# Etsy: Rob Kalin

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2023-10-30
- Length: 1h 21m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-10-30-etsy-rob-kalin

## Summary

Rob Kalin, co-founder of Etsy, explains how he launched the marketplace in 2005 to solve his own difficulty selling handmade furniture, leveraging early web community tools like Get Crafty. He details the initial fundraising from Spencer Altman and the operational challenges of 2005, including buying hardware and using PayPal, while establishing a community-driven business model distinct from eBay. Kalin describes the cultural clash with professional CEO Maria Thomas, his subsequent return, and his sudden firing by the board in 2011, which led him to return to his roots as a maker in the Catskills.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-10-30-etsy-rob-kalin#t=0) Introduction: Rob Kalin and Etsy's Origins
- [4:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-10-30-etsy-rob-kalin#t=261) Kalin's Early Life and Path to Web Development
- [14:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-10-30-etsy-rob-kalin#t=877) Selling Furniture and the Birth of Etsy
- [23:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-10-30-etsy-rob-kalin#t=1434) Fundraising and Early Operations (2005)
- [35:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-10-30-etsy-rob-kalin#t=2144) Product Design, Jared Tarbell, and Community
- [52:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-10-30-etsy-rob-kalin#t=3131) Hiring Maria Thomas and Cultural Clash
- [1:06:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-10-30-etsy-rob-kalin#t=3985) The Sudden Firing and Board Conflict
- [1:13:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-10-30-etsy-rob-kalin#t=4401) Life After Etsy: Makers and New Ventures

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Etsy (company)
- Spencer Altman (other)
- Get Crafty (product)
- PayPal (product)
- eBay (company)
- Jared Tarbell (other)
- Maria Thomas (other)
- Fred Wilson (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Afterschool Podcast, Episode 1 - Rich Brilliant Willing](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/core77-podcast/2013-08-19-afterschool-podcast-episode-1-rich-brilliant-willing) (Core77 Podcast)
- [Afterschool Podcast, Episode 19 - Craighton Berman, Founder of Manual (04/16)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/core77-podcast/2014-04-16-afterschool-podcast-episode-19-craighton-berman-founder-of-manual-04-16) (Core77 Podcast)
- [40: Mwahaha Session](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2014-02-26-40-mwahaha-session) (Embedded.fm)
- [389: Blobs Are Not Stressful](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-10-14-389-blobs-are-not-stressful) (Embedded.fm)
- [72: This Is My NASA Phone](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2014-10-15-72-this-is-my-nasa-phone) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-10-30-etsy-rob-kalin. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to How I Built This.