Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth
Inside Etsy’s product, growth, and marketplace evolution | Tim Holley (VP of Product)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover concrete, actionable, and tactical advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Show Notes
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Tim Holley is VP of Product at Etsy where he leads the Etsy buyer experience. With a tenure spanning more than a decade, Tim has seen the company through many transitions (both in culture, in leadership, and in growth), and his team’s product changes have had a significant impact on buyer retention, conversion, and global expansion. In this episode, we discuss:
• Lessons from navigating corporate culture shifts
• How Etsy capitalized on the explosive growth of e-commerce during the pandemic
• Marketplace learnings: when to focus on supply vs. demand, optimizing conversion, and more
• How Etsy solves the “graduation problem”
• Tips for hiring product managers
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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-etsys-product-growth-and-marketplace
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Where to find Tim Holley:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timholley/
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Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
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In this episode, we cover:
() Tim’s background
() Tim’s time away at SoulCycle and what led him back to Etsy
() Lessons from the 2017 culture shift at Etsy
() Etsy’s guiding principles
() How Etsy adapted to increased demand during the early days of mask mandates
() What Tim learned about managing stress with his team during the pandemic
() Lessons from building a thriving marketplace
() Prioritization at Etsy
() Supply constraint vs. demand constraint
() Conversion wins
() Experimentation at Etsy
() Acquisition and top-of-funnel tactics
() The seller referral program
() Etsy’s habit loop framework
() How they set themselves apart from other marketplaces
() Retaining sellers
() The defunct Etsy studio
() Running the product team
() Who the decision maker is
() What Tim looks for when hiring PMs
() A reflection exercise Tim does with his teams
() Lightning round
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Referenced:
• Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/
• SoulCycle: https://www.soul-cycle.com/
• Inside the Revolution at Etsy: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/25/business/etsy-josh-silverman.html
• Ronny Kohavi on Lenny’s Podcast: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-ab-testing-ronny-kohavi-airbnb-microsoft-amazon/
• How to Kickstart and Scale a Marketplace Business – Part 3: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-kickstart-and-scale-a-marketplace-911
• Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World: https://www.amazon.com/Team-Teams-Rules-Engagement-Complex/dp/1591847486
• Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman: https://www.amazon.com/Let-People-Surfing-Education-Businessman-Including/dp/0143109677
• The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Broker-Robert-Moses-Fall/dp/0394720245
• Yellowstone on Paramount+: https://www.paramountnetwork.com/shows/yellowstone
• Nara Baby app: https://naraorganics.com/nara-baby-tracker
• Huckleberry app: https://huckleberrycare.com/
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Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.
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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe
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