What’s it like to build the fastest-growing company in American history … and then watch it all come crashing down? We sat down with John Hefter, co-founder of the legendary Amazon aggregator Thrasio, for a brutally honest conversation about the company's wild ride from a multi-billion dollar unicorn to bankruptcy.
John takes us from the very beginning, launching from a co-founder's basement with a simple Google search to raising nearly $3.5 billion and reaching a staggering $9 billion valuation. He shares the incredible inside story of Angry Orange, the pet deodorizer brand that became the “smell of gold” and proved their model could work on a massive scale.
But with insane growth came chaos. John pulls back the curtain on the dark side of the Amazon marketplace, battling black-hat sellers and the operational nightmare of acquiring four companies in a single week. He reveals the surreal moment he knew the dream was over, standing at a lavish party in Cabo when he got the call about a single, catastrophic $450 million inventory mistake.
This isn't just a business story; it's a cautionary tale about the real cost of moving too fast. Tune in to hear John's unfiltered take on the future of Amazon FBA, his hard-won advice for founders, and what comes after surviving the unicorn rollercoaster.
Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:05:10 - How Thrasio Started in a Basement
00:19:11 - Insane Pre-COVID Growth
00:23:18 - Beginning of the End
00:41:39 - The Moment It All Blew Up
00:53:57 - Future of Amazon FBA
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