Letgo Explained

Letgo
Company Type:Private
Location City:New York City and Barcelona[1] [2]
Founder:Alec Oxenford
Jordi Castello
Enrique Linares
Type:Online classifieds
Language:English, Czech, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Croatian, Turkish
Industry:Marketplace, App
Current Status:Active only in Turkey, Spain, and Norway
Successor:OfferUp (for North America)
Native Clients:iOS and Android

Letgo (stylized letgo) was a company that provided a website and app that allows users to buy from, sell to and chat with others locally. The products launched in 2015.[3]

History

Launched in January 2015 by Alec Oxenford, former CEO of OLX, the app initially targeted the U.S. market, competing against eBay and Craigslist, the online marketplace leaders since the 1990s.[4] [5] [6] [7]

In May 2016, the company merged with Wallapop, another mobile classifieds startup.[8] Letgo remained the majority owner of the company and the brand remained Letgo.[9] At the time, there were about 10 million monthly active users between the two apps, according to SurveyMonkey data published by TechCrunch.[10]

From its launch, the company did not charge for its services, earning no revenue, as part of its strategy to grow quickly.[11] As of June 2018, the listing service remained free, but the app added a paid beta feature allowing users to place their sales item above organic search results.[12]

Three quarters of the first round investment of $100 million was slated for marketing.[13] The ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky Miami created a television ad campaign for the app, directed by filmmaker Craig Gillespie. Each advertisement is premised on an extreme situation, such as a person dangling over a cliff who might plunge down because he's holding on to a bowling ball, where the sensible thing to do is to let go of the item.[14] CP+B Miami also created a series of four ads allowing customers to incorporate images and descriptions of their items for sale directly into a satirical video ad, such as one featuring action film star Dolph Lundgren as a mercenary.[15]

The app launched in Canada in October 2016 and in Norway in November 2016.[16] [17]

In September 2019, Naspers spun off its investments in Letgo into a separate company, Prosus.[18]

In March 2020, competitor OfferUp announced they would be acquiring Letgo.[19]

As of September 21, 2020, Letgo has officially become a part of OfferUp.[20]

Growth

By September 2015, the company said its app had two million downloads and half a million product listings. Comscore said it was the second-fastest growing app in the U.S., in 2017.[21] As of January 2018, the app had about 75 million downloads, compared to 30 million in August 2016.[22] It had 200 million listings for secondhand goods and about three billion messages were exchanged between users.[23] The company said it had monthly repeated visitors in the "tens of millions". In August 2018, the company reported the app had more than 100 million downloads and 400 million. Listings were up about 65% during the first eight months of 2018.[24]

Funding

The company raised US$100 million in 2015, one of the five largest first rounds of venture capital financing since 2008. Following a merger in May 2016 with Wallapop, a competitor with a reported valuation of about $570 million, the company raised an additional $100 million. As of September 2017 the company valuation was more than $1 billion. By that time, it had raised $375 million in total capital.[25] In August 2018, it raised $500 million from Naspers.[26] [27]

Corporate affairs

Leadership

Letgo is managed by CEO and Co-founder Enrique Linares Plaza. Other key executives are:[28] [29]

Product

The app and website facilitates buying and selling used goods. The marketplace, optimized primarily for smartphones, features large photos of products for sale.[30] No log-in is required. Goods are displayed based on the geolocation closest to the buyer. The app is integrated with instant chat functionality.

In 2018, the company added video listings and image recognition that includes pricing suggestions.[21] A housing section was also added.[31]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Lomas. Natasha. Wallapop and LetGo, two Craigslist rivals, merge to take on the U.S. market, raise $100M more. 14 April 2018. TechCrunch. 10 May 2016.
  2. News: Hopland. Sindre. Barcelona Marketplace Merger: Wallapop + Letgo = Letgo. Barcinno. 14 April 2018. 12 May 2016.
  3. News: South Africa's Naspers Backs Smartphone Start-Up Letgo. The New York Times. 3 September 2015 . 17 December 2015.
  4. News: A new app with 2 million users just raised $100 million to take on eBay. 2015-09-03. Fortune. 2016-06-18.
  5. Web site: letgo Merges with Wallapop; Raises $100M. 2016-05-12. FinSMEs. 2016-06-18.
  6. News: Meet the Argentine Tech Entrepreneur Who Started His Own Emerging-Art Incubator. Gleeson. Bridget. 2015-05-27. 2016-06-14. Artsy.
  7. Web site: Naspers Plants a Flag in U.S., with New Venture Group. Loizos. Connie. TechCrunch. 11 May 2016 . 2016-06-18.
  8. News: Wallapop and LetGo, two Craigslist rivals, merge to take on the U.S. market, raise $100M more. Lunden. Ingrid. 2016-05-10. 2016-06-18. Lomas. Natasha. TechCrunch.
  9. Web site: Letgo buys fellow mobile classifieds startup Wallapop. Geron. Tomio. MarketWatch. 2016-06-18.
  10. News: Shieber. Jonathan. Letgo raises $175 million for its used goods marketplace. 2 May 2017. TechCrunch. 17 January 2017.
  11. News: Letgo raises $175 million for its used goods market. Shieber. Jonathan. 17 January 2017. 8 October 2018. TechCrunch.
  12. Web site: LetGo Business Model: How does LetGo Make Money?. Pahwa. Aashish. Feedough.com. 2 October 2017 . 8 October 2018.
  13. News: South Africa's Naspers Backs Smartphone Start-Up Letgo. Merced. Michael J. De La. 2015-09-03. The New York Times. 2016-06-15. 0362-4331.
  14. News: How Classifieds Startup Letgo Aims To Help Americans Get Rid Of Their Useless Stuff. 2016-02-08. 2016-06-19. Fast Company. en-US. Co.Create.
  15. Web site: Letgo's new tool lets users make blockbuster ads to sell their junk - Digiday. Dua. Tanya. 2016-04-21. . en-US. 2016-06-19.
  16. News: Letgo smartphone app looks to disrupt online classifieds market in Canada. 2017-01-02. The Globe and Mail.
  17. News: Argentinsk seriegründer går til kamp mot finn.no. Moe. Sigrid. E24. 2017-01-02.
  18. News: Drozdiak . Natalia . Naspers Prepares to List Global Empire From Ads to Tencent . 30 October 2019 . Bloomberg . 9 September 2019.
  19. Web site: OfferUp raises $120M, will acquire rival Letgo; OLX Group to own 40% of combined entity. 2020-03-25. GeekWire. en-US. 2020-03-26.
  20. Web site: letgo is now part of OfferUp!. 2020-10-02. OfferUp Support. en-US.
  21. News: LetGo, the 2nd-hand shopping app, raises another $500M at over a $1.5B valuation. TechCrunch. 2018-09-10. en-US.
  22. News: EBay Rival Letgo Touts Sales Growth as VCs Foot the Bill. 2016-08-25. Bloomberg.com. 2017-01-02.
  23. News: Letgo takes on Craigslist with addition of housing listings. Perez. Sarah. 22 January 2018. 14 April 2018. TechCrunch.
  24. News: LetGo, the 2nd-hand shopping app, raises another $500M at over a $1.5B valuation. TechCrunch. 2018-09-10. en-US.
  25. News: Billion-dollar startup Letgo is becoming the go-to app for selling your stuff — here's how it works . Hartmans. Avery. 20 September 2017. 14 April 2018. Business Insider.
  26. News: $100 Million Was Once Big Money for a Start-Up. Now, It's Common.. Griffith. Erin. 14 August 2018. 8 October 2018. The New York Times.
  27. News: Secondhand marketplace app Letgo scores $500M from Naspers. Noto. Anthony. 16 August 2018. 8 October 2018. Biz Journals.
  28. Web site: Letgo CEO and key executive team. Craft. 25 February 2020.
  29. Web site: 2019-09-19 . letgo Appoints First CPO and CFO . 2020-02-25 . Business Wire . en.
  30. News: Mobile App Letgo Raises $100 Million From Naspers To Take Over Classifieds In The U.S.. Perez. Sarah. 2015-09-03. 2016-06-14. TechCrunch.
  31. News: Craiglist competitor Letgo adds housing sales to its secondhand marketplace. Gartenberg. Chaim. 22 January 2018. The Verge. 22 January 2018. Vox Media.

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