Etsy starts trading on the Nasdaq at $31 per share — nearly double its original price

Etsy began trading on the Nasdaq at $31.86 a share — a big pop from the $16 a share price the company set yesterday.

The company is now being valued at more than $3.5 billion.

Etsy’s IPO was expected to be one of the biggest for a New York-based company since the late Nineties dot-com era. In its S-1 filing the company said it was aiming to raise $100 million, though it was reportedly raising $267 million ahead of today’s public offering.

In celebration of its initial public offering, the company helped some of its sellers set up shop in front of Nasdaq for an event called “The Crossroads of the World.” Etsy merchants will be selling their wares there until 2 p.m. Eastern time.

The Brooklyn-based online marketplace for handcrafted goods was founded in 2005. So far, the company hasn’t reached profitability, according to its S-1 filing with the SEC. In 2014, the company experienced a net loss of $15.2 million on $195.6 million in revenue.

Wall Street has questions about Etsy’s ability to succeed as a publicly traded company because of its close ties to its community of merchants. For example, the company set aside as much as 5 percent of the 16.7 million shares on offer for its community members, though the exact figure of shares given to retailers isn’t known. Some investors have wondered whether the company will be able to keep its eye on the bottom line in spite of its relationship with its merchants.

However, since Chad Dickerson came on as CEO in 2011, Etsy has hunkered down to make the company financially viable, changing its terms of service to allow for manufacturing and growing revenue. From 2011 to 2014, merchant sales grew from $525 million to $1.9 billion, according to Statista.

But, as a publicly traded company, Etsy’s work has largely just begun. It will have to show that it can not only grow revenue, but keep its losses in check and build earnings for investors.

At last check, the stock was trading above $34 a share.

*This article has been updated to reflect accurate revenue and net loss figures for Etsy in 2014.