Practice makes it perfect, and nothing beats experience. Correct? We’ve all met people who had great impact on our lives, people we look up to and people who helped us become who we are today. So, we’re bundles of stories, and sometimes our own life story can inspire somebody else’s, just as we have been inspired by other people. Today, I want to encourage you to find out more about the stories of famous ecommerce personalities. Find out what they did right, what they would change and how they managed to hit it big. Quite a privilege to learn from those who’ve been some time ago where you are today.
Below you have 7 such life lessons – stories – interviews of the ecommerce generation:
1. Jeff Bezos
Well, the man pretty much founded Amazon (see its history here). Find the interview in Businessweek.com – Online Extra: Jeff Bezos on Word-of-Mouth Power
Snippets: “If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful.”
“You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well. People notice that over time. I don’t think there are any shortcuts.”
2. Michael Dubin
CEO of The Dollar Shave Club. Find the interview in BusinessInsider.com – Dollar Shave Club Interview
Snippets: “.. whether it’s video, or Facebook content, or other kinds of content, we are going to make a strong commitment to telling strong stories in creative ways and just giving our audience and our customers fun stuff to play with. That’s part of the fun of being an Internet brand.”
Fact: 5000 subscribers on the first day alone.
3. Jake Nickell
Founder of Threadless (crowdsourced t-shirt designs). Find the interview intechradar.com – The Secrets Behind Threadless’s Success
Snippet: “We like the idea of it spreading via word of mouth, organically, naturally. It’s not that we don’t market, we just don’t advertise. I’d rather somebody hears about Threadless through an article in a magazine than an advertisement in a magazine.”
Fact: 2,000,000 Twitter followers.
4. Sophia Amoruso
Founder of Nasty Gal. Find the interview in Refinery29.com – Sophia Amoruso Might Be The Scrappiest Superwoman We Know
Snippet: “It’s incredibly important for us to be consistent — from our photography to our design to our copywriting, every small choice is an opportunity to either strengthen our brand or fall flat. I’m so fortunate to have an incredible team around me who not only sustain the voice that I incubated over so many years, but who can truly evolve it.”
Fact: $100m revenue in 2013.
5. Marc Lore
Co-founder of Diapers.com. Find the interview in Inc.com – The Way I Work: Marc Lore of Diapers.com
Snippet: “All 25 of our customer service folks are in-house. We have a 24/7 operation, and we empower the reps completely to take care of the mom at whatever cost. Really, the fewer rules, the better. The concept is just if Mom calls and there’s an issue, do whatever is necessary to make her happy and really wow her. (We got into the habit of referring to all of our customers as “Mom.”) If we don’t have a product you’re looking for, we’ll get it from a competitor.”
Fact: 4 years ago, Amazon.com acquired Diapers.com for $545 million dollars.
6. Eric Bandholz
Founder of Beardbrand. Find the interview in interviewswithmakers.com – Eric Bandholz of Beardbrand
Snippet: “I was also involved on various communities online, from Reddit to Beardboard.com and BeardedGents.com. I am able to talk and get to know other beardsmen around the world at a personal level. I think it helps that I’m passionate about what we are building and people see that in me. With my YouTube videos, I’ve made a lot of how-to videos that people have really liked.”
7. Andy Dunn
Founder of Bonobos (ecommerce-driven apparel). Find the interview in gsb.stanford.edu: Andy Dunn: “Passion Is a Prerequisite”
Snippet: “The greatest innovation of the past decade? The social graph! It’s a funny thing how this digital tool is making the world a more personal place. Our brand wouldn’t be possible without social media. And because of the power of digitally driven brand-building, we are now creating an in-person store experience, which is arguably more personal than anything else in retail. It’s ironic when you think about it.”
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