Pohlson: Omaze is past a $400M revenue run rate
Matthew Pohlson · Omaze’s Matthew Pohlson on the near-death moment that built a better business | Masters of Scale · Sep 11, 2025 · at 30:32
Matthew Pohlson is the co-founder and CEO of Omaze, a fundraising platform that raffles luxury prizes to benefit charities.
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“We're, I won't, I don't give exact numbers, but we're past a four hundred million run rate.”
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Pohlson: Omaze's UK subscription retention rivals Spotify and Netflix
“We put it in the category of a consumer subscription entertainment, you know, like a Spotify or a Netflix and the retention rates. Are at that level.”
Pohlson details Omaze revenue split: 1/3 charity/VAT, 1/3 prizes, 1/3 ops/profit
“A seven million dollar house can raise, call it thirty three million in sales. A third of that goes to charity and VAT. A third of that goes to the price and costs. In addition to the house, we cover all the taxes for the winter. We give away cash prizes. We h…”
Pohlson: Omaze laid off 180 US employees to focus on the UK
“I mean, it meant like letting go of, you know, a 180 people that were amazing people that a lot of which had been there since the beginning of Omaze and were uber creative and uber resilient and super talented, but it was just the reality of where we were.”
Pohlson: Most businesses shouldn't try to 'do good' beyond supporting employees
“You know, the vast majority of companies shouldn't necessarily try to do good. I think what they can do good is do good by their team. Make sure what they're doing does no harm. But creating a big business in its own right that, that serves customers or serves…”
Pohlson: Omaze shifted from celebrity campaigns to prizes despite board resistance
“It inspired me when I came back from this to change the business being from Being focused on celebrities to focused on prizes. That was a huge change for us. We got a lot of resistance from our board and the team, but I was not scared of what people thought of…”
Pohlson: Houses are the ideal prize because they fulfill Maslow's hierarchy
“A car changes someone's lifestyle house changes someone's life. And it's the person perfect product to storytell around. You know, like a house like represents all of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, its safety, its security, its status, its relationships, its sel…”