Etsy has hired Mike Grishaver, Vice President of Product Management at music-streaming service Pandora. An Etsy spokesperson confirmed it had hired Mike Grishaver as the new head of product.
The Verge called Grishaver “one of Pandora’s most important employees.” It doesn’t appear to be an indication that Etsy is planning on adding music to its ecommerce marketplace – rather, Grishaver will help improve Etsy’s efforts in mobile.
Grishaver told the Verge he hopes to bring to Etsy his learnings from Pandora where he helped roll out key features to its mobile offerings. His Linkedin profile highlights some of his accomplishments, where he mentions that he helped launch “personalized Mobile Push Notifications” – one can imagine how that could be helpful for both Etsy buyers and sellers – for example, alerting buyers when something they want becomes available.
Of course, mobile is increasingly meaning much more than tablets and smartphones, and after Google’s Dev Con last week, it seems developers will have to work on apps for wearable devices such as smartwatches and glasses, and for TVs and even cars.
The Verge referenced EcommerceBytes article from last month about the increasing likelihood of Etsy filing to go public. However much Etsy spins its “hip” Brooklyn culture, it’s no Silicon Valley – and it can’t get around the reality of cold New York winters. But employees who work at companies when they go public can earn a big payoff through stocks and options, so talk of an Initial Public Offering can help a company attract and retain talent.
Etsy appears to be getting its ducks in a row for an IPO, including hiring Kristina Salen as its Chief Financial Officer last year, and instituting a new policy allowing small batch manufacturing that could help the company’s growth rates.
