Yaga

Catch Karl Erik Kotkas and me at Slush if: 💚 you love marketplaces ♻️ you believe in the circular economy and secondhand fashion 🌍 you are excited about the growth potential of Africa & MENA Our current growth momentum is more than 100% YoY. Our GMV run rate is 40m€, with a net revenue take rate of 8% and growing. Plus, we are profitable. 🚀 I'll say that again - p r o f i t a b l e. 💸 We are raising 3-4m€ to open (and test!) more markets in the region and to prepare the organization for further deployment if the tests are successful. No need to raise more at the moment as our core markets are profitable. If what we are building at Yaga excites you, then reach out to us. We would be happy to meet you in person in Helsinki at the Slush or Latitude59 event in Nairobi!

Kenya, get ready! Yaga is coming to Nairobi, and I want you to be part of the action. In a few weeks, I'll be in Kenya with some big news. Yaga has seen massive success in Estonia and South Africa, selling millions of items and enabling users to earn millions in extra cash, all while staying true to our sustainability mission. Before we go fully public and make the big announcement during the Latitude59 event, we're starting with a friends and family phase to help get the platform looking lively and ready for launch. 👉 If you're in Nairobi, you can be one of the first Yaga users. There’s a thank-you gift (a bit of Yaga credit + cash), and all I ask is that you list a few items to help us fill up the marketplace with beautiful pre-loved finds. It’s a simple way to earn a little extra, score some great deals, and be part of something meaningful – supporting sustainable fashion and giving items a second life. Do you have friends or family members selling secondhand on Facebook or Instagram? Invite them too! Let me know if you're in, and I'll guide you through the next steps! 💛

We’re really excited to share that Yaga has been featured on the Sifted 30: Eastern Europe & Baltics Leaderboard 🤩 This regional ranking showcases the 30 fastest-growing startups across the region in 2024 based on revenue growth over the last three financial years. And of course, we are thrilled to see Katana Cloud Inventory, Roofit.Solar, Tuum and other Estonian companies in the list together with us. One datapoint I would change: as of today, I can say, yes, Yaga is profitable! 💸

Exciting news! 👀 You can now catch sight of the striking Yaga branding on cars cruising the streets of South Africa! Let me know if you spot them 🖤

Yesterday, I stepped on stage at The Marketplace Conference as one of the 10 best marketplaces out of 200 applicants. I didn't win the €1 million investment (but hey, I think Yaga is too mature to receive funding this way anyway), but that wasn't the main value I was seeking. The beauty of yesterday was meeting so many people who simply LOVE marketplaces, understand marketplaces, and are there to share their experiences and connect with like-minded individuals, ranging from startup founders to market leaders to experienced VCs. I had many valuable conversations, insightful presentations, and curious chats with fellow founders. Additionally, we received a lot of support and kind words, as people were already aware of what we are building at Yaga.🙌 Highlighting some memorable snapshots from yesterday: 1. & 2. The exhilarating moment of pitching Yaga on stage. 3. The post-stage high, filled with support from my incredible co-founder, Karl Erik Kotkas. 4. Engaging session with Stefan Batory, Co-Founder of Booksy and Benjamin Roth, Co-Founder of Urban Sports Club, sharing some of the thoughts from their conversation below. 5. Hearing market insights from Jose Marin, Co-Founder of FJ Labs, who coincidentally bears a striking resemblance to Antonio Banderas. 6. With Maximilian Wilhelm from Speedinvest - a big thank you to you and the other jury members for choosing Yaga as one of the top 10 marketplaces to pitch on stage! Some of Stefan Batory's wisdom from Booksy that deeply resonated deeply with me, and I want to share: 💡 The world moves much slower than you think and it takes more time to secure markets. 💡 The impulse to move fast can be a mistake - expanding too early simply multiplies your problems. 💡 It's better to be #1 in one market than #3 in four markets. Winner takes it all. To sum up - I loved the day, the people, and the experience! 💛 See you next year!

Yay, our new Yaga ad has over 1 MILLION views on YouTube! 👏 👏 👏Hopefully, soon we can share the campaign results too. Stay tuned to hear about our learnings. Who has not yet checked out our new concept in South Africa? See the link in the comments.

Today is a (really!!!) big day at Yaga: We’re launching an all out, multi-channel, mass media campaign across all of South Africa. TV, cinema, billboards, branded cars, digital - everything. For three months! It’s a big experiment, it's expensive, it's risky - but it's also the kind of initiative that differentiates startups that grow incrementally from startups that hyperscale and truly make it. "But TV is expensive! Nobody watches TV nowadays! Are you mad!" Maybe, but ... TV, and all mass media, contribute to awareness. We have close to 1 million users in South Africa, and there's still a lot of market to capture. We know we need to go big - and appear big - to earn the brand awareness and trust that we need to capture our true potential. You can't do that with a single billboard, or a one-week TV campaign. You need to go all out. Yaga is a consumer product built for everyone who wears clothes and potentially could become a seller or a buyer. And for everyone who cares about making sustainable choices. We need to reach them. The success of getting this campaign live is all thanks to the hard work of Sofie Malá, Lize De Klerk, Anette Apri and RAPT Creative Agency, Garreth van Vuuren 🏴, James Cloete, Anke Nel and the rest of the team 🙏 Here are some behind-the-scenes photos; a true Yaga-verse has been created! Check out our first ad of 3 by clicking the link in the comments!

Happy birthday Yaga! Seven years ago, I didn't actually know what I signed up for. I didn't know what it takes to build a global secondhand fashion marketplace, nor did I know that it would turn out to be the biggest learning experience for me both professionally and personally. Initially, we developed Yaga as a super simple MVP in just four months to understand if we could gain any traction. The first items for sale were the things I found in my home, and the first item sold was an android phone at a ridiculously low price. However, it attracted people to visit Yaga. We focused on African markets, and in 2020, we launched Yaga in South Africa. Fast forward, and we now have 1 million users and have sold over 3 million items — meaning that 3 million items have been purchased secondhand, leaving as many items unbought instead of as new! We have been consciously bootstrapping with the goal of building a sustainable business — we have reached a GMV run-rate of 27m€ with only 3m€ in funding (!) and a team of 20. As a birthday gift to ourselves, we achieved break-even last month, wohooo! Our mission is to make fashion consumption more sustainable ♻ We advocate for buying only what is necessary, and if we do shop, we should prioritize secondhand items. If more people choose to buy secondhand, fewer new items would need to be produced. If this mission resonates with you and you are interested in learning how to build a marketplace for millions of people, especially if you have a background in Product, Engineering, or Growth, we have key positions to fill. Just reach out to me! Once again, thank you to the Yaga team, advisors, investors, and of course, our user community for supporting our mission!👏

Last week, two amazing conferences took place in Tallinn - the Africa Business Forum and Latitude59! As a founder building a product for African markets, I was reassured that Africa is the place to be. Valuable insights were provided by Lacina Koné, Justina Oha, Caroline Wanjihia, CFA.c, CPA, LLB, Chidi Afulezi, Caleb Maru and others. One of my key takeaways is that in Africa, everything is about localization and that connectivity is not the main challenge, but rather affordability, access to smart devices, local content, and cyber hygiene. Africa is a long game, not a short win! My special thanks go to Daniel Schaer for bringing Estonia and Africa together, Sandra Särav for her endless enthusiasm and support, appreciation to Joel Karubiu for being an amazing host and showing everyone how to have fun on stage. And a big shoutout to fellow founders who have boots on the ground in Africa - Marten Orgna, Eerik Oja, Kristjan Raude 🌍 & Robin Saluoks 👏

Want to build the best mobile-first marketplace for preloved fashion? I'm looking for experienced product engineers to join my team! #hiring