“I suspect I'll probably go back to Cotopaxi and not as a CEO. I think I've given that role up and I'm okay with that now. I maybe play an executive chairman kind of role where I can still be very involved in our mission and our purpose and the culture.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading:
filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard
(the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Davis Smith
Insight
Smith: Choose co-founders for problem-fit rather than picking family or friends
“Instead of Choosing my co-founder based on who I love and you know, who's close to me right now. Why don't I go first, try to find a great idea. And then once I have the right idea, then I should go find a co-founder that really helps me solve the problem that…”
Davis SmithFeb 21, 2025▶ 7:13Cotopaxi’s Davis Smith: Lessons from scaling a mission-driven business | Masters of Scale
Disclosure
Cotopaxi donates 1% of total revenue even during unprofitable years
“We donate we donate one percent of all of our revenues. Which to be clear, a lot of times is many years that was actually more than we made. We maybe weren't even making money, but we're still giving money away.”
Davis SmithFeb 21, 2025▶ 24:31Cotopaxi’s Davis Smith: Lessons from scaling a mission-driven business | Masters of Scale
AssertionSupported
Cotopaxi hired a Chief Impact Officer before hiring a single marketer
“We had a chief impact officer before we had a chief marketing officer. We didn't have a marketer.”
Davis SmithFeb 21, 2025▶ 27:51Cotopaxi’s Davis Smith: Lessons from scaling a mission-driven business | Masters of Scale
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Cotopaxi's uniquely designed one-of-a-kind bags saw near-zero return rates
“And the return rate was like zero, like whatever they got, no matter how funky it was, they were, they loved it.”
Davis SmithFeb 21, 2025▶ 1:12Cotopaxi’s Davis Smith: Lessons from scaling a mission-driven business | Masters of Scale
AssertionSupported
Cotopaxi generated 30,000 social media posts in its first 24 hours
“We had 30,000 social media posts in that first 24 hours of our launch.”
Davis SmithFeb 21, 2025▶ 20:36Cotopaxi’s Davis Smith: Lessons from scaling a mission-driven business | Masters of Scale
Disclosure
Cotopaxi's early investors included Kirsten Green and the Warby Parker founders
“We ended up with a handful of investors that invested, like I mentioned, Kirsten Green from Foreigner Ventures and a handful of other amazing people that stepped up and some of my friends from business school, like the Warby Parker founders the founders of Har…”
Davis SmithFeb 21, 2025▶ 22:37Cotopaxi’s Davis Smith: Lessons from scaling a mission-driven business | Masters of Scale
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