Yvon Chouinard
Founder, Patagonia
Sunday, April 29th, 2012
Yvon is one of the leading pioneers in the climbing and outdoor apparel field. Since his teens, Yvon has been an avid climber and adventure seeker. He innovated rock and ice climbing equipment, which he sold through his first company Chouinard Equipment (now Black Diamond). Yvon later started Patagonia, and the company has been a model of business and environmental responsibility since its inception in 1973.
Jessica Harris speaks with Yvon about his journey from outdoor enthusiast to founder of Patagonia, from scratch.
Steven Alan is the owner of his eponymous line of clothing stores, Steven Alan, located in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. In addition to creating his own clothes, Steven is a curator and supporter of other independent clothing designers. Steven launched Steven Alan after working for his family’s jewelry business and managing a successful watch resale company.
Pastry chef and restaurateur Sarabeth Levine started her business by first selling marmalade, a family recipe, in a small cafe on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Prior to life in the culinary world, Sarabeth was a substitute teacher, a dental assistant, and sold health insurance.
Most people recycle due to a sense of moral obligation towards the environment. Ron Gonen also saw a business opportunity. RecycleBank partners with municipalities and encourages households to recycle by rewarding them with points and gift cards that can be used at stores. RecycleBank is able to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfills and save cities money on waste transport and landfill costs.
Tim Westergren, a former jazz musician and film composer, founded the online radio station Pandora in 2000. Tim brought together a team of musicologists to analyze and classify hundreds of thousands of songs based on some 400 attributes. This project, called the Music Genome Project, is the backbone of Pandora. Pandora works like this: a user enters a song or artist, and Pandora plays songs that most resemble that entry. The company became profitable for the first time ten years after launch, and Pandora has become increasingly popular thanks, in part, to its availability as an app on Apple’s iPhone.
Mike Lazerow co-founded Buddy Media with his wife Kass in 2007. Buddy Media helps corporations connect with their customers using social media. Clients like IBM, Ford, Pepsi and Jet Blue use Buddy Media’s software to engage consumers through Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other platforms. Mike is a serial entrepreneur who formerly launched Golf.com (bought by Time Warner) and University Wire (an Associated Press-like service for the university community now owned by CBS).
Richard is the founder of the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) Conference, TEDMED, and 19.20.21. He is also an architect and the author of over 80 books ranging from health care to travel. Throughout his career Richard has strived to make information easier to understand.
Jessica meets Simon Pearce, a glass blower, potter, and the founder of Simon Pearce, Inc. Simon started blowing glass in Ireland in the 1960s, and he moved the company to Quechee, Vermont in the early 1980s. His products are known around the world for their high quality and practical design. Jessica Harris speaks to Simon about his hands-on approach to turning his craft into a successful business, from scratch.
Jessica speaks with Sam Farber, founder of the leading kitchenware company OXO. OXO’s universal designs are appropriate for users of all ages, whether you’re 75 years old with arthritis, or a five year old who hasn’t yet mastered apple peeling. OXO’s Good Grips line has won worldwide acclaim, and has been selected for the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art, among others. Sam discusses how he launched–ironically after retirement–from scratch.
LinkedIn is an online network of professionals, founded by Reid Hoffman. LinkedIn helps people find and post jobs, reference check candidates, and create new trusted contacts. Jessica Harris speaks with Reid about how he has helped to connect professionals online, and from scratch.
