Maria Raga on how to grow a startup into a scalable powerhouse

On faking it until you make it

From conducting hundreds of interviews in broken French to building a sales team from scratch with no previous experience, Maria is no stranger to feeling the fear and doing it anyway. “There have been so many times where I felt that everything was too difficult and there was no way I would get through it”, she says. “But if you pay attention to what other people are doing, you start to think ‘If that works for them, it might work for me’. Slowly, one day after another, you learn and grow in confidence.”

On making the mindset shift to CEO

After two years as VP Operations at Depop, Maria became CEO in 2016. Although she might seem like a natural leader, it took her a while to adjust to running the show. “It was a massive change”, she admits. “I was used to trusting someone else’s vision so I felt a sense of vertigo, like I was getting into something bigger than myself.” After encouragement from her husband, Maria decided to throw herself fully into the role. “I needed vocal support from someone who knows me well to be able to say ‘Okay, let’s do it. I’ll take it step by step and if I fail, I know I’ll be ok.’”

On putting business before ego

While some CEOs feel that business strategy is their sole responsibility, Maria quickly realised that she couldn’t achieve everything she wanted to without help. “Not being the founder, I didn’t have the knowledge to create the company mission and vision myself”, she explains. Instead of struggling through, Maria invited Depop’s founder, Simon Beckerman, to step in and provide guidance. “We worked together for about two years to hone our vision and make it clear for our team and users. Asking for his help in that process was one of the best decisions I’ve made.”

On the power of connections

While Maria has raised close to £100 million for Depop, the fundraising process wasn’t easy. “For our Series B raise, I met about 50 investors and I only got two term sheets.” Her top tip for pitching? “Fundraising is about people. You need to go in with all your energy and conviction, and that’s easier when you already have connections with the people in the room”, she says. This approach paid dividends when it came to the next funding round. “For Series C, I only met with people that I already knew and liked. In the end, I had 10 meetings and got four term sheets.”