How I Built This with Guy Raz diapers.com: Marc Lore. The ecommerce visionary who lost to Amazon but still made billions (2021)
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Mar 30, 2026 
Marc Lore, serial e-commerce entrepreneur who built Diapers.com and Jet.com and led Walmart’s online push. He tells the origin story of selling diapers online, clever packaging and supply tricks, facing Amazon’s price war, the tough sale, and the comeback with Jet and a $3.3B Walmart deal. Short, fast-moving stories about hustling, scale, and reinvention.
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Prioritize Customer Love Over Early Profits
- Focus first on customer love and repeat usage as proof you have something valuable before perfecting unit economics.
- Marc and Vinny tolerated heavy losses initially because loyal repeat customers indicated a defensible brand and path to fix economics.
Amazon Cut Prices But Loyalty Held
- After Amazon began cutting diaper prices dramatically, Diapers.com's growth slowed but customer loyalty prevented collapse.
- Marc was surprised Amazon's price attack didn't cause mass defections among his base.
The Amazon Meeting That Forced A Sale
- At a Seattle meeting Amazon announced Amazon Mom and warned Marc to sell or face deeper price cuts; Marc recounts feeling it like a coercive threat.
- He later revealed they had a higher offer but feared Amazon would further harm the business if they declined.