This is an interview I did with Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos.com. Zappos was the world's first online shoe store, founded in 1999. Today the company does more than $1 Billion yearly in sales over the internet with shoes and related accessories. Zappos is a true story of the American Dream, and Tony Hsieh is the key to its enormous success. We were lucky enough to land this exclusive interview in the spring of 2009.

1: QUESTION: How did your first big success come about concerning the growth and sale of Link Exchange? 

ANSWER: FYI - Name of company was LinkExchange, not Link Exchange. I recently spoke at SXSW and talked about this. The slides are here: http://www.slideshare.net/zappos/zappos-sxsw-31409

The audio podcast is available here: http://www.sxsw.com/interactive/news/videos_and_podcasts

2: QUESTION: Why did you start Venture Frogs after most of Wall Street dismissed dot-coms as a passing fancy?

ANSWER: Despite what might have been happening on Wall Street, the number of users and shoppers online continued to grow.

3: QUESTION: Venture Frogs had a number of successes, but what got you so focused on Zappos over the others?

ANSWER: It was the most fun and the most promising.

4: QUESTION: Youre well known for operating a fast growth corporation while striving to keep a small company feel. What gave you this idea and how do you think this philosophy effects the successful business model of Zappos?

ANSWER: This is talked about in the podcast I mentioned above.

5: QUESTION: Do you think the freedom and reach of the internet has negatively effected traditional grandfather corporations and why?

ANSWER: Charles Darwin once said, "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change." I think the same is true for businesses. If a traditional grandfather corporation isn't able to adapt to the freedom and reach of the Internet, then it will not perform as well as businesses (old or new) that are able to adapt.

6: QUESTION: Do you think the internet has opened up opportunities to entrepreneurs who might have never had a chance otherwise and why?

ANSWER: Yes, because the cost of starting an online business is so little today as technology hardware and services have gotten cheaper.

7: QUESTION: Whats the secret to the success of Zappos in your opinion?

ANSWER: As mentioned in the podcast, our focus on company culture and customer service.

8: QUESTION: Whats the plan for Zappos as we face this uncertain economy?

ANSWER: The good news is that we are continuing to grow, although our growth has definitely slowed. Regardless of the economy, it's always a good idea to continue to make sure that all of our various departments are performing well and running efficiently.

9: QUESTION: How was your experience on The Celebrity Apprentice?

ANSWER: It was an interesting experience comparing what happened in real life with what was creatively edited to make for more entertaining television.

9: QUESTION: Do you think that "Celebrity Apprentices" have an easier time than the previous "Regular Apprentices" because they are allowed to entice rich friends to give them outrageous sums of money under the guise of charity?

ANSWER: I think it depends on the task. The episode that I was involved in did not involve raising money from any of their friends.

10: QUESTION: If NBC's "The Apprentice" produced a show posing Celebrities against real Entrepreneurs, which team do you think would win?

ANSWER: It's hard to say... I think with a team of entrepreneurs, it might be hard for them to all work as a team, as by nature entrepreneurs generally will want to lead their own projects.

11: QUESTION: Finally, what is the most important tool for entrepreneurial success in the 21st century and what advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs?

ANSWER: In my presentation and podcast above, I talk a lot about the 7 steps for building a brand that matters, including having a vision that has greater meaning and purpose, and having personal and company core values aligned.

THE END

INTERVIEW WITH TONY HSIEH ---------------

tony@zappos.com

Inside Zappos at http://blogs.zappos.com

Follow me at http://twitter.com/zappos