John Gabbert is founder and chairman of Room & Board, a home furnishings business headquartered in Minneapolis with over 1,100 staff members nationwide.

As a young man, John joined his father's furniture business. In 1980 at the age of 27, John left the family business to start his own furniture company which, over the past forty years, has helped to redefine the industry.

Last year John announced that Room & Board has transitioned to 100% employee ownership through an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).

In our episode, John will discuss:
(0:52) – What was John’s upbringing like?
(3:09) – How did John get started in the family business?
(5:01) – How did John’s personality start to shape his father’s business?
(7:26) – What was the experience of breaking away from his father’s business to start Room & Board like?
(9:30) – How did John come up with a new direction for Room & Board?
(12:16) – Where did John’s business values come from?
(13:34) – How did Room & Board rethink the traditional furniture business model?
(17:02) – How is John thinking about succession?
(18:25) – Why did John choose the ESOP model? And how did his employees react to the decision?
(21:41) – How does John see his position evolving at Room & Board over the next few years?
(24:15) – Where does John think entrepreneurs go wrong?
(26:43) – What is the ‘why’ that motivates John?