Joey Zwillinger, Allbirds Co-founder: How We Earned 7 Figures in Our First 30 Days With 0 Marketing Spend | Business E255
It all started with a three-page vision statement for Joey Zwillinger and his company, Allbirds, which is revolutionizing the footwear industry with its eco-friendly and sustainable products. Joey and his co-founder Tim Brown set out to emulate nature’s brilliant design skills by creating the now iconic Wool Runner, a shoe made from Merino wool, and to create a sustainable global company in the process. In this episode, the latest in a limited series sponsored by Shopify, Joey shares some of the challenges that Allbirds faced, the technology that transformed their direct-to-consumer business into a global brand, and how to align mission with profitability.
Joey Zwillinger is the CEO and Co-Founder of Allbirds, which uses wool to create sustainable footwear. He has long been passionate about making things from renewable resources, which led him to start Allbirds with New Zealander Tim Brown and begin tackling sustainability issues in the footwear industry. Working together, Tim and Joey crafted a revolutionary wool fabric made specifically for footwear, resulting in an entirely new category of shoes inspired by natural materials.
In this episode, Hala and Joey will discuss:
- How competitive sports translates into business
- Finding a career with meaning and impact
- The importance of constraints to creativity
- Aligning your mission and profitability
- Learning innovation from nature
- Founding a purpose-focused company
- Launching Allbirds with the Shopify platform
- The secrets to a million-dollar launch
- Breaking through in a noisy marketplace
- And other topics…
Joey Zwillinger is the CEO and Co-Founder of Allbirds, which uses wool to create sustainable footwear. Prior to co-founding Allbirds, he spent six years at biotech firm Terravia (formerly Solazyme, Inc.) leading its renewable chemical business, developing and selling high-performance algae-based chemicals into various industries such as CPG, personal care, and industrials. He has long been passionate about making things from renewable resources, which led him to start Allbirds with New Zealander Tim Brown and begin tackling sustainability issues in the footwear industry.
Resources Mentioned:
Joey’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jzwillinger/
Allbirds Website: https://www.Allbirds.com/
Allbirds Twitter: https://twitter.com/Allbirds
Allbirds Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Allbirds/
Allbirds Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weareAllbirds
Zingerman’s Deli's Mission and Guiding Principles: https://www.zingermanscommunity.com/about-us/mission-guiding-principles/
Why and How Visioning Works by Ari Weinzweig, founder of Zingerman's Deli: https://www.zingtrain.com/article/why-and-how-visioning-works/
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