Letgo

Letgo

Company type	Private
Industry	Online marketplace
Founded	January 2015 (2015-01)
Founder	Alec Oxenford
Headquarters	New York City , United States
Area served	United States, Canada, Norway
Key people	Enrique Linares Plaza (CEO and Co-founder), Alec Oxenford (Co-founder), Jordi Castello (Co-founder), Josh Crossick (Chief Product Officer), Rahim Lakhani (Chief Financial Officer), Pedro Mestriner (Strategic Partnerships and Market Development)
Products	Mobile app and website for local buying, selling, and messaging
Parent	OfferUp (since March 2020)

Letgo (displayed as letgo) is a company providing a platform through both a website and an app designed for local buying, selling, and messaging. It was established in 2015.

History

Letgo was created in January 2015 by Alec Oxenford, the former CEO of OLX. The company initially focused on the U.S. market, positioning itself against established competitors such as eBay and Craigslist. In May 2016, Letgo combined forces with Wallapop, another mobile classifieds startup, with Letgo maintaining majority control and brand visibility. This merger brought together roughly 10 million active users each month.

To accelerate user acquisition, Letgo initially offered free listings without generating revenue. By June 2018, the platform introduced a paid beta option that allowed sellers to highlight their listings above standard search results.

The initial $100 million funding round was primarily invested in marketing efforts, with approximately 75% dedicated to advertising. The ad campaign, developed by Crispin Porter + Bogusky Miami and directed by Craig Gillespie, featured impactful advertisements centered around the idea of “letting go” of unwanted possessions.

Letgo expanded its reach internationally by launching in Canada in October 2016 and in Norway in November 2016.

In September 2019, the investor Naspers transferred its Letgo holdings into Prosus.

In March 2020, Letgo was acquired by competitor OfferUp, and by September 21, 2020, Letgo had been fully merged into the OfferUp platform.

Growth

By September 2015, the platform had achieved two million app downloads alongside 500,000 active product listings. In 2017, Comscore identified it as the second most rapidly expanding app in the U.S. By January 2018, total downloads had escalated to approximately 75 million, a significant rise from 30 million recorded in August 2016. The marketplace featured around 200 million secondhand items and supported nearly three billion user messages, with monthly returning visitors numbering in the "tens of millions." By August 2018, downloads exceeded 100 million, and listings experienced an increase of about 65% within the first eight months of that year.

Funding

In 2015, the company raised $100 million, placing it among the top five largest initial venture capital rounds since 2008. Following its May 2016 merger with rival Wallapop—valued at roughly $570 million—it secured an additional $100 million in funding. By September 2017, its valuation surpassed $1 billion, with cumulative funds raised totaling $375 million. In August 2018, Naspers invested $500 million into the company.

Leadership

Enrique Linares Plaza serves as CEO and Co-founder of Letgo. The executive team also includes co-founders Alec Oxenford and Jordi Castello, Chief Product Officer Josh Crossick, Chief Financial Officer Rahim Lakhani, and Pedro Mestriner, who oversees Strategic Partnerships and Market Development.

Product

Letgo offers a marketplace accessible via a mobile-focused app and website designed for buying and selling pre-owned items. The platform emphasizes large product images and does not require user log-in. Listings are tailored to buyers’ geographic locations and incorporate an integrated instant messaging feature.

In 2018, Letgo introduced enhancements such as video listings and image recognition technology that provides pricing recommendations. Additionally, a housing category was added to broaden the scope of available listings.

See also

• Tech companies in the New York metropolitan area