Etsy Has Hired A CFO, But CEO Uncertain About IPO

Chad Dickerson, the CEO of Etsy, just announced at a PandoMonthly event that he's hired a CFO for the fast-growing indie-goods marketplace.

Kristina Salen is leaving her position as a portfolio manager at Fidelity to join the company. She's an enthusiastic Etsy shopper, having joined as a member in December 2008.

Etsy raised $40 million last year, in a deal that valued the company at almost $700 million.

Dickerson said that Salen's hire was not a clear sign of ambitions to go public. Instead, he expressed admiration for SurveyMonkey's decision to do a complex financing deal that cashed out employees and early investors, much as a public offering would, while letting the company avoid the scrutiny and costs of operating as a publicly traded company.

Dickerson also said that were Etsy to go public or otherwise "provide liquidity" to insiders, he hoped to find a way for Etsy members—both sellers and buyers on the site—to participate.

Here's a video of Dickerson discussing the hire: