Farfetch generated just $1,000 selling Off-White in its initial 2014 season
José Neves · 20VC: Farfetch Founder, José Neves on Zen Buddhism and Its Impact on Leadership Mentality, Why Head vs Heart is Not the Right Way To Think About Decision-Making & How To Work Through Self-Doubt and Identity as a CEO · May 20, 2021 · at 34:32
José Neves is the founder and CEO of Farfetch. He shares an early historical datapoint regarding Farfetch carrying Virgil Abloh's brand Off-White in 2014.
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“We sold a thousand dollars off-white, the first season, spring summer, 2014.”
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More from José Neves
Executive detachment under pressure does not rely on financial security
“I think that doesn't depend at all on external events. So it has nothing to do with the financial security.”
Archegos liquidation drove Farfetch trading volume to 10x its average
“I mean, the volumes to give you an idea Were 10 times more or less the average volume. I think it was around 10% of the company was dumped on Friday, and probably another 10% on Monday, something like that.”
Effective decision-making requires involving emotions alongside logical reasoning
“And what he demonstrated is that you cannot make good decisions without involving your emotions.”
José Neves built all his companies as a solo founder
“I never had a co-founder. I was always the only CEO and founder of my businesses.”
Entrepreneurs are 'risk curious' rather than risk-averse
“Most people are risk averse. I think entrepreneurs are risk curious. So they like to play with the probabilities of success and failure, and they get kick out of this game.”
Self-doubt is healthy if viewed as a mental construct
“So self-doubt is very healthy as long as it doesn't cripple you. As long as you can have that detached view, again, that conscious view that, okay, wow, I'm doubting myself here. And as long as you can clearly see it for what it is a mental movie. It is a ment…”