1.
Navigating the ever-changing
landscape of building products
Before and after IPO
Sara Wood

2.
Chapter II: Present - Becoming a publicly traded company
Chapter III: Future - Now what?
Contents.
2
Chapter I: Past - Building a company with hyper growth
Forward: The set up
- Who I am - What Farfetch is
- Building the business - Road to IPO

3.
The set up
3
Forward: The set up

4.
Hello I’m Sara.
4
Forward: The set up
Early Years: i <3 computers
• First computer 1987
• First job after MBA was to build my own
computer with a screwdriver & a box of parts!
• Gopher, listproc, vim/pico, html1 & elm/pico
• Collected data manually from law libraries and
via global contacts on IRC.
•
Steve Martin
Me

5.
Hello I’m Sara.
5
Forward: The set up
1st Dotcom Boom
• Visual design
• PERL and CGI scripts
• CSS & Javascript
• Front end
• Content writing & editing
• Research
• Fundraising
Steve Martin
Me

6.
Hello I’m Sara.
6
Forward: The set up
Product Leadership since then
• 3x seed stage companies
• 1x design/webdev agency
• 3x hyper growth
• 2x f500s
• 2x international agencies
• 2x NGOs
• 1x tech money backed institute and an Ivy.
Steve Martin
Me

7.
7

8.
Building a company
with hyper growth
8
Chapter I: Past

9.
9
Our job is to solve problems in a way
things just work.
The idea that we make people’s lives a
little bit easier — without them even
knowing we exist — is exciting,
liberating, and motivating.
The role of Product.
Chapter I: Past
Cobbler’s elves!

10.
10
We had a huge vision in a hard space,
that combination attracts the best
people in tech.
As you start growing like crazy, it can
be hard to recruit as fast as you need.
Attracting the best
people.
Chapter I: Past
Only the best!

11.
11
Need to be adaptable.
In the early days, you’re still proving
your business model or raising funds.
You don't have the luxury of having all
the key disciplines at the table either.
Each stage requires a
different approach.
Chapter I: Past Founded in 2008
2014: supply from
64 boutiques
2015: Farfetch
Acquires Browns
2016: 600 boutiques

12.
12
Nobody can predict the future. This business is both
art and science and often luck.
Is the market ready to be disrupted in your space? Are
customers interested in your brand and product offering?
It’s all in the timing.
But if you get it all just right, your numbers start growing.
No single approach works in
any two companies.
Chapter I: Past
To the future!

13.
13
Hyper growth.
Chapter I: Past
GMV
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Founded
First US
Retailer on
marketplace
Series A
Investment
100+
retailers
$50m+
GMV
240k
Marketplace
Customers
Further
Expansion to
31 supply
Countries
Launched brands
On marketplace
Black & White
Browns
Acquisition
1 millionth
Marketplace
Consumer
F90
Store of the Future
style.com
JD.com
Partnership with
Harvey Nichols
Chanel
Burberry
Chalhoub Group

14.
14
The path to IPO I
Chapter I: Past
Our F1!
Starts about a year in advance.
Quietly start prepping for the filings, but
no one knows this is what you are
working on at the edges of your day job.
Our F-1 focused heavily on the product we
have built “Farfetch is the leading
technology platform for the global luxury
fashion industry”

15.
15
Our vision.
Chapter I: Past
Global platform!
Our vision!

16.
16
Then come the analysts days -
Product was always on the agenda.
Talking to bankers in closed
sessions, sharing your vision and
what you have done so far.
Hoping your message lands.
The roadshows.
Chapter I: Past

17.
17
Our platform is at the core of everything.
Chapter I: Past
Stakeholders Our approach
Luxury consumers
Luxury Sellers
(Brands & retailers)
Third-Party
Companies Building
on our Platform
Internal customers
API First
Multi-tenancy
Modularityy
Flexibility
Road-testingatscale
= Best practices for
customer journey

18.
18
Creating an operating system.
Chapter I: Past
Data
Farfetch API
Farfetch API
Marketplace Seller Tools Black & White solutions Store of the Future Other Applications
Additional
servicesCustomer
ServiceFulfilmentPaymentsMarketing
Product
Catalogue
Inventory
Management
Photography
Data
APPLICATIONS
SERVICES
This party integrations External service providers

19.
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Data unlocks a ‘no channel’ approach.
Chapter I: Past
Inventory data
295,000 SKUs1
Traffic data
33m visits per
Product data
3.9m SKUs
Customer feedback
92% customer
satisfaction3
Customer
interactions
155 per seconds
Pricing data
1.9m orders placed
in 2017
Shipping
data
7,600 deliveries per
Operating data
98.4% stock
“KNOW ME”
“INSPIRE ME”
“BE WHERE I AM”
CUSTOMER IS THE CHANNEL

20.
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It also unlocks core product priorities
Chapter I: Past
Embrace external shifts Shape internal journey
70% 37%+
+278% 60%+
Traffic on App &
Mobile Web
CN Traffic Through
Dedicated iOS App
Increase in VIP App
Traffic YoY
More Units in Our
Catalog YoY

21.
21
Platform enables us to build
truly local experiences.
Chapter I: Past
Local Language
Consumer Preferences
Local engagement
Mobile eCommerce label
Local regulations Sales cycle
• 37%+ consumers in China
are willing to pay for
products using mobile
• Localised payment & login
• Localised delivery & CS
• Fashion authority
• vs discovery
• Cross border
• Supply chain

22.
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Our platform enables new businesses to be
built…
Chapter I: Past
Black & White
Customers
Mono-Brand Ecommerce offering tailored for luxury market
MULTI-TENANCY
CAPABILITIES
• Specific pricing, categorization,
customer tree
• Tailored business logic, rules,
descriptions
• Shared architecture
• Push and pull of data and

23.
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… and enables new experiences in store
Chapter I: Past
Retailers Customers
of affluent shoppers research
online before purchase
of luxury sales still take place
offline (75% by 2025)
higher lifetime value of
multi-channel shoppers vs.
single-channel
of consumers in store
are unknown digitally
How to provide personalised service?
How to empower Store Assistants?
85% 75%
91%
13x
CUSTOMER
CENTRIC
NO
CHANNEL
OPEN /
MODULAR
HUMAN
INTERACTION

24.
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After the roadshows…
Chapter I: Past
Our Platform

25.
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But you still can’t talk
about it.
Chapter I: Past
We actually opened at $9b
Huge industry, unique offering
Platform play resonated with analysts
Magnitide of what we are doing

26.
Becoming a publicly
Traded company
26
Chapter II: Present

27.
A single moment.
27
Chapter II: Present

28.
A celebration of
hard work.
28
Chapter II: Present

29.
Stories are built on
characters.
29
ALL companies are technology companies.
We happen to work in fashion.
At Farfetch, Product & Design has always
been a main character.
Ringing the bell!
Me again!
Chapter II: Present

30.
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Sharing more and new types of
numbers than before.
In a publicly traded company there are
shareholder meetings, quarterly
earnings calls and more scrutiny of
how you make decisions.
What does this mean
for product?
Chapter II: Present

31.
31
But you must also be really good at
continuous deployment of incremental value.
Your job as product is still to keep your eye on
the short and long term visions.
To grow top-line AND bottom-line while
innovating into new spaces ahead of the rest.
You must still take
risks.
Chapter II: Present

32.
32
01.
Develop a portfolio investment thesis.
Measure benefits of products back into the P&L.
02.
Ensure you are organised for increased
autonomy, focus & accountability.
Methodologies are a study in anthropology
determined by your tech, industry, culture.
The story continues I.
Chapter II: Present

33.
33
03.
Continue improving ways of working at the team
level.
04.
Quarterly & annual strategies rooted in data, but also
long range plans that keep you tethered to the mission!
A method to track alignment on the big picture (like
OKRs) is your friend.
The story continues II.
Chapter II: Present

34.
There are many more
chapters to come
34
Chapter III: Future

35.
35
There’s a lot more
to come.
Chapter III: Future
Show up.
Be human.
Be brilliant.
Todos Juntos!

36.
Thanks!
36
Sara Wood: Global VP Product