Hardware Podcasts

Zappos: Tony Hsieh

How I Built This · 23 Jan 2017 · 28m

What this episode covers

Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos, explains how he pivoted from selling Link Exchange to Microsoft to investing in and eventually running Zappos, an online shoe retailer. He details the early validation strategy of buying shoes from local stores to test demand and the financial struggle of selling his San Francisco apartments to fund inventory during the dot-com crash. Hsieh emphasizes that Zappos succeeded by defining itself as a customer service company rather than a shoe company, leading to unorthodox decisions like free shipping both ways and a unique, culture-first management style that attracted an acquisition by Amazon while maintaining its distinct identity.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Zappos, Link Exchange, Microsoft, Oracle, Venture Frogs, Nordstrom, Amazon, Endless, U.S. Bank, Priority Bicycles
Products
Asics
Also
Tony Hsieh, Nick Swinburn, Fred Mosler, Dave Wiener

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