Guest: Niraj Shah, CEO and co-founder of Wayfair

Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah caught the entrepreneurship bug in his mid-20s, when he and his longtime co-founder Steve Conine sold their first company just a few years out of college. They left the acquirer and independently realized “we absolutely wanted to start something else,” Niraj recalls. “Once you’ve done that, if you enjoy that, it’s very hard to pursue something more traditional.” But the “if you enjoy that” bit really matters: Whenever he’s counseling younger people, Niraj tells them to pursue something they’re genuinely excited about. Otherwise, “it’s going to be very hard for you to do your best work.”

In this episode, Niraj and Joubin discuss shopping malls, employee discounts, working in Boston, family time, Jay Chaudhry, Cornell University, pursuing what you enjoy, fostering trust, family vacations, over-hiring corporate staff, taking market share, the power of ecommerce, ownership mentality, setting priorities, and rapid hiring.

Chapters:

• (00:51) - Wayfair’s first retail stores

Links:

Connect with Niraj

• LinkedIn
• Watch the Cornell talk

Connect with Joubin

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Email: [email protected] 

Learn more about Kleiner Perkins

This episode was edited by Eric Johnson from LightningPod.fm