It is a milestone for New York City, which has seen few startups, backed by venture capital, in recent years go public or sell for large amounts. Tumblr Inc., sold for $1.1 billion to Yahoo YHOO -2.91% in 2013, was a rare example. Both Etsy and Tumblr count New York-based Union Square Ventures as an investor. Union Square Ventures participated in a $600,000 seed round for Etsy in 2006, as Fred Wilson, the firm’s managing partner, described in a blog post. Etsy raised $267 million in IPO proceeds, which is the most ever for a New York-based startup that is backed by venture capital, according to industry tracker Dow Jones VentureSource. “Obviously, this is a very, very positive event in terms of the [New York City] startup ecosystem,” said Bill Gurley, general partner at Silicon Valley-based venture firm Benchmark Capital.

http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2015/04/16/etsys-ipo-is-a-milestone-for-new-yorks-startup-scene/