About Robert Kalin
In a 2017 interview on the podcast *How I Built This*, Etsy co-founder Rob Kalin discussed the company's early growth and his departure. Kalin stated that Etsy generated $1 million in sales during its first year, and he described the initial challenge of building a two-sided marketplace as a "classic chicken and egg problem." He also recalled being fired in 2011 by investor Fred Wilson during a lunch meeting, saying Wilson told him "We have to do this" without providing a reason, a process Kalin compared to a "Kafka novel."
Kalin also reflected on the tension that arose after Etsy brought in a professional COO who later became CEO. He said that when a CEO is brought in and the founder retains power, "it almost never works out" and "creates a lot of conflict." Kalin, who founded Etsy in 2005 to help makers sell handmade goods, said he returned to a quieter life as a maker after being fired.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Robert Kalin's recent appearances.
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Transcript (1 segments)
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James0:00
I don't think an economic slump will hurt good ideas. Rob Callan, some of the greatest ideas come from an economic slump. Whether we're talking about big businesses or the economy itself, where no one's making money, the economy's horrible, we're all broke, or whether the economy is thriving and a lot of people are making money, but it's this particular time for us personally where our businesses are making money, we're not making a lot of money. We're in a struggle. We eat, we don't have a lot of money. Sometimes it's during those times where some of the greatest ideas come out of us because we're so broke we don't have anything good going on. So we really start to brainstorm. We don't go out, we don't have fun with our friends because we can't afford it. So we're by ourselves. We really start storyboarding, we really start thinking of these different ideas. We really start thinking of, okay, here's the problem, what's the solution? We look for answers. Instead of when we're doing well financially, we're ballin' out of control. A lot of times when we're ballin' out of control, what happens when we're in comfortable mode? We're no longer hungry. And if we're not hungry, we're not gonna go out there and try to look for solutions because we're already doing well. So a lot of times right now, if you're watching this and if you're broke right now, you're thinking, man, I get out of the slump right now could be the greatest time for you to start thinking and brainstorming some of your greatest ideas. Thank you for watching today's video. The most important part though is, what did you think of today's message? Comment below and let me know. And do me a personal favor guys, it would be awesome if you could go to my Facebook page, the official James shoe push light, subscribe to my YouTube channel at schooi. I'm James. And if you want to talk to me directly, find me on either Twitter or Instagram at shoot em james. Have a better than beautiful day and I'll see you tomorrow.
