# Wayfair: Niraj Shah & Steve Conine (2018)

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2020-08-24
- Length: 41m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-24-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine-2018

## Summary

Wayfair co-founders Niraj Shah and Steve Conine explain how they pivoted from failed internet ventures to building a home goods empire by launching 250 niche e-commerce sites like Racksandstands.com and AllBarstools.com. They detail their early strategy of using paid search advertising and drop-shipping to validate demand without inventory risk, eventually consolidating these brands under the CSN Stores umbrella before rebranding to Wayfair. The founders discuss the critical decision to raise venture capital in 2011 to fund a unified brand identity and the operational challenges of scaling from a two-person operation to a billion-dollar public company.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-24-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine-2018#t=0) Introduction: Niraj Shah & Steve Conine
- [3:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-24-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine-2018#t=220) Early Ventures: Spinners and Simplify Mobile
- [14:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-24-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine-2018#t=889) Validating Home Goods via Niche Sites
- [18:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-24-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine-2018#t=1081) Drop-shipping, Paid Search, and Cash Flow
- [27:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-24-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine-2018#t=1659) Scaling to CSN Stores and Brand Consolidation
- [34:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-24-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine-2018#t=2044) Raising Venture Capital and Launching Wayfair
- [39:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-24-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine-2018#t=2346) Partnership Dynamics and Future Outlook

## Topics

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

## Most relevant to

founders before launch, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Wayfair (company)
- CSN Stores (company)
- Racksandstands.com (product)
- AllBarstools.com (product)
- Simplify Mobile (company)
- Spinners (company)
- Google (company)
- Yahoo (company)
- Merrill Lynch (company)
- Cornell (company)
- Amazon (company)
- U.S. Bank (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [How to Ask Someone to Invest in Your CPG Brand, with Fave's Ryan Raish](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-10-10-how-to-ask-someone-to-invest-in-your-cpg-brand-with-faves-ryan-raish) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [#179 - Bootstrap Heroes: Hazard's Hop Water, SWAIR, Gourmend Foods](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-01-21-179-bootstrap-heroes-hazards-hop-water-swair-gourmend-foods) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [#186 - Bootstrap Heroes: Bumpin Blends, Lentiful and Drink Wholesome](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-03-11-186-bootstrap-heroes-bumpin-blends-lentiful-and-drink-wholesome) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Val Emanuel of Rif Care](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-01-03-founder-feature-val-emanuel-of-rif-care) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [From turning down Shark Tank offers to raising $2.7 million for Nopalera with Sandra Velasquez (2023)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2023-10-17-from-turning-down-shark-tank-offers-to-raising-2-7-million-for-nopalera-with-san) (The Startup CPG Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2020-08-24-wayfair-niraj-shah-steve-conine-2018. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to How I Built This.