Vinted nearly went bust, now it's worth €8 billion

Vinted nearly went bust, now it's worth €8 billion

From Business Leader by Business Leader

June 9, 2026 · 38 min

About this episode

Adam Jay discusses how Vinted transformed from a struggling startup to a profitable platform valued at €8 billion by removing seller fees and scaling internationally.

Vinted wasn't an overnight success. The game-changing decision that saved it from failure? Making selling completely free. Adam Jay, CEO of Vinted's Marketplace arm, talks to Sir Richard Harpin about how he helped perfect the Vinted playbook and rolled it out into 26 markets worldwide – France was the first success story. Adam reveals the mistakes made along the way, the pivots that mattered, and the leadership lessons every founder and CEO needs to hear. Drawing on his experience at Boston Consulting Group and Expedia, he breaks down how Vinted transformed from a struggling startup into a profitable, fast-scaling platform now valued at €8 billion.   Themes include: Why removing seller fees was the turning point for Vinted's growth How to scale a marketplace business across multiple international markets What CEOs can learn from failure, pivoting, and resilience Why joining an external board of directors can sharpen your leadership Vinted's mission to make second-hand items the first choice globally   Business Leader is a membership community for ambitious CEOs and founders of mid-sized UK companies, designed to help them grow with purpose through strategic support…

People in this episode

Host: Sir Richard Harpin

Guest: Adam Jay

Topics covered

  • marketplace growth
  • leadership lessons
  • international scaling
  • startup transformation
  • removing seller fees
  • failure and resilience

Keywords

  • Vinted
  • marketplace
  • CEO
  • startup
  • entrepreneurship
  • leadership
  • growth
  • failure
  • scaling
  • second-hand items

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Vinted, Boston Consulting Group, Expedia

Places: France

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