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Artsy

Bringing the art world online

501-1000 employees
  • B2C
  • Marketplace
  • Art
  • eCommerce
New York (HQ), NY, United States, 401 Broadway

Company mission

Artsy’s mission is to make all the world’s art accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. Artsy is used by art lovers and collectors to discover, learn about, and buy art.

Top investors

65% female employees

24% employee growth in 12 months

Otta's take

Theo Margolius headshot

Theo Margolius

COO of Otta

Artsy partners with international galleries, auction houses, art fairs, and museums to create the world’s largest online art marketplace for collecting and discovering art, with more than 1,000,000 works by 100,000 artists. The company charges galleries a fee to upload works on the platform and draws a percentage from the sales.

They're looking to disrupt the global art market, which is worth ~$70bn a year and growing, in the style of Amazon or Spotify. However, despite a flurry of online art startups launching in the past decade, the industry remains dominated by elite auction houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s.

Artsy is banking on the emergence of young affluent and digitally-savvy collectors, and there should be plenty of opportunity for them to sell products into this group. Numbers indicate that collectors are becoming more comfortable buying art online: the volume of sales on Artsy grew by up to 150 per cent over the past two years.

Benefits

  • Professional development, including: mentoring, lunch & learns, regular training, 1:1 management, and an open feedback culture
  • Equity
  • Engaging opportunities and internal programming globally, to foster new relationships and build upon our collaborative community. Including: happy hours, holiday parties, global "All Hands" meetings, "Artsy Salon" (a yearly exhibition of our team's creativity), attendance to art world events, and more
  • Work from home opportunities
  • Flexible time off

Company values

  • For the Love of Art: We are obsessed with art because we believe in its power to move us and change the way we experience the world. Together, we are dedicated to expanding art’s impact on humanity
  • Own Our Outcomes: We are all individual owners of Artsy’s shared success. We are resourceful and resilient, and to get the job done, we each take responsibility for our outcomes
  • Lead with Openness: We trust in our teammates. We have the courage to be vulnerable, to communicate honestly, and to invite diverse perspectives. A more open art world starts with us
  • Transform Together: Our mission asks us to challenge the status quo. We embrace learning, growth, and change so that we can transform our industry, our company, and ourselves
  • Impact Over Perfection: Using both Art and Science, we debate and decide swiftly and iterate on our plans as we learn. To make the biggest impact, we prioritize speed and clarity of action over perfection
  • Do the Right Thing, Always: We are building a company and community we can all be proud of. We make decisions with honesty and integrity, even when it’s not convenient. Empathy, respect, and inclusivity are core to our mission

Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)

Jul 2017

$50m

SERIES D

Mar 2015

$25m

SERIES C

$100.7m

Total funding

This company has top investors

Founders

Mike Steib

(CEO, not founder)

Started his career at McKinsey & Co, followed by numerous management positions at NBC Universal, Google, Vente-Privee USA and XO Group.

Carter Cleveland

(Executive Chairman )

Obtained a BSE in Computer Science at Princeton University. He then held short term internships at Institute of International Education, Citigroup and Give Real before launching Artsy.

Diversity & Inclusion at Artsy

Katherin Son (Talent Acquisition Partner)

  • Our vision is for the Artsy team to have equitable representation of traditionally underrepresented groups across all functions, and attracts diverse global talent to ensure our team truly reflects the diversity of the world we serve. We try to achieve this through—
  • Reach: Extend Artsy’s reach beyond standard audience (art<>tech industry)
  • Accessibility: Enable people from underrepresented groups to see themselves at Artsy
  • Process: Ensure a bias-free and equitable hiring process

Endorsements

All

Opportunities to learn (3)

Flexible working (2)

Innovative product (2)

Inspiring mission (2)

Challenging work (1)

Nice people (1)

Intelligent people (1)

Hard working team (1)

Open and honest communication (1)

Great work is recognised (1)

I focus best in the mornings so I'm able to have my focus time then and schedule all my meetings in the afternoon. I'm also flexible to start later or do any personal chores during the day when necessary. I'm in charge of my time and I love the flexibility!

Software Engineering

Flexible working

Jul 2022

During my first couple of months as a new manager at Artsy I got to do a manager training to improve my coaching skills which is amazing! Sharing knowledge with others is generally highly valued at Artsy as we have weekly Knowledge Sharings in the team and wider engineering org.

Software Engineering

Opportunities to learn

Jul 2022

Artsy encourages feedback and offers feedback training during onboarding. Also, upwards feedback is required which is important as people might otherwise shy away from it. I love this open culture and everyone's desire to grow! Psychological safety is an important metric of a healthy team here.

Software Engineering

Open and honest communication

Jul 2022

We are allowed much flexibility with our working hours and hybrid/remote work set up (in coordination with our manager). This makes it nice to plan around your personal needs; get your workouts done, take your child to an appointment or event.

People, HR, Recruitment

Flexible working

Jul 2022

There are extremely thoughtful and caring individuals that work here. You feel genuine connections with people. I feel very supported by the leadership team and my coworkers.

People, HR, Recruitment

Nice people

Jul 2022

There is such an opportunity to create a marketplace that connects more people to art, and helps create living wages for Artists. In an industry that has been very out of reach to most in the past, we are making a way for more people to be moved by art every day and for more Artists to get their work appreciated.

People, HR, Recruitment

Innovative product

Jul 2022

What I love the most about Artsy are the people I work with and the ongoing learning and growth opportunities. The team encourages and motivates each other to find innovative ways to do things and supports one another in their professional growth. Everyone inspires me by the quality of their work, willingness to teach, and eagerness to learn. Working to develop the most significant and fastest-growing community of experienced art collectors online, you get a sense of accomplishment and feel like part of something bigger by the end of every day.

Sales & Account Management

Opportunities to learn

Jul 2022

The possibilities at the Artsy are endless. One of our values is owning your outcomes; we are all individual owners of Artsy’s shared success. We are resourceful and resilient, and to get the job done, we each take responsibility for our outcomes. Your contributions are continually recognized for directly impacting Artsy’s bottom line. Artsy allows you to shine, which translates into growth opportunities.

Sales & Account Management

Great work is recognised

Jul 2022

Artsy fully supports working parents, making it possible for people with children to thrive in all areas of their lives. We have a supportive, inclusive workplace culture where parents can openly discuss issues and seek guidance from peers and where they don’t have to be apologetic about their position as an employee and a parent. Artsy also offers flexible time off, empowering employees to take time off based on their needs as well as comprehensive healthcare and benefit options, such as medical, dental, parental leave, and more.

Sales & Account Management

Family friendly

Jul 2022

The company leadership has a clear vision and detailed strategy which is clearly communicated so everyone knows how their day-to-day ladders-up into the larger strategy. Decisions are openly debated, data-driven, and respect the company culture.

Sales & Account Management

Strong leadership

Jul 2022

A lot of companies say they are going to "change the world," but Artsy truly has an opportunity to change how art is bought, sold, and appreciated. Our Product & Engineering team are rock stars and it seems like the product gets better every day.

Sales & Account Management

Innovative product

Jul 2022

Artsy invests a lot of time and care into hiring the right people and it shows. It feel like across the board everyone is very good at what they do and I always get value out of all my personal interactions. I've learned a ton just by watching how colleagues operate.

Sales & Account Management

Intelligent people

Jul 2022

Artsy has been a fantastic place for me to grow, because it's a rapidly expanding & changing company in a transformative field, with an incredibly welcoming, supportive and values-driven team, all working towards an inspiring mission.

Operations & Strategy

Inspiring mission

Jul 2022

The values were democratically selected after feedback from the team, so everyone is not merely hired to fit the values, but also on board with what they are. They are very well integrated into our day to day lives - not only are they used for talent assessment and feedback, but people cite them in conversation, when decision-making etc. They support everything we do.

Operations & Strategy

Clear values

Jul 2022

It's a fast growing company in an exciting field (the art market is very dynamic and unique) and we're doing challenging, transformative work. This means that if you're curious, there's no end to what you can learn. We're empowered to be in charge of our own learning, but many opportunities are provided for training etc.

Operations & Strategy

Opportunities to learn

Jul 2022

Everyone who comes to Artsy feels driven by the mission to a greater or lesser extent. People really believe their work is making a difference, which makes for a stronger feeling of "we're in it together" than at other companies.

People, HR, Recruitment

Inspiring mission

Jul 2022

Working at Artsy can be hard, we're trying to meet some tough goals. But that generally feels invigorating because the work feels like it matters, and virtually everything is a real, valuable learning experience.

People, HR, Recruitment

Challenging work

Jul 2022

People are smart, driven, and kind. It's a really powerful combination that means that, no matter what's going on or even if something is frustrating, you know people are doing their best. People really put their all into their work when they come to Artsy.

People, HR, Recruitment

Hard working team

Jul 2022

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