Toughened up by challenges

Within four years, Carousell evolved into one of the world’s largest and fastest growing community marketplaces, with more than 35 million listings. Its exponential success can be attributed to its simple user interface, which allows smartphone users to snap, list and sell within 30 seconds — something that was heavily influenced by co-founder and self-taught designer Marcus Tan. “It has been a non-stop race to learn and grow with finite time and resources since we built our first Carousell prototype. We faced a lot of disappointment and objections from family and friends at the start. I like to think it’s made us optimists, believing that we can and are doing something others thought could not be done.”