OLX
Director of Product, Core Classified Experience (EU)
Called the classifieds decline early and moved the platform to transactions.
- 200M+stable monthly active users
- 25%+ARPU CAGR against Facebook Marketplace and Vinted
- 5-10%success-based take rate introduced
Led the platform transformation across a 7-market European network spanning Goods, Jobs, Services, Rental and Motors.
The situation
Low-value peer-to-peer listings were migrating to social platforms, and the listing-fee model was structurally on its way out. Facebook Marketplace and Vinted were taking share with very different economics.
What I did
- Read the market early and repositioned the core experience around completed transactions, moving to a success-based take rate of 5 to 10 percent.
- Scaled trust and safety infrastructure so high-value transactions (shipping, payments) could happen safely on the platform, which changed the unit economics and ARPU of the business.
- Unified the product across Goods, Jobs, Services, Rental and Motors so each line could thrive independently on shared capabilities.
- Scaled the organization from 6 to 16 product people (13 PMs and 3 Heads of Product), and introduced OKRs and an experimentation culture across 13 cross-functional teams.
What changed
ARPU grew at a 25%+ CAGR while holding position against well-funded challengers.
What I took from it
Business model shifts are timing problems. The evidence is usually visible years before it is undeniable; the job is to move while the old model still funds the new one.