Back in the early days of ecommerce, Marc Lore took a classic retail loss leader–diapers– and turned it into a DTC giant– Diapers.com. It did so well that it attracted the attention of Amazon, which slashed prices on its own diapers until Marc was forced to sell them his business.
It was not a happy moment, but it was a galvanizing one: Marc went on to launch another ecommerce company, jet.com. Within a year, it was bought by Walmart in a deal valued at $3.3 billion.
This is a story about a devastating corporate surrender, a multi-million dollar comeback, and a founder with a relentless ability to re-invent himself.
Timestamps:
10:04 – Marc’s “boost-your-grades” bet with his college coach
14:21 – A job on Wall Street and a Master Plan: 8 figures by age 48
16:28 – How a lunchtime lark turned into a spot on the U.S. Bobsled Team
27:44 – How random Google searches led Marc to diapers
35:29 – Guerilla tactic: Buying all of P&G’s diapers to get their attention
40:07 – The simple packaging hack that boosted sales
45:53 – Building a retail empire (and getting on Amazon’s radar)
47:52 – Amazon’s scorched earth strategy forces Marc to sell
1:00:11 – Raising $750M to take on Jeff Bezos
1:03:02 – A brand new business and a $3.3 billion exit: Walmart’s record-breaking deal
This episode was produced by Casey Herman with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant.
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