Hardware Podcasts

Zappos: Tony Hsieh (2017)

How I Built This · 20 May 2019 · 32m

What this episode covers

Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos, explains how he built the company from a dot-com era side project into a billion-dollar customer service brand, detailing his decision to sell Link Exchange to Microsoft and his personal funding of Zappos during the 2000 crash. He discusses the strategic pivot to prioritizing customer experience over product expertise, leading to the famous 'service company that happens to sell shoes' mantra and the eventual acquisition by Amazon. The episode also features a postscript on Mike Bolos and Jason Grohowski, who created Deskview, a portable window desk, navigating prototype failures and manufacturing in Singapore.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up and early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Zappos, Link Exchange, Microsoft, Amazon, Nordstrom, Pets.com, Oracle
Products
Deskview, Endless
Also
Shark Tank

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