After founding (and selling) a number of tech companies, Hsieh (alongside Alfred Lin) turned to the idea of selling shoes online in 1999. At first, Hsieh was not convinced that this was even a remotely viable idea. But, after learning that the footwear industry in the U.S. (at the time) was a $40 billion market, with almost no sales occurring through the internet, he changed his mind. In 2000, Hsieh joined Zappos as CEO. One of his first decisions was to relocate Zappos corporate headquarters to Las Vegas, citing the relatively reasonable cost of labor and real estate compared to the San Francisco Bay area. In his first year as CEO, Zappos earned an impressive $1.6 million in revenue. Nine years later, Zappos’s revenues had grown to over $1 billion per year. Along the way, Zappos started to earn a reputation for having amazing corporate culture that focused acutely on employee happiness and providing the best customer service of any retailer. Zappos’ internal culture is governed by what Hsieh calls “Zappos Family Core Values.” There are amazing reviews for Zappos’ customer service all over the internet. Hsieh has often remarked that Zappos sells customer service, not shoes. This is evident. In 2020, the company debuted the sale of single shoes for people who don’t need two. It isn’t just customers that are thrilled with Zappos. Employees are too. The company publishes the “Culture Book” annually. In it, each employee – called Zapponians internally – write a few paragraphs about what the company means to them. In 2010, Hsieh’s own book, “Delivering Happiness,” debuted at the top of the New York Times bestseller list. Zappos has revolutionized the way e-commerce customer service works. Zappos’ habit of going above and beyond for the customer has become mainstream. The company’s focus on employee culture has also become mainstream.
