# Wayfair: Niraj Shah & Steve Conine

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2018-04-16
- Length: 46m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-04-16-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine

## Summary

Wayfair co-founders Niraj Shah and Steve Conine explain how they pivoted from failed startups to building an e-commerce empire by launching 250 niche websites, such as racksandstands.com and allbarstools.com, to capitalize on online search trends. They detail their strategy of using paid search advertising and drop-shipping to self-fund rapid expansion, eventually consolidating these sites under the CSN Stores umbrella before rebranding to Wayfair. The founders discuss the decision to raise venture capital in 2011 to fund a major brand migration, the importance of their partnership dynamics, and the operational challenges of scaling to over 10 million items.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-04-16-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine#t=0) Introduction: Wayfair's origin and early websites
- [4:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-04-16-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine#t=240) First Startup: Spinners and the Dot Com Crash
- [9:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-04-16-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine#t=594) Second Startup: Simplify Mobile and the 9/11 Impact
- [14:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-04-16-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine#t=856) The Pivot: Finding the Home Goods Opportunity
- [18:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-04-16-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine#t=1080) Launch Strategy: Racksandstands.com and Drop-shipping
- [21:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-04-16-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine#t=1279) Growth Engine: Google AdWords and Category Expansion
- [28:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-04-16-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine#t=1682) Scaling: CSN Stores and Managing 250 Websites
- [34:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-04-16-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine#t=2067) The Pivot to Brand: Raising VC and Launching Wayfair
- [38:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-04-16-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine#t=2300) Public Company Status and Future Growth
- [43:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-04-16-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine#t=2613) Postscript: Sia Scotch and Carin Luna-Ostaseski

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Wayfair (company)
- Niraj Shah (other)
- Steve Conine (other)
- Spinners (company)
- Simplify Mobile (company)
- Merrill Lynch (company)
- Racksandstands.com (product)
- CSN Stores (company)
- Google AdWords (tool)
- Sia Scotch (product)
- Carin Luna-Ostaseski (other)

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