In May, the JSV Book Club hosted its second annual Mental Health Awareness Month event, where we had the privilege of hosting Angel Au-Yeung to share the story behind her book, Wonder Boy: Tony Hsieh, Zappos, and the Myth of Happiness in Silicon Valley.
Tony Hsieh’s first successful venture was in middle school, selling personalized buttons. At Harvard, he made a profit compiling and selling study guides. From there, he went on to build the billion-dollar online shoe empire of Zappos. The secret to his success? Making his employees happy.
At its peak, Zappos’s employee-friendly culture was so famous across the tech industry that it inspired copycats and earned a cult following. Then Hsieh moved the Zappos headquarters to Las Vegas, where he personally funded a nine-figure campaign to revitalize the city’s historic downtown area. But as Hsieh fell deeper into his struggles with mental health and drug addiction, the people making up his inner circle began changing from friends to enablers.
In a wide-ranging interview with JSV Co-founder and Managing Director, Greg Gretsch, Angel breaks down the unfiltered story of how one of the most infamous entrepreneurs of the last 25 years was plagued by his eternal search for happiness and ultimately succumbed to his own demons.
We’re proud to feature highlights from the conversation as well as the full fireside chat below. To learn more about the JSV book club visit http://jsv.com/books.
Why was Tony Hsieh obsessed with happiness?
What role did the pandemic play in Tony Hsieh’s downfall?
What did Tony Hsieh’s relationship with Amazon look like?
Why were Tony Hsieh’s successes never enough for him?
What lessons can founders learn from Tony Hsieh’s story?
Want more? View the full fireside chat.