Etsy · Go-to-market · Senior · 45 to 60 minutes

How should Etsy win its first 1,000 users?

Etsy is an online marketplace where independent creators can sell handmade, vintage, and craft-related goods to buyers looking for unique items. Answer this product management case and get it graded line by line against a weighted rubric.

Marketplace strategy
Go-to-market planning
Prioritization
Metric design
Strategic positioning

The situation

It is 2005, and Etsy is preparing to launch a new online marketplace for independent creators. The founders believe there is unmet demand for more personal, distinctive commerce than large ecommerce sites offer, but they are entering a difficult market structure: a two-sided marketplace with no existing liquidity. Sellers will not invest time listing products if buyers do not come, and buyers will not return if the marketplace feels empty or confusing. Offline substitutes like craft fairs and trade shows already exist, while large online platforms compete well on scale and convenience. The founders have asked you, the product lead, to recommend the go-to-market approach for the first phase of the business. You need to decide how narrowly to define the marketplace at launch, which side of the marketplace to prioritize first, and what tactics should get Etsy to its first 1,000 active users without diluting the brand or creating a poor early experience. Assume the team has a small budget, limited engineering capacity, and only a short window to show initial traction to future investors and recruits.

What to produce

Write a 1 to 2 page go-to-market memo for Etsy's launch phase.

Your answer must

Define the initial target market and explain how narrowly Etsy should constrain the marketplace at launch.
Choose whether to prioritize supply, demand, or a staged approach, and justify the sequencing using marketplace dynamics.
Propose 3 concrete acquisition tactics for the first 1,000 active users, with clear owners, expected effect, and why they fit Etsy's brand.
Identify the key marketplace health metrics you would track in the first 6 months, and explain what good or bad signals would look like.
Call out the main risks and second-order effects of your plan, including how your choices could help or hurt future expansion.

Constraints

Do not assume Etsy can outspend large ecommerce platforms on paid acquisition.
Do not rely on broad catalog expansion at launch, the team cannot support many categories well from day one.
Do not propose solutions that require a large logistics or inventory operation, Etsy does not own supply.
Keep the plan realistic for a very small early team with limited product and sales bandwidth.

Format

Use sections for target market, sequencing, acquisition plan, metrics, and risks.

How Etsy actually played it

Explains marketplaces, Etsy's niche positioning, how it got its first 1,000 users and constrained categories.

Constrain a marketplace to a niche
Acquire both sides carefully
Position strategically early

Built from How Etsy Grows by Jaryd Hermann (How They Grow).