The Truth About Tony
Though he is currently the CEO of Zappos, Hsieh has an interesting past as an online entrepreneur and venture capitalist. From his Worm Farm idea as a child to his successful online ventures, Hsieh has a vested interest in startups.
Back in 1996, Hsieh started an online advertising cooperative, LinkExchange, with a fellow Harvard graduate. LinkExchange was a major success and eventually sold to Microsoft in 1999 for the quaint sum of $265 million.
While most of us would take the money and run for the hills to live in luxury, Hsieh did not. He took the position of CEO at Zappos, working for a salary of somewhere around $36,000 a year. Hsieh says this keeps him their for the business, not the money. He wants to want to be there.
Back in 1996, Hsieh started an online advertising cooperative, LinkExchange, with a fellow Harvard graduate. LinkExchange was a major success and eventually sold to Microsoft in 1999 for the quaint sum of $265 million.
While most of us would take the money and run for the hills to live in luxury, Hsieh did not. He took the position of CEO at Zappos, working for a salary of somewhere around $36,000 a year. Hsieh says this keeps him their for the business, not the money. He wants to want to be there.
His interesting perspective on wealth isn't the only thing that sets Hsieh apart from the rest. He has created quite the company culture at Zappos as well. Watch this video to see for yourself.
Hsieh is also an accomplished author. In 2010, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s first book, Delivering Happiness, A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose blasted to the top of bestseller lists with its blend of business advice, tales of worm farms, raves, multi-million dollar deals and – above all – the belief that happiness can be used as a model both in business, and in life.
And WOW did people respond! From Seoul to Lithuania, Sacramento to Sao Paulo, there was an outpour of positivity from people inspired to make a change – big or small – towards happiness. So much to the point the Delivering Happiness couldn’t help but believe that happiness is on the tipping point of world domination.
And to think...this idea started with SHOES!