The fast rise, rise and rise of Trade Me
It has been 11 years since Trade Me topped the Deloitte Fast 50 and it has continued to skyrocket, while still remaining true to its Kiwi roots.
The Deloitte Fast 50, now in its 15th year, is an index ranking the country’s fastest growing companies and Trade Me won it in 2004 with a three-year growth rate of 1078 per cent.
Chief executive Jon Macdonald joined the company in 2003 as the head of technology, and says much has changed since then. Sam Morgan was still running the show, there were only 15 staff and everything was smaller – members, listings, sales. Mobile wasn’t really a ‘‘thing’’, either.
Now, Trade Me has about 800,000 unique visitors every day and more than 1.8 million items are listed every week, with 250,000 items sold.
Mobile visitors total more than 50 per cent, compared to just 2 per cent as recently as 2010, when the first Trade Me iPhone app was launched.
Macdonald took the helm in 2008 after Morgan stepped down and now leads a team of 450.
Since the Fast 50 win in 2004, Trade Me has acquired several different services: Trade Me Property launched in 2005, Jobs in 2006, Travelbug in 2007, Holiday Houses in 2009, LifeDirect in 2013 and MotorWeb also in 2013.
But some of the most important things have stayed the same.
‘‘Don’t be a dick’’ is still the core company value, reflected in everything Trade Me does from delivering great value and useful services to embracing its popularity with New Zealanders.
‘‘We’re a trusted and well-liked brand with a strong reputation – and we have been for a long time – that is very humbling and we don’t take it for granted,’’ Macdonald says.
That trust and reputation grew out of exposure gained a number of ways, one of which Macdonald says was the Fast 50 win.
‘‘The win was a cool thing that emerged off the back of some serious and, frankly, at times terrifying growth,’’ he says.
This growth included getting listed publicly in 2012, the ‘‘coolest’’ aspects of which have been allowing the public to own a piece of the company and having a board of directors, giving Trade Me more control of its own destiny.
It has not been all smooth sailing though, with rapid growth being, at times, a bit of a curse.
Adding lots of staff in a short amount of time and keeping technology capabilities up-to-date with growth have been tough, Macdonald says.
As has keeping the business running 24/7, balancing being a medium-sized company while still trying to move fast and ‘‘riding the rising tide of mobile’’.
With the internet and mobile, competitors like Amazon and online shopping website ASOS are much closer to Kiwis’ doorsteps.
But Trade Me’s approach has always been to focus on doing as a good a job as it can, rather than get hung up on what competitors are doing.
‘‘We have a local team here working hard to build useful things for New Zealanders. We’ve relied on keeping our heads down and working hard to deliver our members great value.
‘‘We’re not short of ideas or things to do!’’
The focus on digital and technology is something Deloitte private partner Bill Hale expects to really shine in this year’s Fast 50 entries.
He says the change to digital technology pervades most business models now and this could mean more digital assistance or service businesses coming through.
Big trends he’s noticed over the past 14 years of the Fast 50’s history include the importance of having the right people in a business.
He says these people have the ability to be successful entrepreneurs, good leaders and are able to attract the right levels of capital to fund business growth.
Another key trend among the fastest-growing companies is agility.
Doing something niche also helps. Earthwise, which won in 2013, showed putting more thought and research into what the business offered – in its case, environmentally sustainable cleaning products – really pays off.
‘‘We have a lot of businesses itching to get into the Fast 50 as it helps validate their business and get recognition of what they’re doing,’’ Hale says.
Entries for the 2015 Deloitte Fast 50 are now open until July 31.
The final 2015 results will be revealed on November 4.
Visit fast50.co.nz for more information.