Show notes
In this episode of The Eric Ries Show, I talk with James Reinhart, founder of the second-hand resale platform ThredUp. A history major in college, James started his career as a teacher. That might not seem like it has much to do with fashion, but, as he explains, his early education and experiences actually led him not only to be a dual degree student at Harvard’s Business and Kennedy schools, but to a long-term view of ThredUp’s power to effect real change. We get into the reasons why having a harder mission can be counterintuitively easier and why, as he says, “intrinsically good businesses are good for bottom lines and good for the world.” Not only did ThredUp generate 80 million dollars in revenue in the first quarter of 2024, but James has an uncanny track record of being able to accurately predict what’s going to happen ten years ahead. Those details alone should be more than enough to pull you in, but they’re just a fraction of what we talked about. I hope you’ll enjoy this conversation with the founder whose mission is to inspire the world to think secondhand first. • What it was like to be an entrepreneur at Harvard Business School before the days when everyone was doing it• How his education background fed into his business acumen• The value of investors who believe in you• The advantages of having a mission that all your stakeholders are passionate about• His experience going public and advice for founders• Why he built a company culture around humane principles based on employee feedback• The change he’s working towards and believes is possible• And so much more—Brought to you by:Mercury – The art of simplified finances. Learn more.DigitalOcean – The cloud loved by developers and founders alike. Sign up.Neo4j – The graph database and analytics leader. Learn more.—Where to find James Reinhart:• X: https://x.com/jamesreinhart • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesgreinhart • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/james.reinhart/• ThredUp: https://ir.thredup.com/corporate-governance/management-team —Where to find Eric:• Newsletter: https://ericries.carrd.co/ • Podcast: https://ericriesshow.com/ • X: https://twitter.com/ericries • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eries/ • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow —In This Episode We Cover:(((((((((((((((((((((((((—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/.Eric may be an investor in the companies discussed.
