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Yvon Chouinard

25 statements across 3 episodes · 6 bullish · 5 bearish · 3 people on the record · first statement Dec 12, 2016 by Yvon Chouinard · said 36 times in 9 episodes since 2019 · across every show →

On the record as a speaker too: Yvon Chouinard's record, appearances and statements → this page counts the times other people say the name.

Mentions by year

brought up most by Guy Raz (26), Tom Campion (6), Peter Metcalf (2), Susan Griffin Black (1), Peter Sterios (1)

tap a year for its mentions
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02320192020202120222023202420252026episodes it came up in
00101.520320192020202120222023202420252026episodesmentions per episode
2026 2 mentions in 1 episode
2024 17 mentions in 1 episode
2023 12 mentions in 3 episodes 4 per episode
2020 2 mentions in 2 episodes 1 per episode
2019 3 mentions in 2 episodes 2 per episode

every mention, scene by scene, with the transcript →

Everything said about Yvon Chouinard, oldest first

Dec 12, 2016 negative
Disclosure
Patagonia will never sell out or become a publicly traded company
“We're not gonna sell out. We're not gonna go public, and so it's good business.”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 12, 2016 ▶ 18:24 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard
Dec 12, 2016 positive
Insight
Being your own target customer unlocks non-obvious product breakthroughs
“So we were our own customer, and I think that was the secret of coming out with products that, a lot of the products people didn't even know they wanted or needed.”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 12, 2016 ▶ 7:23 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard
Dec 12, 2016
Assertion Partly supported
Women make up approximately 70% of Patagonia's workforce and upper management
“I have probably 70% women working for me. I have women in all upper management, and I don't wanna lose them.”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 12, 2016 ▶ 18:29 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard
Dec 12, 2016
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Chouinard rejected 18% loans from mafia figures during Patagonia's 1980s crisis
“In fact, my accountant introduced me to some mafia guys who wanted to loan me some money at 18% interest, which I turned down, but what saved us is, is we got some personal loans from some friends and pretty much Fired some management that got us into this pro…”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 12, 2016 ▶ 8:46 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard
Dec 12, 2016
Insight
Entrepreneurs should learn by doing incrementally rather than through exhaustive planning
“If I get an idea, I immediately take a step forward and see how that feels. If it feels good, I take another step. If it feels bad, I step back. You know, it's different than people with a scientific view where they think everything out to the nth degree befor…”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 12, 2016 ▶ 5:51 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard
Dec 12, 2016
Disclosure
Chouinard takes five months off annually to fish, checking in thrice
“I take off from June until November. I'm gone. I got a place in Jackson Hole, and I go fishing every day, and I call in maybe three times in the five months that I'm gone.”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 12, 2016 ▶ 15:38 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard
Dec 12, 2016 negative
Disclosure
Yvon Chouinard refuses to produce a line of inexpensive Patagonia clothing
“And I'm not interested in, in coming out with a line of inexpensive clothes.”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 12, 2016 ▶ 13:47 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard
Dec 12, 2016 positive
Insight
To understand entrepreneurs, study juvenile delinquents who reject the status quo
“If you want to understand the entrepreneur, study the juvenile delinquent. Because they're saying, you know, this sucks, I'm going to do it my own way”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 12, 2016 ▶ 19:03 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard
Dec 12, 2016
Assertion Supported
Chouinard's reusable climbing pitons sold for 10x the price of European gear
“The European pitons were selling for 15 cents apiece, and mine were a dollar and a half.”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 12, 2016 ▶ 3:19 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard
Dec 12, 2016 bullish
Assertion Supported
Patagonia generated a reported $750 million in annual sales in 2015
“So despite the fact that endless growth may not be Ivan Chouinard's thing, Patagonia reportedly did three quarters of a billion dollars in sales last year. Their best year ever.”
Guy Raz Dec 12, 2016 ▶ 21:24 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard
Dec 12, 2016 positive
Assertion Supported
Yvon Chouinard never took outside investment and owns 100% of Patagonia
“He never took a penny of investment, by the way. He still owns a hundred percent of the company.”
Guy Raz Dec 12, 2016 ▶ 21:16 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard
Dec 12, 2016
Insight
Retrofitting radical workplace flexibility into existing companies is destined to fail
“I've had other companies come to me and say, oh, I love that idea. I think I'll institute it in my company. I say, forget it. You'll fail. Because you have to start with the very first person you hire.”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 12, 2016 ▶ 16:46 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard
Dec 25, 2017
Assertion Supported
Chouinard's reusable climbing pitons cost 10x more than European competitors
“The European pitons were selling for 15 cents a piece, and mine were a dollar and a half.”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 25, 2017 ▶ 3:41 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard (2016)
Dec 25, 2017 positive
Insight
Chouinard says relying on customer feedback is too late for true innovation
“If you wait for the customer to tell you what to do, you're too late. So we were our own customer, and I think that was the secret of coming out with products that a lot of the products people didn't even know they wanted or needed.”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 25, 2017 ▶ 7:40 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard (2016)
Dec 25, 2017 positive
Assertion Supported
Yvon Chouinard never took outside investment and owns 100% of Patagonia
“He never took a penny of investment, by the way. He still owns a hundred percent of the company.”
Guy Raz Dec 25, 2017 ▶ 21:38 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard (2016)
Dec 25, 2017 negative
Disclosure
Chouinard says Patagonia has no interest in producing inexpensive clothing lines
“And I'm not interested in, in coming out with a line of inexpensive clothes.”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 25, 2017 ▶ 14:08 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard (2016)
Dec 25, 2017 bearish
Disclosure
Chouinard insists Patagonia will never sell out or go public
“We're not gonna sell out. We're not gonna go public.”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 25, 2017 ▶ 18:42 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard (2016)
Dec 25, 2017
Insight
Copying Patagonia's flexible work policy fails without early cultural buy-in
“And you know, I've had other companies come to me and say, oh, I love that idea. I think I'll institute it in my company. I say, forget it. You'll fail. Because you have to start with the very first person you hire.”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 25, 2017 ▶ 17:08 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard (2016)
Dec 25, 2017
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Patagonia spends only 0.5% of its total sales on advertising
“We, in fact, our advertising budget is one half of one percent of sales, and so I wait for the customer to tell us how much to make.”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 25, 2017 ▶ 10:26 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard (2016)
Dec 25, 2017
Disclosure
Chouinard takes five months off yearly to fish, barely calling in
“You know, I take off from June until November. I'm gone. I got a place in Jackson Hole, and I go fishing every day, and I call in maybe three times in the five months that I'm gone.”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 25, 2017 ▶ 16:00 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard (2016)
Dec 25, 2017
Assertion Partly supported
Women comprise 70% of Patagonia workforce and all upper management
“I mean, I have probably 70% women working for me. I have women in all upper management.”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 25, 2017 ▶ 18:50 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard (2016)
Dec 25, 2017
Insight
Chouinard argues immediate iterative steps beat overthinking plans beforehand
“If I get an idea, I immediately take a step forward and see how that feels. If it feels good, I take another step. If it feels bad, I step back. You know, it's different than people with a scientific view where they think everything out to the nth degree befor…”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 25, 2017 ▶ 6:13 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard (2016)
Dec 25, 2017
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Only about 250 US climbers existed when Chouinard started his company
“No, there were probably 250 climbers in the country.”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 25, 2017 ▶ 3:00 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard (2016)
Dec 25, 2017
Insight
Chouinard claims the faster a business grows, the faster it dies
“And in fact, that's why the faster a business grows, the faster it dies also.”
Yvon Chouinard Dec 25, 2017 ▶ 9:50 Patagonia: Yvon Chouinard (2016)
Oct 28, 2024 negative
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Yvon Chouinard Was 'Ashamed' of His 1987 Chouinard Equipment Catalog
“And we gave him a copy, and he called myself and my marketing director, who really was my partner in the business. And we said, as he looked at the catalog, that he was really ashamed of it, that it represented everything that he stood against in what was goin…”
Peter Metcalf Oct 28, 2024 ▶ 14:52 Black Diamond Equipment: Peter Metcalf
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