Show notes
In this episode of The PPW Podcast, Edmund Keith and Harvey Hancock are joined by Christian Printzell Halvorsen, CEO of Vend — the leading operator of marketplaces in the Nordics across real estate, mobility, jobs and re-commerce (Finn, Oikotie, Qasa and more).We discuss the sector-wide share price drop, the CEO's role as a salesperson for the company story, Vend's brand new autonomous AI native team set up to rethink the marketplace model from scratch, the "listings as gatekeepers" debate playing out in the US/Sweden/Australia, and where pure-play advertising stops being enough.Timestamps:00:00 — Intro01:15 — What is Vend? Nordic marketplaces overview (Finn, Oikotie, Qasa)02:53 — Q1 results & real estate performance04:21 — Living with a ~30% share price drop across the sector07:28 — The CEO as salesperson — telling the Vend story post-Schibsted spin-off10:48 — Shaping the narrative (the Zillow example)13:51 — Vend's new autonomous AI native team — outside the existing structure21:35 — Team size, mandate, and how it differs from the Department of AI23:25 — Bold or cautious? Comparing to Scout24's agentic OS announcement25:55 — Is the team a hedge against AI-native challengers?28:12 — Agents & brokerages as gatekeepers — US, Sweden, Australia31:33 — Beyond the marketplace: Dealer Hub and agentic pro tools35:45 — Multi-vertical advantages for AI experimentation41:03 — Pro customer relationships in a tougher monetisation era43:24 — Wrap up and the road to PPW MadridConnect with the team:Edmund Keith — https://www.linkedin.com/in/edmund-keith/Harvey Hancock — https://www.linkedin.com/in/harvey-hancock/Find more from Online Marketplaces at https://www.onlinemarketplaces.com
