Tony Hsieh
| Tony Hsieh | |
|---|---|
 Hsieh in 2009. |
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| Born | December 12, 1973 [1] |
| Residence | Las Vegas, Nevada, USA |
| Alma mater | Harvard University (B.S.) |
| Occupation | Internet entrepreneur, venture capitalist |
| Known for | CEO of Zappos.com |
| Home town | San Francisco Bay Area |
| Net worth |  US$ 840 million[2] |
| Website | |
| twitter.com/zappos | |
Tony Hsieh (Chinese: 謝家華, English pronunciation: /ˈʃeɪ/ "shay", born December 12, 1973 [1]) is an American internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He is the CEO of the online shoe and clothing shop Zappos.com. Prior to joining Zappos, Hsieh co-founded and sold the internet advertising network LinkExchange to Microsoft in 1999 for $265 million.[3]
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Early life and education [edit]
Both of his parents came from Taiwan. Tony Hsieh was born in Illinois and grew up in the San Francisco Bay area of California.[4]
In 1995, he graduated from Harvard University with a degree in computer science.[5] While at Harvard, he managed the Quincy House Grille selling pizza to the students in his dorm; his best customer, Alfred Lin, would later be Zappos’s CFO and COO.[6] After college, Hsieh worked for Oracle Corporation.[7] After five months, Hsieh found himself dissatisfied with the corporate environment and quit to found LinkExchange.
Career [edit]
- LinkExchange
In 1996, Hsieh started developing the idea for an advertising network called LinkExchange.[8] Members were allowed to advertise their site over LinkExchange's network by displaying banner ads on their website. They launched in March 1996, with Hsieh as CEO, and found their first 30 clients by direct emailing webmasters.[9] The site grew, and within 90 days LinkExchange had over 20,000 participating web pages and had its banner ads displayed over 10 million times.[10] By 1998, the site had over 400,000 members and 5 million ads rotated daily.[11] In November 1998, LinkExchange sold to Microsoft for $265 million.[12][13]
- Venture Frogs
After LinkExchange sold to Microsoft, Hsieh co-founded Venture Frogs, an incubator and investment firm, with his business partner, Alfred Lin.[14] The name originated from a dare. One of Hsieh’s friends said she would invest everything if they chose "Venture Frogs" as the name, and the pair took her up on the bet (although they have yet to see any money).[15] They invested in a variety of tech and Internet startups, including Ask Jeeves, OpenTable and Zappos.[15]
- Zappos
In 1999, Nick Swinmurn approached Hsieh and Lin with the idea of selling shoes online.[6] Hsieh was initially skeptical and almost deleted Swinmurn’s initial voice mail. After Swinmurn mentioned that "footwear in the US is a $40 billion market, and 5% of that was already being sold by paper mail order catalogs," Hsieh and Lin decided to invest through Venture Frogs. Two months later, Hsieh joined Zappos as the CEO, starting with $1.6 million in 2000.[6] By 2009, revenues reached $1 billion.[16][17]
On July 22, 2009, Amazon.com announced the acquisition of Zappos.com in a deal valued at approximately $1.2 billion.[18] Hsieh is said to have made at least $214 million from the sale, not including money made through his former investment firm Venture Frogs.[19] [20]
- JetSuite
Hsieh Joined JetSuite's board in 2011. He lead a $7 million dollar round of investment in the growing private Very light jet concern. The investment allowed JetSuite to add two new Embraer Phenom 100 jets which have two pilots, two engines and safety features equivalent to large commercial passenger jets but weigh less than 10,000 pounds and are consequently highly fuel efficient.[21]
Hsieh has long been an active Twitter user with a substantial following. He has been widely noted as an influential figure in how Twitter can be used among C-level executives to build a connection with customers, partners and employees.[22]
Awards [edit]
Hsieh received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in 2007.[23]
World Champion of the 1993 ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest Harvard University Team - Tony Hsieh, Derrick Bass, Craig Silverstein
Personal life [edit]
In June 2010, Hsieh released Delivering Happiness, a book about his entrepreneurial endeavors. It was profiled in many world publications, including The Washington Post, CNBC, TechCrunch, The Huffington Post and The Wall Street Journal.[6][24][25][26][27] It debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Seller List and stayed on the list for 27 consecutive weeks.[28][29] Tony Hsieh forcing poor into homelessness! (Las Vegas - Downtown) Tony Hsieh - Zappos forcing poor into homelessness by buying old cheap hotels in downtown Las Vegas then closing them. Now many poor, elderly and transient people who have for years used the area during hard transitions have no other cheap alternatives and are now on the street or in crowded shelters. The other hotels in the area are now booked and increasing their weekly rates. Yes we all want progress and and nicer, safer downtown but there is no compensation to the poor.
The owners are the only ones getting compensation. Other cities across America have developers that compensate the poor for relocation. Shame on Tony Hsieh and his Downtown Project for pushing out the poor. Let's boycott Zappos.com shoes. Rise up people. He is a 1 percenter that does not care. There is plenty of land in Summerlin or other areas to develop but he chooses to force the poor out and they have no voices to fight back. tony hsieh Keyword: tony hsieh twitter tony hsieh girlfriend tony hsieh gay tony hsieh biography tony hsieh email tony hsieh book tony hsieh wife zapos.com tony hsieh net worth zappis.com appos.com zppos.com tony hsieh delivering happiness zappoes.com sappos.com delivering happiness tony hsieh tony hsieh house tony hsieh married delivering happiness zappos zappos delivering happiness tony hsieh bio anthony hsieh tony hsieh quotes happiness tony hsieh tony shay las vegas delivering happiness by tony hsieh tony hsieh salary tony hsieh pronunciation delivering happiness book is tony hsieh married tony hsieh wiki xappos.com zapp0s delivering happiness hsieh wwwzappos.com delivering happiness tony tony hsieh speaker zappis.con tony hsieh blog zapos shoes zappatos.com www.zappoz.com zappoos.com zappoa.com zapp os zaapos.com zappoz.com zoppos.com tony hsieh happiness tony hsieh books www.zappis.com zappps.com tony hsieh youtube hsieh tony zappod.com www.zappoes.com sappos shoes www.zappoos zappis shoes chief executive officer profile chief executive officer wikipedia zappos zappoes online shoes overstock payless shoes womens heels online shoe stores discount shoes online keen dansko dansko outlet aerosoles free shipping shoe stores online womens pumps shoes free shipping new balance outlet high heels heels shoe sites free shipping shoes womens sandals new balance toms free shipping boots for women rockport dansko clogs footwear jeffrey campbell cheap shoes online free shipping on shoes endless shoes naot tory burch sale best online shoe store dansko sale womens wedges discount shoes new balance store shoes stores online vans free shipping shoe websites donald pliner womens loafers free shipping shoe tory burch outlet shop for shoes online shop shoes online new balance stores shoes with free shipping buy shoes online tory burch buy shoes naot sandals donald j pliner dansko sandals keen footwear new balance 890 online shoe shoes on sale online shoe outlet naot boots ebay new balance 993 naot sale shoe sales best shoes shoes stewart weitzman online stores with free shipping buy boots online shoe store online via spiga shoes for sale online shoe store women footwear shoe sale birkenstock discount new balance stores with free shipping cheap shoes cheap jordans free shipping tory burch on sale shop shoes ladies sandals clogs dansko clogs sale newbalance shoes free returns mark nason dansko on sale naot footwear new balance sneakers shopping for shoes online dansko clearance keens shoe shopping online shoestore.com dansko clogs clearance zapos kids sneakers mens sneakers loafers for men boys sneakers shoe shopping toddler sandals shoes online men sneakers sneakers for boys women sandals boots for men mens boots moccasins for men online shoe shopping shoes outlet mens footwear boy sneakers shopping shoes mens loafers fashion heels cool shoes for men shoes online shopping women shoes online shoes sale mens boots fashion shoes for women kids sandals designer shoes online shoe online zapoes mens dress boots order shoes online shoe outlet sneakers womens shoes shoe mens fashion boots men shoes online www.zapos.com boys slippers sale shoes shoes store shoes sales discount womens shoes mens shoe stores sandals diesel shoes ladies dress shoes dress boots for men shoes online cheap shoe shop cool mens shoes on line shoes shoes online free shipping clearance shoes mens shoes online mens casual boots ladies shoes online mens shoes mens black dress shoes shoes on line designer shoes on sale skechers loafers designer heels
Hsieh lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.
References [edit]
- ^ a b Cf. Delivering Happiness book by Hsieh. "The first official party of 810 would be on Saturday, December 11, 1999. At midnight, I would turn twenty-six."
- ^ [1] Yahoo Finance Canada. Retrieved September 2012.
- ^ Cf. Delivering Happiness book by Hsieh. "In 1996, I co-founded LinkExchange, which was sold to Microsoft in 1998 for $265 million."
- ^ "Tony Hsieh, The Billion Dollar Interview", Entrepreneur Interviews
- ^ Q&A with Tony Hsieh, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
- ^ a b c d I Am CNBC Tony Hsieh Transcript CNBC. August 15, 2007.
- ^ Wei, William Tony Hsieh: Here’s Why I Quit My Corporate Job At Oracle With No Real Plan (October 28, 2010), Business Insider.
- ^ BEato, Greg. Scans: Barter for Banners. September 29, 1997.
- ^ Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh Talks Shoes on Bloomberg TV BNet. July 16, 2010.
- ^ Internet Link Exchange: 3rd month of operation celebrated. M2 Newswire via LexisNexis. June 17, 1996.
- ^ Frierman, Shelly. An Internet company with little freebies that could gain a place in the sun The New York Times. December 2, 1998.
- ^ Wei, William. Tony Hsieh: Here's Why I Quit My Corporate Job At Oracle With No Real Plan. Business Insider. October 28, 2010.
- ^ Tony Hsieh - Author Of “Delivering Happiness” And CEO Of Zappos Zappos.com.
- ^ Lee, Tom. Venture Frogs Internet Restaurant Logs on to the San Francisco Scene. Asian Week. August 17, 2000.
- ^ a b Nelson, Erik. Venture Frogs in a Cyber-Marsh. Profit Magazine. January 2000.
- ^ Hsieh, Tony. Why I Sold Zappos. Inc. Magazine. June 1, 2010.
- ^ Kee, Tameka. Amazon Buying Out Zappos.com For About $850 Million. Washington Post. July 23, 2009.
- ^ Amazon Closes Zappos Deal, Ends Up Paying $1.2 Billion TechCrunch. November 2, 2009.
- ^ "What Everyone Made from the Zappos Sale". 2009-07-27. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
- ^ Jacobs, Alexandra (September 14, 2009). "Happy Feet". The New Yorker: 66–71.
- ^ http://www.ocregister.com/articles/jetsuite-317800-hsieh-board.html
- ^ Jonathan Paisner: The Rise of the C-Tweet
- ^ Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award, 2007
- ^ Spreading WOW The Washington Post August 27, 2010.
- ^ Delivering Happiness: A Movement TechCrunch. May 1, 2010.
- ^ ‘Delivering Happiness’: What Poker Taught Me About Business The Huffington Post. May 26, 2010.
- ^ Carrol, Paul Getting a Foothold Online The Wall Street Journal. June 7, 2010.
- ^ Hardcover Advice 06-27-2010 The New York Times.
- ^ Hardcover Advice 12-26-2010 The New York Times.
Further reading [edit]
- Hsieh, Tony. Delivering happiness : a path to profits, passion, and purpose, New York : Business Plus, 2010. ISBN 9780446563048
External links [edit]
- "Episode 14: Tony Hsieh", smartpeoplepodcast.com, March 2, 2011. {podcast interview}
- Delivering Happiness Official Website
- Walters, Barbara, "Interview with Tony Hsieh", 20/20, ABC News, Oct 28, 2011 / August 3, 2012
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- 1973 births
- Living people
- Amazon.com people
- American computer businesspeople
- American people of Chinese descent
- American people of Taiwanese descent
- American technology chief executives
- American technology company founders
- Businesspeople from Nevada
- Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area
- Businesspeople in internet retailing
- Harvard University alumni
- People from the Las Vegas Valley
- Private equity and venture capital investors
