eBay CEO John Donahoe spoke at the Manhattan Center on Tuesday during a Fireside Chat at TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013. Donahoe, in a live interview on stage with Bloomberg, spoke at length about everything from the importance of continuing to innovate to his personal and professional perspectives on the highly controversial Marketplace Fairness Act, which would change the way state sales tax is incorporated into Internet transactions.
Donahoe, who has been CEO of eBay for five years now, appears delighted by the success of the $14 billion company that employs 50,000 people. He explained that the "key challenges" innate to achieving such success include continuing to innovate. More specifically, Donahoe said acquisitions are a big factor in what he sees as eBay's success.
Adding that eBay has taken on 20 acquisitions in the last three years alone, Donahoe said the importance lies in bringing in the founders of the companies acquired to key positions at eBay.
There are in fact now 15 founders of acquired companies who hold positions at eBay right now, Donahoe said. This interest in becoming a part of eBay is actually a "screening process" that Donahoe and eBay employs in bringing in other companies and founders.
These founders need to have strong visions for their companies and must want to see those visions scaled on a larger level with a far broader platform that is eBay, Donahoe said.
Donahoe feels that as long as the founders feel they have impact at eBay and the autonomy to create that impact -- not to mention advantageous incentives to go to eBay -- both these founders and eBay at large will be able to continue to innovate.
"We've had good successes doing that," Donahoe said.
Donahoe even meets personally with a group of young founders -- all under 30 -- to discuss innovation each month. Donahoe made sure to mention repeatedly throughout the Bloomberg interview that companies simply "can't succeed without continuing innovation and disruptive innovation."
"Technology is enabling a level of social commerce that's never happened before," Donahoe said.
This apt statement segued Donahoe into elucidating on the incredible and growing signifcance of mobile in world commerce today. Donahoe said eBay is, in fact, investing greatly in its mobile presence.
Already, eBay has seen 120 million downloads of its mobile app, according to Donahoe.
"Mobile is clearly changing how consumers are behaving," Donahoe said, adding that more and more people are analyzing more and more screens -- be they phones, tablets, computers or TVs -- and therefore more of his cherished innovation needs to be brought to this segment of the industry.
Just as iPads have drastically changed the realm of media, Donahoe said so, too, will mobile tech change the realm of retail.
Donahoe said he even knows of one retailer that will be creating a touchscreen display on its storefront window to give the consumers the ability to search for and even purchase products when the store is closed.
This gives the consumers more power, Donahoe said, adding he feels this power is important in contrast to the likes of Amazon that might be keeping the power in the traditional hands of the retailer.
And speaking of where the power should go, Donahoe's final thoughts were on the Marketplace Fairness Act.
"We're in support of Internet sales tax," Donahoe said, possibly softening the position eBay relayed to iTech Post earlier in April.
Donahoe said his issue with the Marketplace Fairness Act is that smaller companies, say, a three-person affair in Montana where there is no sales tax, should be exempted from having to carry the burden of paying out-of-state sales tax for such transactions made.
Currently, companies that bring in under $1 million would be exempted in the Marketplace Fairness Act. Donahoe feels the exemption level should be raised so smaller companies can exist and can be founded without the fear of being audited, something a small organization might not have the capacity to handle. A larger company may have a specialized accounting department, but smaller companies might not.
As to what Donahoe feels about companies in states with a higher state tax, he said location choice is the entrepreneur's prerogative.
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