Prediction Not checkable as stated
Hsieh: Zappos could expand into airlines and hotels within 10–20 years
“We're hoping, 1020 years from now, people won't even realize we started selling shoes online, and I can imagine one day there could be a Zappos Airlines or Zappos Hotel that, Is really just about the very best customer service and customer experience.”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Tony Hsieh Envisions Future Zappos Airlines and Hotels Within 20 Years
“We're hoping, 1020 years from now, people won't even realize we started selling shoes online. And I can imagine one day there could be a Zappos Airlines or Zappos Hotel that Is really just about the very best customer service and customer experience.”
Insight
Tony Hsieh: A CEO should architect the greenhouse, not be the plant
“And for me, I really think of my role as more about being the architect of the greenhouse, and then the, all the plants inside will flourish and thrive on their own.”
Disclosure
Hsieh: Deteriorating Culture Was the Real Reason LinkExchange Was Sold
“What a lot of people don't know is the real reason why we ended up selling the company, and the real reason was because the company culture had gone completely downhill, and I myself dreaded getting out of bed in the morning to go to my own company, which is k…”
Insight
Tony Hsieh: True success is being okay with losing everything you have
“And sometimes people ask me what my definition of success is, and I would say, for me, it's getting to the point where you're truly ok with losing everything you have.”
Insight
Tony Hsieh: CEOs should be greenhouse architects, not the tallest plants
“I'm probably different from a lot of typical CEOs where I like to use the analogy of imagine a greenhouse where maybe at a typical company, the CEO might be the strongest and tallest and Most charismatic plant that all the other plants strive to One day become…”
Disclosure
Hsieh sold LinkExchange because its company culture had gone completely downhill
“What a lot of people don't know is the real reason why we ended up selling the company, and the real reason was because the company culture had gone completely downhill, and I myself dreaded getting out of bed in the morning to go to my own company, which is k…”
Disclosure
Hsieh: Walked Away from Unvested Stock Following Microsoft Acquisition
“Well, in Silicon Valley, usually there's a four-year, what's known as a four-year vesting for your stock, and I'd only been there for two and a half years, so really had to stay for another year and a half after Microsoft acquired us in order to get the full a…”
Assertion Supported
Hsieh: Zappos originally validated demand by manually buying retail store shoes
“In order to test out the whole concept for real, Nick would actually just go down to the local shoe store, take pictures of all the shoes that were on the wall, and then put it on the website, and if someone bought something, then go down to the local shoe sto…”
Disclosure
Hsieh Liquidated San Francisco Apartments at a Loss to Fund Zappos
“And basically as Zappos was growing, it was also losing more money and we also need more money for inventory. And so I ended up one by one selling off the apartments and it's kind of like when in Monopoly, when you buy a hotel or houses and then you have to se…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hsieh: Investors refused to fund online shoe companies after dot-com crash
“No, and also there were huge companies like pets.com that were e-commerce that were kind of imploding at the time, and so even if someone wanted to invest in an internet company, the last thing they wanted to do was invest in an online shoe company, because no…”
What-if
Hsieh: Maximizing short-term profit would have prevented Zappos from building its brand
“You know, if we were just around trying to say maximize the profit margins, then we never would have gone down that path. And yes, we would have made more money in the short term during those days, but then we wouldn't have built our brand and reputation and s…”
Assertion Supported
Hsieh: Amazon preserved Zappos' independent culture seven years post-acquisition
“They approached us again and said, okay, we will let you guys be your own separate subsidiary with your own separate culture and own separate way of doing business. And happy to report seven years later, they've remained totally true to their word. And we've b…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Following the dot-com crash, investors refused to fund online shoe startups
“No, and also there were huge companies like pets.com that were e-commerce that were kind of imploding at the time, and so even if someone wanted to invest in an internet company, the last thing they wanted to do was invest in an online shoe company, because no…”
Insight
Purpose-driven brands make nonsensical moves that competitors will not copy
“When you actually want your brand to stand for something or to have some sort of purpose, and in our case, it's about to be about the very best customer service and customer experience. You do things that are kind of nonsensical in some ways and that your comp…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Amazon kept its promise to let Zappos operate autonomously post-acquisition
“They approached us again and said, okay, we will let you guys be your own separate subsidiary with your own separate culture and own separate way of doing business. And happy to report seven years later, they've remained totally true to their word. And we've b…”
Insight
Tony Hsieh: Success is being truly okay with losing everything you have
“And sometimes people ask me what my definition of success is, and I would say, for me, it's getting to the point where you're truly ok with losing everything you have.”
Insight
Hsieh: CEOs Should Be Greenhouse Architects, Not the Tallest Plant
“I'm probably different from a lot of typical CEOs, where I like to use the analogy of, imagine a greenhouse, where maybe at a typical company, the CEO might be the strongest and tallest Most charismatic plant that all the other plants strive to one day become,…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Hsieh: Post-Crash Investors Believed No One Would Buy Shoes Online
“No, and also there were huge companies like pets.com that were e-commerce that were kind of imploding at the time, and so even if someone wanted to invest in an internet company, the last thing they wanted to do was invest in an online shoe company, because no…”
Insight
Hsieh: Purpose-Driven Customer Service Requires Decisions Competitors Would Never Make
“And so I think, you know, when you actually want your brand to stand for something or to have some sort of purpose, and in our case, it's about to be about the very best customer service and customer experience. You do things that are kind of nonsensical in so…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Amazon Kept Its Promise of Autonomy Seven Years After Acquiring Zappos
“Happy to report seven years later, they've remained totally true to their word. And we've been able to continue doing our own thing and our culture is very different and distinct from Amazon's”
Insight
Tony Hsieh: Success is being truly okay with losing everything
“Sometimes people ask me what my definition of success is, and I would say, for me, it's getting to the point where you're truly ok with losing everything you have.”
Disclosure
Tony Hsieh: I only own two pairs of shoes
“Right now I'm wearing black Asics, and then I have a pair of flip-flops that I wear, and those are the only two pairs.”
Disclosure
Hsieh: I Am Passionate About Culture and Customer Service, Not Shoes
“I'm actually not passionate about shoes at all. I'm passionate about customer service and company culture, so I can talk forever about those two things, but I can't say anything about shoes.”
Tony Hsieh