AptDeco, a peer-to-peer marketplace for used furniture, launched in New York City in 2014. Despite its complexity and high costs, the company grew quickly. Co-founders Reham Fagiri and Kalam Dennis considered several different options for scaling the business—from expanding into new markets to rebranding with a sustainability focus.

In this episode, Harvard Business School associate professor Ayelet Israeli and AptDeco co-founder Kalam Dennis discuss the path to scaling that AptDeco ultimately chose and what their experience can indicate about how to successfully scale a startup.

They focus on how to translate early failures into valuable information that can help your business move forward and grow in the long term. They also explain how to use data and analytics to improve your value proposition.

Key episode topics include: strategy, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial business strategy, marketing, furniture, analytics, start-up, scaling, growth strategy.

HBR On Strategy curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock new ways of doing business. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the original HBR Cold Call episode: How to Scale a Startup Marketplace for Used Furniture (2022)

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