Tony Hsieh - CEO zappos.com shoe firm in USA

Tony Hsieh - CEO

Tony Hsieh (pronounced "Shay") is the current CEO of online shoe seller Zappos.com. Prior to joining Zappos, Hsieh co-founded and sold the internet advertising network LinkExchange to Microsoft for $265M in 1998. Hsieh graduated from Harvard University with a BA in Computer Science. He is a second-generation Taiwanese American.[1]




On July 22, 2009 Amazon.com announced the acquisition of Zappos.com in a deal valued at approximately $887.9mm.[2] He is said to have made at least $214 million from the sale not including money made through his former investment firm Venture Frogs. [3]


Zappos Core Values


As we grow as a company, it has become more and more important to explicitly define the Zappos core values from which we develop our culture, our brand, and our business strategies. These are the ten core values that we live by:



Deliver WOW Through Service

Embrace and Drive Change

Create Fun and A Little Weirdness

Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded

Pursue Growth and Learning

Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication

Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit

Do More With Less

Be Passionate and Determined

Be Humble


Tony originally got involved with Zappos as an advisor and investor in 1999, about 2 months after the company was founded. Over time, Tony ended up spending more and more time with the company because it was both the most fun and the most promising out of all the companies that he was involved with. He eventually joined Zappos full time in 2000. Under his leadership, Zappos has grown gross merchandise sales from $1.6M in 2000 to over $1 billion in 2008 by focusing relentlessly on customer service.



Tony focuses on continuing to grow the business at a rapid pace while maintaining the culture and feel of a small company. Prior to joining Zappos, Tony co-founded Venture Frogs with Alfred Lin. Venture Frogs is an incubator and investment firm that invested in Internet startups, including Ask Jeeves, Tellme Networks, and of course, Zappos.com. Prior to Venture Frogs, Tony co-founded LinkExchange, an advertising network that was successfully sold to Microsoft for $265M in 1998.



Tony met Alfred Lin (COO/CFO) in college, when Tony was running a pizza business and Alfred was his #1 customer.