Clever with Amy Devers

Ep. 148: Entrepreneurial Raconteur John Edelman


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Former CEO of Design Within Reach and business consultant, John Edelman grew up on a horse farm in Connecticut. The youngest of 6, his childhood was filled with love, surrounded by his parents’ big dreams, in a home filled with visitors, from Andy Warhol to fashion executives. A hustler and daredevil from an early age, he excelled at flipping cars and riding dirt bikes but struggled in school. After college, John joined the family leather business, sorting buffalo skins in Thailand, worked for his brother at Esprit, and lived in Brazil to work in the shoe business. From 2010 - 2019 John served as CEO of Design Within Reach, during his tenure he pulled the company out of a downward spiral, transformed it into the world leader in authentic design, and led a highly publicized sale to Herman Miller. Now, Co-Founder of Fourth & Pride vodka, John’s life has been one great story after another - from adventure to romance, hardships to triumph, and a future that looks just as thrilling. 

Images, links and more from John Edelman!

Clever is hosted and produced by Amy Devers, with editing by Rich Stroffolino, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven. Clever's promotional partner is Design Milk.

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Clever with Amy DeversBy Amy Devers

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