About

David Oates is the CEO and Co-Founder of Curtsy, a sustainable fashion resale app that simplifies the buying and selling of clothes through a user-friendly interface. With a focus on Gen Z, the most underserved demographic in the resale category, Curtsy has grown exponentially over the past year, doubling its business in the last few months and breaking into the top 20 apps list for the shopping category in the App Store. David is a seasoned entrepreneur with over 11 years of relevant experience in the tech industry. He is a Y Combinator alumnus, having participated in the S19 batch, and has secured funding from some of the most reputable venture capital firms and angel investors in Silicon Valley, including Index Ventures, CRV, and Kevin Durant. Prior to founding Curtsy, David worked as a Lead Product Designer for HubSpot, where he designed the HubSpot CRM to make it easier for sales reps to have relationships with people. He also worked as a Partner at Rough Draft Ventures, a venture fund for student entrepreneurs backed by General Catalyst. David holds a degree in Computer Science and Philosophy from Northeastern University, which he completed in 2016. He is a firm believer in simplicity, as evidenced by his favorite quote from Thoreau: "Simplify, simplify." However, he also has a sense of humor, as he acknowledges Emerson's response that "One 'simplify' would have sufficed." In addition to his work at Curtsy, David hosts a podcast called Something Like That where he shares his learnings, mistakes made, and hot takes from building the company over the last six years. He invites listeners to join the Curtsy fam and check out the job openings on their website. Despite the company's 10x growth over the last year, Curtsy is still a fairly lean team of eight people, dedicated to providing a sustainable alternative to fast fashion and helping women switch up their style while earning extra cash.