Etsy's IPO

A successful angel investment went from seed to fruition on Nasdaq at the opening day of Etsy’s public offering. Etsy’s IPO, which was priced at $16 per share, more than doubled on its first day of trading. At the highest, it hit $34.54 a share.

CEO Chad Dickerson told CNBC that Amazon, eBay and Alibaba are Etsy’s biggest competitor. But what Etsy has in its back pocket is that 92% of Etsy visitors come to find items not easily found elsewhere — mostly because many independent smaller sellers feature products on Etsy. This specialized service of goods creates a virtual ‘society of #Etsyites’ who are loyal visitors. This puts the company in a sort of retail niche market that may have the competition beat.

This news is fortuitous for the New York-based online retailer that has approximately 1.4 million sellers responsible for 42% of Etsy’s revenue — though the company earns most of its revenue from advertising and payment/shipping processing.

After its successful IPO, Etsy may be in an even better position to cultivate entrepreneurship specifically in the U.S., Canada, the UK and beyond, and with its successful IPO; Etsy is poised to move into the beyond, according to Dickerson, “[…] I think over the long term you will see Etsy grow around the world.”

And there is no reason to think otherwise after Thursday.

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