Index Ventures Buys Into Etsy, Triples Valuation To Nearly $300 Million

Crafty commerce site Etsy just raised another $20 million in its fifth venture round (that would be the Series E). Index Ventures is the new investor leading the round, with partner Danny Rimer getting an observer’s seat on the board. (The board is made up of founder Rob Kalin, Caterina Fake, Accel partner Jim Breyer and Union Square Ventures partner Fred Wilson). Previous investors Accel and Hubert Burda Media put in some money as well in this round.

The round gives Etsy a pre-money valuation of just under $300 million, about triple the valuation it got during its last, $27 million round in January, 2008. Most of the shares sold—nearly $14 million of the $20 million—were secondary shares held by some of the early investors. But unlike other rounds we’ve seen lately, this wasn’t a liquidity event for founders. Kalin says he did not sell any shares, nor did any employees.

Etsy started turning a profit at the end of last year, just when Kalin took over as CEO again. Kalin projects revenues this year to be between $30 million and $50 million and expects the company to continue to be profitable. The company has 125 employees. He expects the total gross value of goods traded on the site to double this year to $400 million, and hopes to hit $1 billion next year.