VEGAS INC Magazine - Latest Las Vegas business news, features and commentaries about gaming, tourism, real estate and more
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/41290
COVER STORY dude for sure, but he's also more than a little crazy in the best possible way. In Delivering Happiness, Hsieh describes the importance of having a "tribe," people with whom you have important, personal connections. He's an innovator in business culture. The sense of connectedness is crucial to being happy. And if you care about who you work with, you'll be more likely to feel like you're part of a team, working toward a common goal. So, he created the corporate culture for his company based on those relationships. Zappos has an extensive screening process that makes certain all employees fit in to its singular corporate environs. They're seeking a culture match. Just as important as their college and graduate degrees and their work experience is their ability to fit into the company. They have to "create fun and a little weirdness." Founded in 1999, Zappos.com (named from a I 24 variation of the Spanish word for shoes, zapatos) moved to Henderson from San Francisco in 2004 with 70 employees. Now the company has more than 1,200 employees and plans to hire as many as 800 more by the time it relocates to the Las Vegas City Hall building downtown in 2012. Unexpectedly, Hsieh invited me to come to the company's quarterly "All Hands" meeting, where more than 1,000 employees were in attendance. I felt a little bit like a kid at my first day of school: Excited, nervous and a little out of place. What struck me instantly was the level of trust among the employees was palpable. Hsieh, their clear leader, appears to be staggeringly kind with everyone. There were inside jokes that only Zapponians, as they call themselves, would understand, and everyone knew everybody else. It's a tight-knit culture, to say the least. Zappos.com was bought by Amazon.com in 2009 for $928 million, in a total deal that was valued at some $1.2 billion. As a post-buyout CEO, Hsieh could easily take his shares and run. But he makes it clear that he has no intention of leaving the company he lives and breathes. He's too tight with his tribe, Besides, Amazon is largely a hands-off owner and the business growth potential truly excites him. "At the end of the day, Zappos ships shoes online. You can argue that isn't very sexy," says Eric Ryan, co-founder of Method Home Products. "But Hsieh has elevated everybody's work to a much more meaningful purpose. That's such a rare and powerful thing." Zapponians don't just drink Hsieh's Kool-Aid, they live it every day, willfully and gleefully. "Most CEOs tend to be strong operators, but he's a strong operator and a strong visionary," Ryan says. "He's just a fresh model of what a modern businessperson should be—no ego, and in it for the right reasons." t's no secret that the crux of what makes Zappos.com tick is its strange community culture, Hsieh's brainchild. Hsieh doesn't inhabit an office. Rather, he sits among his employees, and decorates his desk with the best of them—complete with jars of pimento-stuffed olives and an upside-down Nevada license plate that reads: ZAPPOS. Hsieh is a smart of Zappos.com's headquarters—a convenience that's not lost on the CEO. The company will be moving all of its employees from its Henderson offices (with some 170,000 square feet of space) to shiny new downtown Las Vegas headquarters and its massive 300,000 square feet of space in 2012. And it got the T ony Hsieh's life is as normal as a business tycoon's life could ever be normal. He starts his mornings downing an espresso at a Las Vegas downtown mainstay, The Beat Coffeehouse, which is located down the road from the future location space for cheap. Really cheap: $18 million, which was $7 million less than the initial $25 million price tag from the city. He managed to snag that price because Tony Hsieh is Las Vegas' chosen one, at least for now, and the city doesn't want to lose him. But it becomes clear, early on in our conversation, that other than the financial deal, Hsieh is an advocate of downtown Las Vegas. He lives in The Ogden. He likes the drinks at Downtown Cocktail Room, where he enjoys his Grey Goose and sodas, thank you very much. "Gold Spike is actually surprisingly good and super cheap. I love baked potatoes," Hsieh says, laughing. The hopes of downtown Las Vegas' revitalization— something that has been in the works, um, forever— are now hinged up on Zappos.com's off-center, energetic employees. Hsieh is predictably modest | 5 SEPTEMBER 2011 |