powers Etsy's machine learning engine for personalized product discovery across 100 million+ listings.
In May 2017, board member Josh Silverman replaced Chad Dickerson as CEO after a first-quarter loss and an 8% workforce reduction. Silverman, former CEO of Skype and president at American Express, refocused the company on core marketplace growth and profitability. Revenue was $441.1 million in 2017.
In July 2019, Etsy acquired Reverb, a marketplace for new, used, and vintage musical instruments, for $275 million in cash. Reverb was founded in 2013 by David Kalt and had surpassed $1 billion in total sales by 2017. Etsy viewed it as a natural extension of its mission to 'keep commerce human.'
Etsy experienced massive growth during the COVID-19 pandemic as consumers turned to handmade goods, personalized items, and face masks. Gross merchandise sales more than doubled year-over-year to $10.3 billion. Face mask sales alone reached $346 million in Q2 2020. Active buyers surged from 46.3 million in 2019 to 81.8 million in 2020.
In June 2021, Etsy acquired Depop, a U.K.-based fashion resale app targeting Gen Z, for $1.625 billion. In July 2021, it acquired Elo7, the 'Etsy of Brazil,' for $217 million. Both acquisitions were made at peak tech valuations and later proved problematic. Depop had 55.6 million registered users and Elo7 had 1.9 million active buyers at acquisition.
Etsy recorded $1.0 billion in asset impairment charges, including $897.9 million for Depop and $147.1 million for Elo7, reflecting the decline in valuations and performance of its 2021 acquisitions. The company also raised its transaction fee from 5% to 6.5% in April 2022, triggering a seller strike.
In July 2023, Etsy sold Elo7 to Brazilian marketplace Enjoei for an undisclosed amount, likely at a loss. In December 2023, the company laid off 225 employees (11% of its workforce) due to challenging macroeconomic conditions and flat gross merchandise sales since 2021. CMO Ryan Scott and CHRO Kimaria Seymour departed.
Etsy reported revenue of $2.81 billion in 2024, up just 2.2% from 2023, the slowest growth rate since the IPO. The company introduced a seller setup fee in early 2024 to improve listing quality, which initially caused a seller purge before retention inflected positively in late 2024. Net income was $303.3 million.
On June 2, 2025, Etsy completed the sale of Reverb to Creator Partners and Servco Pacific. On February 18, 2026, the company announced an agreement to sell Depop to eBay for $1.2 billion in cash. Revenue reached $2.88 billion, up 2.7%, but net income fell 46.3% to $163.0 million. Kruti Patel Goyal became CEO on January 1, 2026, replacing Josh Silverman, who transitioned to Executive Chair.
Etsy acquired Blackbird Technologies, an AI startup, for $32.5 million to enhance its search and recommendation capabilities. The technology powers Etsy's machine learning engine for personalized product discovery, improving conversion rates and buyer engagement across 100 million+ listings.
Etsy acquired Reverb, a marketplace for new, used, and vintage musical instruments, for $275 million in cash. The acquisition was intended to extend Etsy's marketplace playbook into a vertical category with passionate buyers and sellers, similar to Etsy's own community. Reverb had surpassed $1 billion in total sales since its 2013 launch.
Etsy acquired Depop, a U.K.-based mobile-first fashion resale marketplace targeting Gen Z and Millennial consumers, for $1.625 billion primarily in cash. The acquisition was intended to expand Etsy's reach into high-frequency apparel resale and attract younger demographics. At acquisition, Depop had 55.6 million registered users, including 26 million active users, and 90% of its users were under 26.
Etsy acquired Elo7, the 'Etsy of Brazil,' for $217 million to establish a foothold in the Latin American e-commerce market, projected to reach $29 billion in 2021 with 26% annual growth. At acquisition, Elo7 had 1.9 million active buyers, 56,000 active sellers, and 8 million mostly made-to-order items.
Etsy Inc. was founded June 18, 2005 by Robert 'Rob' Kalin, Chris Maguire, Haim Schoppik, and Jared Tarbell in Brooklyn, New York apartment supporting initial commercial operations as marketplace for handmade and vintage items plus craft supplies. Strategic vision combined alternative to mass-market e-commerce supporting various artisan and craft community commercial opportunities, with continued strategic growth supporting various community development. Strategic milestones include 2006 Acceleration Partners and Union Square Ventures Series A funding, continued user growth supporting various marketplace expansion, 2015 NASDAQ IPO at $16 per share raising $267 million, 2017 founder Rob Kalin's eventual departure plus various leadership transitions, 2018-2024 substantial M&A activity including Reverb (2019 musical instrument marketplace), Depop (2021 secondhand fashion), Elo7 (2021 Brazilian Etsy-like operator subsequently divested 2024), 2020-2021 substantial pandemic-era growth supporting various commercial benefits, 2022-2024 continued post-pandemic moderation requiring various strategic execution. Revenue grew to $2.88 billion (FY2024) from substantial 90+ million active buyer base supporting various commercial dynamics.
Etsy Inc. experienced substantial growth acceleration during COVID-19 pandemic period (2020-2021) as consumers shifted toward online shopping plus increased focus on home, hobbies, crafts, and various unique items supporting Etsy marketplace appeal across various commercial benefits. Strategic dynamics include continued substantial Gross Merchandise Sales (GMS) growth from approximately $5 billion (2019) to $13.5 billion (2021) representing exceptional growth supporting various commercial benefits, mask sales supporting initial pandemic period revenue (Etsy sellers produced substantial face mask supply during pandemic), substantial active buyer growth supporting various commercial benefits, increased seller participation supporting various marketplace expansion, and various other operational dynamics. Post-pandemic operational performance has shown continued moderation through 2022-2024 as consumer behavior normalized supporting various commercial pressures, with continued strategic execution supporting consolidated business performance. Strategic implications include continued GMS decline from $13.5B (2021) to approximately $12B (2024) supporting various operational pressures, with continued strategic responses through various competitive dynamics affecting consolidated business performance.
Etsy Inc. completed Depop Limited acquisition in June 2021 for $1.625 billion gaining substantial secondhand fashion marketplace serving primarily Generation Z customers supporting strategic expansion beyond core Etsy handmade and vintage focus. Strategic rationale combined younger demographic expansion (Depop's Generation Z focus complementing Etsy's broader demographic), secondhand fashion category growth supporting various consumer trends, established Depop social commerce features supporting various commercial benefits, geographic expansion supporting various international markets particularly UK and Europe, plus various other strategic priorities. Post-acquisition Depop operations have continued under Etsy ownership with continued operational performance though continued operational pressures affecting various commercial dynamics. Strategic value continues supporting consolidated Etsy portfolio through various competitive dynamics affecting secondhand and social commerce industries. The Depop acquisition exemplifies Etsy strategic expansion supporting various marketplace category diversification beyond core handmade focus through ongoing operational evolution and various competitive dynamics affecting consolidated business performance.
Etsy Inc. faces continued post-pandemic Gross Merchandise Sales (GMS) decline from pandemic-era $13.5 billion (2021) peak to approximately $12 billion (2024) representing substantial commercial pressure requiring various continued strategic responses through various initiatives. Strategic responses include continued operational efficiency improvements supporting various competitive positioning through reduced spending environment, marketing investment supporting various consumer engagement and brand awareness, marketplace optimization supporting various commercial benefits across improved search functionality plus various other marketplace improvements, seller support supporting various commercial relationships, product policy refinements supporting various marketplace integrity considerations, plus various other strategic moves. Strategic challenges include continued consumer discretionary spending pressure affecting various marketplace performance, continued competitive intensity from Amazon Handmade, Temu, Shein, various other e-commerce alternatives, post-pandemic consumer behavior normalization supporting various commercial pressures, plus various other operational considerations. Future GMS recovery depends on continued operational execution through various competitive dynamics affecting marketplace industry evolution and various consumer behavior considerations affecting consolidated business performance.