It is unusual to see the founding team of at a conference or on stage… but it does happen. Miguel Vicente and Gerard Olive, Two of the founding members of the Wallapop App group have frequently appeared at conferences to talk about the . The other Wallapop founder and CEO, Agustin Gomez, has kept a low profile since the conception of its app.
In any case, that changed this week when the Wallapop founder appeared on TechCrunch Disrupt and was interviewed on stage by Natasha Lomas. He didn’t say anything about the company that we didn’t know, but he did comment on a few things.
No interest in talking about Wallapop App valuation
The founding team of Wallapop App has never wanted to speak in public about how much money they have received, from whom or what their plans are for the near future.
We know from reliable sources that the startup has raised more than $140 million from Fidelity, Insight Venture Partners, Accel Partners, Northzone VC or Vostok. However, the founder of Wallapop App, Agustín Gómez, once again declined to speak in detail about the matter, which is completely understandable from the startup’s point of view.
“We have long thought that there is nothing positive in talking about financing, so we never comment on this and keep a low profile. It’s a personal point of view: the only ones really interested in knowing how much money we have in the bank are our competitors. I don’t see any advantage in talking about getting financed. In our communications and public relations we focus on topics that are interesting.”
The press seems pretty obsessed these days with turning startups into ‘unicorns’ (private companies reaching $1 billion in valuation) as if that’s a big deal. TechCrunch was the first to mention in May that Wallapop App
This is what the founder of Wallapop App had to say about the topic and the nonsense of talking about whether this or that startup is going to become: “One thing we have good control over at Wallapop is never speculating on the valuation of the company. A lot of people go crazy because they think the company is better if it has a higher valuation. But if you think long term, especially in our sector where you need years to have market share, you have to manage your valuation and be consistent.»
A company powered by television
In the past we have mentioned the already famous TV commercials that Wallapop App produced in the United States and Spain. Without a monetization strategy in place, the founding team of Wallapop App remains focused on increasing its user base and seeking a good balance between buyers and sellers in its marketplace to improve it over time. Asked about its marketing strategy, Agustín stated what wallapop is a “television-driven company.”
“We’ve learned a lot about how to combine traditional marketing channels like TV with a great digital strategy,” he said. “The TV still works.”
Buying Sell It
when we found out that buying the New York Sell It, the company declined to confirm the news. In any case, in the interview the founder of Wallapop App said that the acquisition took place a couple of months ago, explained the reasons behind the deal and also what they plan to do with the company’s assets.
“This is something I can officially announce: Wallapop’s main goal is to expand our business in the United States.” Augustine said. “We started talking to Fabrice Grinda, who launched Sell It six months ago, and since then we’ve been trying to build a strong team in the US, so we talked about joining forces. We share the same vision about this new category and the agreement came quickly. I am really happy to have Fabrice by our side to help us expand our business in the United States.”
Fabrice Grinda is the co-founder of the classifieds giant OLX. , one of the main competitors -also based in Barcelona- of Wallapop App and which was also founded by former OLX executives and employees.
Jaime Novoa,
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