Lessons in leadership from Andy Dunn
Podcast interview with Bonobos founder Andy Dunn
I recently spoke with Andy Dunn, CEO and co-founder of Bonobos, for the Lightspeed Podcast, Tomorrow, Built Today. I was a happy customer of Bonobos before I ever became an investor. Lightspeed co-led the first institutional investment in the company and I joined the board in 2010. Andy is a pioneer and thought leader in this era of ecommerce, coining the term DNVB (Digitally Native Vertical Brand). He grew Bonobos into an iconic menswear brand which was acquired by Jet in 2017.
I’ve always appreciated Andy’s introspection about being a founder. This conversation was no exception — we covered everything from tough transitions to what happens when your greatest strengths as a leader become liabilities. I’ve extracted some highlights below, but you should listen to the whole thing: http://www.tbtpodcast.com/andydunn
On product-market fit
“My co-founder and I would walk around campus carrying two Trader Joe’s bags full of pants […] Dozens of guys showed up, they would buy two or three pairs at a time and that was the beginning of realizing, wait a second, we have something here.”
On “culture fit”
“If you’re not careful, fit can become a thing that leads to homogeneity within the company. What you actually want is a phenomenally diverse employee base and very inclusive culture… Fit should be about admirable human characteristics that can be universal regardless of someone’s background, their gender, their race, their sexuality, then you can build a much more inclusive environment. That’s actually a higher bar for people to meet than ‘who do we want to be friends with?’”
On assessing blame:
“It was a tremendously humbling time for me because I started to look at those two partnerships and say, wait a second, I now have been business partners with two Brians, both phenomenal human beings and business people. Both of those business partnerships were ultimately not successful, the friendships were strained. I realized, oh my God! The problem is me.”
On executive coaches:
“…by definition if you have blind spots, and we all do, they’re blind spots for a reason. You need someone else to illuminate those blind spots for you […] I think it’s invaluable. I think it should be a requirement for founders.”
On how Walmart and Jet are thinking about online strategy:
“…what’s going to happen in e-commerce is a little bit like what Netflix did in video content…You’re going to need something proprietary (proprietary brands) to play offense and to give people a reason to come to your platforms.”
If you’re a founder or exec in an early stage company, or aspire to be one day, I urge you to listen to the whole thing. Andy talks honestly about what that journey is really like, not just the glamorized creation myth that founders usually tell: http://www.tbtpodcast.com/andydunn
Let me know in the comments what resonates most with you.
