Who Founded Etsy, Inc.?

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.