Keep It Simple, Be Human: Inside Depop’s Office

By August 3, 2016For Talent, Jobbio Choice

Have you heard of Instabay? And Baystagram? No is the right answer. But if you looked in frustration at your eBay, Instagram or Pinterest accounts and wished you could combine them to buy and sell instantly, and in style – you should be familiar with Depop. After its soft launch in Italy in 2011, the app has taken the Millennial market by storm making headlines in the heavyweight media like TechCrunch, Vogue, and Guardian.

Depop left the Italian incubator H-Farm to relocate to London’s hottest tech area a.k.a Silicon Roundabout. The speedy launch and quick success of the app reimagining m-commerce suggested an accelerated growth of the team. What is the startup looking for in their employees and what does it mean to be part of the Depop team? We visited the office and met Depop’s VP Talent Michelle Porter to bring you closer to the company which is currently hiring for a number of roles.

Let Creativity Off The Leash

Selling and buying via the Depop app is conveniently simple – photograph the item, upload the image via the app, add description, location, price, shipping information, and sell. As a seller, you are in total control of when or who to sell to as the “buy” button appears for a potential customer only after you give the “sell” command.

Depop

“I don’t know anyone here who would say they are at Depop for money.”

The app is more than that though – it allows the parties to haggle over the price of the items, communicate, “like” and comment on the images, i.e. brings a full package of social media must-haves. Michelle says this is exactly what appeals to the Millennials, Depop’s target audience, “At the moment we have a fairly niche market of school leavers through to late 20s.”

A simple to use interface and thought through practicalities like handling payment via credit card or PayPal makes the business-side of things easy to process. On the other hand, the opportunity to add your own creative touch to what could be called your brand is something that can’t be neglected or left unnoticed by today’s DIY generation.

Keep It Simple, Be Human

Depop’s open-plan office is bright and strikes as a homely place. Michelle and James (the PR Manager) show us around the space which is full of quirky little things that one could dedicate a day to explore in full. Customer experience, tech and marketing teams sit side by side.

“The team is what we value the most,” Michelle says overlooking buzzing Millennials who work on a product for their peers. “We hire people whose skills and attributes match Depop’s core values. Having said that, sometimes skills come secondary to culture fit. It is inherently important for us to work with people who care about what they do. Honestly, we like to see you give a shit about what you do,” we pass by the slogans “Keep It Simple” and “Be Human” decorating the walls.

Depop

“My career twists give me a legibility to advise others to follow their passions.”

“The startup vibe is precious,” Michelle continues. “We are happy to preserve our culture despite growing rapidly in recent years. This tracks back to the hiring process. We don’t only look for the candidates’ skill set but seek people who can identify themselves with the business. That’s another tip for those willing to become part of our team. Do your research before applying to any of our roles, understand what we do and how we are doing it. You won’t believe how many applicants let themselves down when asked if they have downloaded the app. Here you will be surrounded by like-minded people who have dreams and aspirations, who are ambitious and work towards their goals. One of the things we pay attention to whilst interviewing is the candidate’s career plan – it’s good to see when people have a bit of direction in their life and know where they want to go.”

Push For More

The ways customers interact with fashion have changed and Depop is on the forefront of those changes. “We are looking to improve the app as much as possible, to minimise glitches and make our customers’ experience phenomenal,” the VP Talent shares Depop’s plans. “We are working on bringing more influencers and brands on board.” To date, Depop claims it has been downloaded over 4 million times with tens of millions of items bought and sold. The team is growing and Michelle doesn’t hesitate when we ask her what makes working at Depop special, “It’s about fulfillment. I don’t know anyone here who would say they are at Depop for money. They are here because they know their work is valued and their voice is counted. When you are part of a bigger company you might not see how your work affects the overall workflow, but here everybody’s role and actions impact the business. It will be noticed if you are not involved.”

Depop

“Sometimes skills come secondary to culture fit. It is inherently important for us to work with people who care about what they do.”

She left her job at the advertising agency in the US to discover new opportunities, “Don’t think twice about the career change if you don’t feel satisfied and fulfilled at your current job. “Believe in yourself” was the best career advice I received and I like repeating it to others. Don’t spend time at the company which doesn’t help you in development. At Depop, if someone shows the desire, ambition, and passion for advancing in a specific area of the business, we do help them in getting there. My career twists give me a legibility to advise others to follow their passions. Always push yourself for more responsibility. The Managers and Seniors will notice it.”

The communal kitchen is where Depopers exchange ideas and seem to be just enjoying each others’ company. It looks like a gathering of friends who can easily prove the ‘dream job’ is not a mythical creature. “You can see that culture does play a role in here. I believe you can train for skill but you can’t install in someone a certain attitude or a mindset,” Michelle concludes.

 


Want to become part of the Depop family? Apply to their positions on Jobbio

Tweet us to share your thoughts on FashTech


Author Jobbio

More posts by Jobbio

Leave a Reply