🐕How a Poodle Started a Billion-Dollar Brand

His toy poodle brought him oodles of cash, $14.37 billion to be exact.

“I like to go all in. When I find something I believe in, I make concentrated bets.”

- Ryah Cohen, Founder of Chewy

Ryan Cohen is a billionaire, and he seems like a genius now, but that wasn’t always the case. Here are some facts to give you glimpse into Ryan’s journey:

Talk about proving the haters wrong, am I right?

Now if I can be honest with you here, Chewy isn’t really a crazy new idea. At its core, it’s a website that sells pet products.

So why did it work?

1. Ryan is all bark, and all bite.

There is a common misconception that to start a business, you need to start a brand new idea that has never been done before.

I mean, you see people on shows like Shark Tank trying to create the next Uber for golden retrievers because they think it will change the world.

I’m gonna be honest with you guys…

Your ideas don’t mean SH!T.

What really matters is the problem you solve, and how you execute that solution.

And that is exactly how Ryan Cohen started his billion-dollar company.

Ryan needed to buy some food for his absolutely adorable toy poodle, but he didn’t have any time to go to the local pet store.

(He was building a website business on the side. If you want to build your own click here)

So, he did what most millennials do and went online to Amazon to buy some dog food.

But there were some problems he noticed…

They did not have specialized food or other specialized products for his dog, and the customer service was absolutely TRASH.

Ryan absolutely loved his dog, and he knew that plenty of people loved their pets too.

So he decided to combine the effectiveness of an online store like Amazon with his love for his pets and created an online pet store.

And that is precisely why Chewy.com was such an amazing success.

The four keys to this business being successful are:

1. He chose a business model that already had a proven track record, which was selling products through an online store.

2. His business was about something that he loved, which was pets.

3. He already had skills in place that would help this business grow, which was his website-building skills.

4. He found a problem that he already was having in his real life and turned that into a business.

Takeaway:

When starting a business, think of a company that is already successful, and figure out a way to tackle a smaller niche market.

People love to buy products from people who are experts, and who specialize in their product.

Chewy became Amazon, but specifically for pet products.

Another example would be StockX.com which became eBay but specifically for sneaker-heads.

(To see how they grew to $3.8 billion, click here)

2. He made sure customers never had a ruff day.

When running a business, it’s important to remember why a business succeeds.

Many people would say it’s a marketing tactic, or building an audience, or so many other things.

But at its core, a business succeeds when it makes its customers happy.

If you focus on the customer, everything else will fall into place.

Ryan knew this and wanted the core of Chewy to be focused heavily on the customer, and the customer’s pets.

This was a major element that was missing in other pet retailers like Petsmart, Petco, and Amazon.

There are 3 things that Ryan did to add a much more human element to his business:

1. He included 24/7 US-based customer support with a human on the other end of the phone.

2. He added handwritten holiday cards to people’s orders.

3. He added personalized pet portraits that people could receive with their orders as well.

Chewy also quickly expanded their inventory to hold every brand of pet product, so that customers would have no reason to shop anywhere else.

Every facet of his company was laser-focused on providing value for his customers.

Ryan says he got the idea to focus on the customer from two places, a company called Zappos, and his own father.

Zappos is basically the Amazon for shoes and clothing. (Are you guys seeing a trend here?)

Zappos is known to have the greatest customer service on the planet, for more on how they achieved it, click here.

Ryan’s father also owned a glassware-importing business, and he told his son one principle that will stick with him forever:

Takeaway:

If you are not sure about the direction of your business, focus on the customer experience.

Make sure the product you make is something that you would actually buy yourself.

If you are not sure about your product, literally ask your customer. They will tell you if the product is good or not, and then you can make changes accordingly.

3. Ryan never put his tail between his legs.

When starting a business, you can’t be a scaredy cat.

(OK OK, I promise that’s the last pet pun)

You have to stay on the path no matter how much push back you receive.

And if you were looking at Chewy.com before it succeeded, you probably wouldn’t have faith in it either.

Most of Ryan’s investors saw 2 specific problems with Chewy:

1. Chewy was basically in direct competition with Amazon.

2. Another company called Pets.com had almost the exact same business model. And it went bankrupt.

So no one was willing to roll the dice on this 25 year old entrepreneur with nothing but a website and a dream.

But did hearing no’s from hundreds of investors make Ryan give up?

Well, you guys already know the answer.

My boy Ryan pulled his inner Thanos and said:

He found distributors for pet products and called them directly over the phone.

He then had relationships with suppliers who could get him the products he needed to grow his business on his own.

Ryan was asked how all that rejection made him feel, and he said:

And that’s what makes Ryan a winner.

He doesn’t let a loss discourage him, even if million dollar investors tell him no.

And remember, just because someone has a million dollars doesn’t mean they are always right.

For example, let’s look at on of the pettiest men alive, James Martin, the CEO of Copa Di Vino.

He was on Shark Tank showing the sharks his product, which was packaged wine in individual cups.

And all of them said his product was not going to work.

He was getting roasted so bad that he started sweating bullets.

Well a year later, Copa Di Vino was worth over $70 Million.

So James went back to Shark Tank, just to flex on the sharks!

Literally, he was bragging so much and playing with them so hard that one of the sharks literally got up and left!

Now I don’t condone this, I think this is just childish behavior.

But nobody believed in his product, and he still went pushed through and made it work.

Remember that if you stay on the grind like Tony Hawk and change the way you see failure, there is nothing that can stop you.

And that is with anything you do.

Takeaway:

If you have a goal or a dream, do not let doubt stop you from growth.

When no one else is in your corner, you have to be your own best friend and your own biggest fan.

5 Similar businesses to inspire you:

1. Rothy’s: E-commerce clothing store (worth $1 billion)

2. Cowboy: Electric bike e-commerce store (worth $120 million)

3. CocoFloss: Luxury dental floss e-commerce store (worth $40 million)

4. Partake Foods: Allergy-friendly snacks e-commerce store (worth 21.3 million)

5. Beauty Bakerie: Makeup e-commerce store (worth $8.77 million)

🎮You just leveled up your mindset today!

What did you think of this week’s newsletter? Did you like it? Was it entertaining and informative? How can I do better? Hit reply to let me know!

Thank you for reading like always!

- Zach