1. Business Case: Etsy
Rio Bell
Marketing 476

2. History
 Created in 2005 by a
small company called
iospace
 Founded by Robert
Kalin, Chris Maguire and
Haim Schoppik
 Currently located and
working in Brooklyn, New
York

3. Overview
 Etsy is an e-commerce marketplace specializing in
handmade items, vintage items (20 years and older)
and craft supplies
 It also serves as an online community/social media site
 allows you to create and manage a personal profile
 creates easy communication with Etsy’s ever-growing
community of over 15 million people worldwide

4.  With a free account you can browse many categories such
as:
 art, home, women, men, kids, vintage, weddings, craft supplies
and gifts
 In each category there is a large variety of different types of
items you can browse and purchase
 ex. under Art you can browse paintings, prints, posters,
drawings, objects, etc.

5.  If you wish to sell items or
create a business on Etsy
you can open an Etsy Shop
 No membership fees
 List an item for $0.20
 When the item has sold
Etsy collects a 3.5% fee on
the sale price

6. Structure
 Etsy has a
decentralized/collaborative
organizational structure
 A decentralized organization
is self-governing, self-
organizing, adaptive, non-
linear complex organization
 It works by distributing the
power among the company’s
community of buyers and
sellers

7.  Each individual on Etsy has a profile, a conversations
page, favorites and followers
 As a buyer you can browse and purchase items from other
individuals with Etsy accounts
 As a seller you can list products for sale from your account
that can be purchased by another individual through the Etsy
site
 Anyone can ‘favorite’ an item they like or want

8. Etsy’s Ecosystem
 Partnerships
 Mall stores such as Nordstrom and
West Elm with new business-to-
business platform: Etsy Wholesale
 Twitter offers an etsyday with
special offers and promotions
 StoreYa to help sellers market
products on their social media
 TaskRabbit to help sellers produce
more products in less time

9.  User base
 The millions of people worldwide who have registered to
trade crafts and vintage items in this e-commerce
marketplace
 Key competitors
 Large scale e-commerce websites such as Amazon and
eBay
 Companies such as DaWanda, Bonaza, iCraft and
Artfire that specialize in art and fashion
 Other competitors consist of local artists, festival/fair
marketplaces, boutiques and craft supply stores

10.  Stakeholders
 Etsy users who have created their business through the online
marketplace website
 Employees who run the website in New York and offices in the
United States and Europe
 Received funding from Union Square Ventures, Hubert Burda
Media and Jim Breyer
 Supported through Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest
 It’s easy to share Etsy finds with friends and followers on
Facebook and Twitter
 Many Etsy items for sale can be found on Pinterest

11. Assets/Tools
Assets
 Created a unique online marketplace
specializing in homemade goods, vintage
items and crafting supplies
 New partnerships with companies to help
user’s productivity and increase traffic flow to
the site
 Member information acquired
Tools
 An easy to use and well established website
 A fun and customizable mobile application

12. Funding
 Funding
 Angel Investor: Caterina
Fake (now Chairman of
the Board of Etsy)
 Series D, Series E and
Venture Round Funding
 Received funding from
Union Square Ventures,
Hubert Burda Media and
Jim Breyer

13. Production
 Production
 Individual production:
buying and selling of
goods is performed by
the users of Etsy

14. Distribution
 Distribution
 Niche Goods: focuses on a
market of homemade
goods, vintage items and
crafting supplies
 Consumer-to-consumer:
users buy and sell goods to
each other on this online
marketplace

15. Revenue
 Revenue from transactions
 Obtained from the sellers
 $0.20 per product listing
 3.5% of the final sale (Broker’s
Fee)
 Obtained from the buyers
 Receives 3.5% of the buyer’s
purchase
 Directed from other websites
(mainly social media platforms
such as Twitter and Pinterest)

16. Intellectual Property
 Intellectual Property
 While Etsy does not have a logo
or own a distinct brand name it
does have a a Copyright and
Intellectual Property Policy for
the users (buyers/sellers) of it’s
website
 To view the policy click here

17. Employee Benefits
 Health benefits
 Provides family and
domestic partner benefits
 $100 credit per employee
on Etsy to decorate their
workspace
 Generous time off
 Weekly company meal

18. Works Cited
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etsy
 http://www.zagg.com/community/blog/etsy-overview-how-to-
get-started/
 http://www.etsy.com/about
 http://www.forbes.com/sites/barbarathau/2013/03/07/etsy-
partners-with-nordstrom-west-elm-more-mall-stores-in-store/
 http://blogs.cornell.edu/newmedia13egw29/2013/02/05/rb-
the-world-of-etsy/
 http://www.crunchbase.com/company/etsy