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This Week in Startups

Scaling Creativity: Josh Silverman on Etsy's growth, AI integration, and market strategies | E1985

This Week in Startups

Jason Calacanis

Technology

4.21.4K Ratings

🗓️ 26 July 2024

⏱️ 64 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This Week in Startups is brought to you by…

Coda. Coda empowers your startup by bringing words, tables, and teams together. Strategize, plan, and track goals effectively with all your valuable data in one place. Go to https://www.coda.io/twist to get started for FREE and get 6 free months of the Team plan.

Intercom. Intercom’s AI-first service is the best thing to happen to your customers since you. TWIST listeners can get 90% off Intercom’s platform at https://www.intercom.com/twist

Micro1. Micro1 is an AI recruitment engine to hire world class engineers fast. Visit https://www.micro1.ai/twist to open a talent search and get a 2 week free trial per hire.

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Todays show:

Etsy’s Josh Silverman joins Jason to discuss the marketplace business model (2:54), UX challenges (4:58), company operations during the pandemic (36:57), AI’s impact on team size (50:56), and more!

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Timestamps:

(0:00) Etsy’s Josh Silverman joins Jason

(2:54) The marketplace business model and Etsy's growth

(4:58) Maintaining Etsy's unique marketplace and UX challenges

(10:34) Defining handmade and GenAI art on Etsy

(11:53) Coda - Empower your startup with Coda’s Team plan for free—get 6 months at https://www.Coda.io/twist

(13:18) Preventing inauthentic sellers and the seller approval process

(20:14) Etsy's star seller program and the importance of artisanal items

(26:26) Intercom - TWIST listeners can get 90% off Intercom’s platform at https://www.intercom.com/twist

(27:55) Durable products, warranties, and customer loyalty

(35:47) Micro1 - Visit https://www.micro1.ai/twist to open a talent search and get a 2 week free trial per hire.

(36:57) Company operations during the pandemic and efficiency era

(44:11) Global talent, remote work, and productivity at Etsy

(50:56) AI's impact on team size, productivity, and customer support

(55:10) SEO strategies, organic traffic, and handling IP issues

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Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com/

Check out the TWIST500: twist500.com

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Follow Josh:

X: https://x.com/jgsilverman

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuasilverman

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Follow Jason:

X: https://twitter.com/Jason

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

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Thank you to our partners:

(11:53) Coda - Empower your startup with Coda’s Team plan for free—get 6 months at https://www.Coda.io/twist

(26:26) Intercom - TWIST listeners can get 90% off Intercom’s platform at https://www.intercom.com/twist

(35:47) Micro1 - Visit https://www.micro1.ai/twist to open a talent search and get a 2 week free trial per hire.

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Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland

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Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis

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Follow TWiST:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups

Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

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Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Every time someone says I bought it on ETSI it's always the beginning of the conversation I bought it on ESE and we had some guests over the other night and they were admiring our plates and I was like oh we bought these plates from a seller in Ukraine.

0:15.2

And in fact, we bought them from the seller in Ukraine before the war broke out and

0:20.4

then of course once the war broke out we went back to say can we support you and we bought some more it turns out a lot more people are doing that

0:27.0

There's about 30,000 sellers in Ukraine selling about 200 million dollars worth of goods to the

0:35.0

Etsy community. That's a lot of hard currency going into Ukraine.

0:39.0

When the war broke out, we had all these people come to

0:41.6

Etsy and just start searching for Ukrainian sellers

0:44.9

because they wanted a way to to connect and they wanted a way to

0:48.0

support people it's those kinds of stories

0:50.8

that are happening every day on at see that would never happen anywhere else.

0:54.0

This weekend startups is brought to you by Koda.

0:58.0

Koda empowers your startup by bringing words, tables, and teams together.

1:02.0

Strategize, plan, and teams together.

1:02.7

Strategize, plan, and track goals effectively

1:05.3

with all your valuable data in one place.

1:08.0

Go to Coda.io slash Twist

1:10.4

to get started for free and get six free months of the team plan.

1:14.0

Intercom's AI First Service

1:17.0

is the best thing to happen to your customers since you.

1:20.0

Twist listeners can get 90% off Intercom's platform at Intercom.

1:24.8

dot com slash twist. And Micro1.

1:29.6

Micro1 is an AI recruitment engine to hire world-class engineers fast.

...

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