The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

20VC: The Ultimate Guide to Scaling Marketplaces, Why Rule of 40 and EBITDA Optimisation is BS, How Founders & VCs Should Approach Market Sizing and Outcome Scenario Planning and Why Europe is Failing with Vinted CEO, Thomas Plantenga & Alex Taussig

Feb 12, 2024

Thomas Plantenga, CEO of Vinted, and Alex Taussig from Lightspeed discuss topics such as Thomas becoming CEO, Vinted's growth metrics and expansion strategy, the flaws of 'Rule of 40' and EBITDA optimization in startups, and the challenges of scaling a marketplace. They also talk about the impact of COVID-19 on Vinted, market entry priorities, and the European market. In the episode, they provide valuable insights into the mechanics of marketplaces and share their experiences in different markets.

01:13:42

Creator website

Episode guests

Thomas Plantenga

Alex Taussig

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Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Vinted prioritizes new market selection based on the probability of success and the size of the market.

Building depth in each market drives network effects and increases the value of the marketplace.

Vinted emphasizes the importance of considering absolute cash flow and return on equity, rather than fixating on metrics like Rule of 40 and EBITDA margin.

Deep dives

Determining success probability and market size

When choosing new markets to expand into, Vinted assesses the probability of success and the size of the market. Probability of success is determined by competition, infrastructure development, maturity of the e-commerce market, and other variables. The size of the market is also a crucial factor. The equation is a product of these two factors, which helps prioritize the selection of new markets.

Debunking the Importance of EBITDA Margin Optimization and Emphasizing Absolute Cash Flow

04:14

Building on Past Success and the Power of Unexpected Connections

01:32

Importance of having a significant market presence in fashion industry

01:15

Balancing Relevance and Inspiration in Recommendations

01:45

Introduction

4min

The Evolution of Vinted's Business Model

18min

The Importance of First Transactions and Success in Different Markets

14min

Analyzing the Efficient Frontier and Lifetime Value Attribution

5min

The Impact of COVID-19, Seasonal Effects, and a Paranoid Mindset

2min

Determining Which Markets to Enter

10min

The Rule of 40: Limited Value in Evaluating Businesses

17min

Opinions on Vint, European Market, and Interview Experience; Sponsor Promotions

4min

Thomas Plantenga is the CEO @ Vinted, one of the fastest-growing marketplaces in the world with a valuation of $4.5BN. Prior to becoming CEO, Thomas worked with a range of organisations including Bookaboat, OLX, Sellit/Wallapop and FJLabs.

Alex Taussig is a General Partner @ Lightspeed and co-leads the fund's Consumer investment team. Alex's portfolio includes the likes of All Day Kitchens, Archive Resale, Daily Harvest, Faire, Found, Frubana, Keychain, Kikoff, Vinted, YaySay, and Zola.

In Today's Episode with Thomas Plantenga and Alex Taussig We Discuss:

1. The CEO Who Did Not Want to be CEO:

How did Thomas come to be CEO @ Vinted? Why did he not want the job at first?
What does Thomas know now that he wishes he had known when he started?

2. The Mechanics of the Fastest Growing Marketplace:

What is the single most important metric for Vinted?
How does Vinted determine what market to open next? What do they look for?
How does Vinted think about depth vs breadth in each country?
What is the AOV today? How does it vary by country?
How long does it take for each country to be cash flow positive?

3. The Biggest BS in Startups: Rule of 40 and EBITDA:

Why does Thomas think VC's obsession with "Rule of 40" is BS?
Why does Thomas believe EBITDA optimization is BS and useless?
What are the hardest elements of scaling a marketplace that no one knows?

4. The Bull, Bear and Investor Approach to Vinted:

Alex, what was Lightspeed's pre and post-mortem when investing in Vinted?
How does Lightspeed analyze TAM and market sizing when investing?
What was Lightspeed's single biggest concern when investing in Vinted?

5. Europe: A Hub of Innovation or a Retirement Home:

Does Thomas believe that European young people have a worse work ethic than those in the US?
Is Thomas concerned by the state of regulation hampering innovation in Europe?
What can be done to improve work ethic and the state of regulation today?
Why is Alex and Lightspeed more bullish than ever on Europe today?

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The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

20VC: The Ultimate Guide to Scaling Marketplaces, Why Rule of 40 and EBITDA Optimisation is BS, How Founders & VCs Should Approach Market Sizing and Outcome Scenario Planning and Why Europe is Failing with Vinted CEO, Thomas Plantenga & Alex Taussig

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Determining success probability and market size

Building depth in each market

Ramp time to profitability

Assessing customer acquisition costs

The Future of the Second-Hand Marketplace

Challenging Conventional Metrics in Business Evaluation

Debunking the Importance of EBITDA Margin Optimization and Emphasizing Absolute Cash Flow

Building on Past Success and the Power of Unexpected Connections

Importance of having a significant market presence in fashion industry

Balancing Relevance and Inspiration in Recommendations

Get the Snipd
podcast app

AI-powered
podcast player

Discover
highlights

Save any
moment

Share
& Export

AI-powered
podcast player

Discover
highlights

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

20VC: The Ultimate Guide to Scaling Marketplaces, Why Rule of 40 and EBITDA Optimisation is BS, How Founders & VCs Should Approach Market Sizing and Outcome Scenario Planning and Why Europe is Failing with Vinted CEO, Thomas Plantenga & Alex Taussig

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Determining success probability and market size

Building depth in each market

Ramp time to profitability

Assessing customer acquisition costs

The Future of the Second-Hand Marketplace

Challenging Conventional Metrics in Business Evaluation

Debunking the Importance of EBITDA Margin Optimization and Emphasizing Absolute Cash Flow

Building on Past Success and the Power of Unexpected Connections

Importance of having a significant market presence in fashion industry

Balancing Relevance and Inspiration in Recommendations

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Save anymoment

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