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953: Lessons From the Mobile Era | Rodrigo Brumana, CFO, Poshmark
CFO Rodrigo Brumana’s career journey began with a position as a computer programmer in Brazil. He would move in his early career years to the United States, where he got his start in investment banking. Soon thereafter, he moved to Fairchild Semiconductor, where he advanced into an investor relations role. Next, Brumana delved into the realm of predictive analytics at eBay, a stint that opened the door to a succession of opportunities inside the world of e-commerce marketplaces.
Listen to the Episode Below (0:32:54)
Episode Highlights
- The Shift to Mobile: CFO Brumana reflects back on the technology shift from desktop to mobile as it relates to online shoppers and how marketplaces discovered that they needed to quickly reallocate their capital away from desktop-only projects in order to attract more app developers from the mobile world.
- Poshmark Overview and Growth:
- Poshmark is a leading fashion resale marketplace.
- Went public in 2021, acquired by Naver (known as the Google of Korea).
- Emphasizes technological capabilities, especially in AI and search ads, post-acquisition.
- Strategic Priorities for Poshmark’s Future:
- Execution of a three-year plan with a focus on sustainable growth.
- Prioritizing profitability alongside growth.
- Continual improvement of systems, architecture, and infrastructure for future scalability.
CFOTL: Tell us about Poshmark … what does this company do, and what are its offerings today?
Brumana: You know, the more I have worked with marketplaces, the more that I have found to love about them. I’ve now worked with a series of companies, including the likes of eBay and Amazon. So, what is unique about Poshmark?
Poshmark is a leading fashion resale marketplace. We make buying and selling fashion very easy. You can sell used products or you can sell new with tags, but the main thing is that it’s really fun. There is a social element about it, but what Poshmark really does best is to empower just about anyone to participate. I could take a picture of this shirt that I’m wearing right now and just sell it very easily, with everything in the process being integrated. What we do, essentially, is to support the resale, or re-commerce, market.
Read MoreWe also have as our mission the goals of being environmentally prudent and helping to contribute to reducing what I call “environmental waste.” Let me give you a few numbers. In the United States, there are an estimated 11 billion kilograms of textiles that just go into waste. This is 85% of all of the textiles produced on a yearly basis. So, the more that we have a company that is helping to recirculate clothing, the more we are enabling everyone to help on this quest. And this what Poshmark does: It’s an easy marketplace for buying and selling fashion, with an added environmental benefit.
The other thing that I think is important here is to mention that we went IPO in 2021. In January, we got acquired by a company called Navar, which is kind of known as the Google of Korea. They’re a pretty big, very high-tech company. In fact, when I was in Korea recently for an investor and developer day, I was blown away by their capabilities to aid search, ads, and so on with artificial intelligence, all of the tools for which we now have at our disposal. This partnership has been going really well.
“Do rotations, and seek out mentorship for roles outside of your comfort zone. To be a well-rounded CFO, it’s important to understand what boxes to check – not just to say you have the experience, but to meaningfully understand critical practice areas, while building relationships with mentors along the way.” – Rrodrigo Brumana, CFO, Poshmark
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