Key insights

• 🎯 Whatnot aimed to fill the gap in the collectibles market by providing a platform for buying and selling authenticated Funko Pops.
• 🚀 The initial launch involved a website and Facebook ads, but faced challenges with customer acquisition and engagement.
• 📱 Developing a mobile app and introducing the 'drop' feature, along with raffle tickets, led to a growing user base, but users mainly engaged with the raffle without making purchases.
• 📈 Building audience trust, developing a strong buyer base, and creating a cross-listing tool for sellers on eBay were key inflection points that led to increased sales and growth.
• 🛒 The company leveraged its eBay reputation to help new sellers and later built a live shopping feature to enhance the buying experience during the pandemic.
• 🌟 Convincing Logan to build a live Shopping product and quickly testing it led to a significant increase in growth for the business, marking a pivotal moment for the company.

Q&A

• What marked a pivotal moment for Whatnot?

  A pivotal moment for Whatnot was when the speaker convinced Logan to build a live shopping product. After quick testing, the company successfully sold $5000 worth of products, leading to a significant increase in growth for the business.

• How did Whatnot enhance the buying experience during the pandemic?

  During the pandemic, Whatnot built a live shopping feature to enhance the buying experience for its users. The company leveraged its eBay reputation to help new sellers and focused on creating the best Funko Pop marketplace in the world.

• What were the inflection points experienced by Whatnot?

  Whatnot experienced inflection points in building audience trust, developing a strong buyer base, creating a cross-listing tool for sellers on eBay, and leveraging its eBay reputation to assist new sellers. This ultimately led to increased sales and growth for the company.

• How did Whatnot address the challenges faced during its first launch?

  To address the challenges, Whatnot focused on developing a mobile app for its second launch. The company introduced a 'drop' feature, which involved a raffle to drive efficient acquisition through word of mouth, leading to a growing user base. Additionally, Whatnot collaborated with Funko Pop influencers to build trust and credibility.

• What were the challenges Whatnot faced during its first launch?

  The challenges of Whatnot's first launch included customer acquisition and engagement, despite using a pricing formula to attract both buyers and sellers. The initial launch involved a website and Facebook ads, but faced difficulties in attracting and engaging customers.

• 00:00 Grant LaFontaine, co-founder of Whatnot, shares the challenges of their first launch, which involved creating a marketplace for Funko Pops using a pricing formula to attract both buyers and sellers.
• 02:43 When Whatnot launched, it aimed to fill the gap in the collectibles market by providing a platform for buying and selling items like Funko Pops. The initial launch involved a website and Facebook ads, but faced challenges with customer acquisition and engagement. The second launch focused on developing a mobile app to address these issues.
• 04:53 The company built a mobile app and introduced a feature called 'the drop' to drive efficient acquisition through word of mouth. The drop feature and raffle tickets led to a growing user base, but people mainly used the raffle system without making purchases. To build trust, the company collaborated with Funko Pop influencers.
• 07:02 The company experienced multiple inflection points, including building audience trust, developing a strong buyer base, and creating a cross-listing tool for sellers on eBay, leading to increased sales and growth.
• 09:19 The company leveraged its eBay reputation to help new sellers, and later built a live shopping feature to enhance the buying experience during the pandemic.
• 11:38 The speaker convinced Logan to build a live Shopping product, they quickly tested it and sold out $5000 worth of products, leading to a significant increase in growth for the business. This marked a pivotal moment for the company.