Marc Lore on the Mets, Wonder and Building Startups | The Deal
23 May 2024 (4 months ago)
- Alex introduces Marc Lore as his business partner, mentor, and friend.
- Marc Lore is a successful entrepreneur who sold diapers.com to Amazon and jet.com to Walmart.
- He is now the founder and CEO of Wonder Group, a company that has raised over a billion dollars and is valued at $3.5 billion.
- Marc Lore has a unique mindset and approach to entrepreneurship that Alex finds fascinating.
- Alex and Marc met during the Covid pandemic through a mutual friend.
- They hit it off immediately due to their shared New York roots, humble beginnings, and similar values.
- They became partners in several businesses, including the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx.
- Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez shared a passion for sports, particularly for underdogs.
- They were inspired by the 30-year history of the Minnesota Twins and the city's support for the team.
- They felt a drive to turn things around for the team and bring collective happiness to the city, fans, and players.
- The financial aspect was secondary to the emotional connection and the story of the team.
- Steve Cohen, the owner of the New York Mets, reached out to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez to discuss a potential partnership.
- Cohen was impressed by their passion for sports and their business acumen.
- Lore and Rodriguez were excited about the opportunity to own a Major League Baseball team and to bring their vision to life.
- They saw the Mets as a team with great potential and a strong fan base.
- The deal to purchase the Mets was a complex process that involved negotiations, due diligence, and financing.
- Lore and Rodriguez were committed to making the deal happen and were confident in their ability to turn the Mets into a successful team.
- Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez formed a close partnership based on trust and shared values, admiring each other's qualities and approaches.
- They prioritize passion and positive impact over maximizing profits and often rely on handshakes instead of formal contracts when making deals.
- Lore and Rodriguez maintain frequent communication to strengthen their partnership.
- Lore's positive experience with Glen Taylor and Becky during the Minnesota Timberwolves negotiations led to a quick agreement without discussing revenues.
- Lore emphasizes the significance of focusing on inputs, such as the right hires and investments, rather than solely on immediate revenue or profit, to achieve sustainable winning and long-term profitability.
- Marc Lore had an entrepreneurial spirit from a young age and pursued various business ventures as a child.
- He initially worked in financial risk management at banks but felt unfulfilled and decided to become an entrepreneur, inspired by the tech boom in the late nineties.
- With a $50,000 investment from his former boss, Jerry Goldstein, he started his entrepreneurial journey at the age of 27.
- He raised money from 65 angel investors with an average investment of $80,000 for his first business venture.
- Marc Lore shares a personal story from his childhood where he won a Reggie Jackson baseball card from a bully by flipping 10 heads in a row, but the bully then punched him and took the card.
- This experience left a lasting impact on Marc, making him sensitive to bullies.
- As an entrepreneur, Marc sees parallels between bullies and some of the biggest companies in the world that they compete against.
- Marc Lore discusses his passion for the New York Mets baseball team and his vision for transforming the team into a world-class organization.
- He emphasizes the importance of building a strong team culture, investing in player development, and creating a fan-friendly experience.
- Marc also shares his thoughts on entrepreneurship and the importance of taking risks, learning from failures, and surrounding oneself with talented people.
- He highlights the value of empathy and fairness in business and personal relationships.
- Marc Lore has never sued or been sued despite his successful business career.
- He attributes this to his ability to see others' perspectives and find resolutions through negotiation.
- Lore believes that people are more likely to be vulnerable and cooperative when you are vulnerable and open to negotiation.
- Marc Lore discusses his involvement with the New York Mets baseball team and his vision for creating a "Wonder" experience for fans.
- He emphasizes the importance of building a strong team and culture, as well as creating a sense of community and excitement around the team.
- Lore also shares his insights on building successful startups, including the importance of having a clear vision, being passionate about your product, and surrounding yourself with talented people.
- The idea behind Diapers.com was to sell diapers online at Walmart and Target prices.
- At the time, diapers were more expensive online than in stores.
- Diapers were a loss leader for brick-and-mortar stores because they drove people into the store to buy other things.
- Lore thought that diapers could also be a loss leader online if they offered overnight delivery and built a relationship with parents.
- The success of a business idea depends on execution, not just the idea itself.
- People with bad ideas can succeed, and people with good ideas can fail.
- Marc Lore discusses the challenges of being an entrepreneur and the importance of perseverance.
- He emphasizes the need for entrepreneurs to have a strong work ethic, be able to take risks, and be comfortable with uncertainty.
- Lore also stresses the importance of creating a positive and supportive culture within a startup, focusing on the value system of the organization and treating people well.
- He introduces his framework for startup success called VCP, which stands for Vision, Capital, and People.
- Marc Lore discusses his journey as an entrepreneur, including his successes and failures.
- He emphasizes the importance of learning from mistakes and being willing to take risks.
- Lore also talks about the importance of having a vision and being able to execute on that vision.
- Marc Lore discusses his recent purchase of the New York Mets baseball team.
- He talks about his plans for the team and his vision for the future of baseball.
- Lore also discusses his involvement with Wonder, a new social media platform that he is developing.
- Wonder aims to create a super app for mealtime, offering various options such as hot food delivery, meal kits, oven-ready meals, grocery delivery with recipes, and restaurant reservations.
- The app tracks health metrics and provides a health score and AI-based meal planning.
- Wonder ensures fast and efficient delivery with its own delivery network, delivering food hot within six minutes in the Upper West Side.
- The platform features renowned chefs like Jose Andreas, Bobby Flay, Marcus Samuelson, JJ Johnson, Mark Murphy, and Nancy Silverton, providing high-quality meals.
- Entrepreneurs should recognize that the biggest risk for a startup is running out of money, and they should not overestimate the risk of change.
- Marc Lore discusses his decision to pivot from a successful truck-based grocery delivery model to a brick-and-mortar model for increased scalability, profitability, and return on capital.
- Despite the initial success of the truck-based model, Lore emphasizes the high failure rate of startups and the need to constantly seek opportunities to improve and increase the chances of success.
- As an entrepreneur, it can be beneficial to put the cart in front of the horse, especially in the early stages when the risk of failure is high.
- This approach allows for faster validation of ideas and strategies.
- Example: Creating the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) and its certification exam without prior establishment or recognition.
- Starting with a simple website and exam details, they received checks from interested individuals, prompting them to develop the actual examination.
- This technique can be applied within startups and large companies to quickly test and learn, influencing future strategies.
- After selling diapers.com to Amazon, Marc Lore felt depressed due to the loss of his mission and dreams for the company.
- Driven by regret, he founded Jet.com to fulfill his unfinished business in e-commerce.
- Jet.com's success within 26 months was attributed to a great team and a strategy to change the perception of Walmart's e-commerce business.
- Lore's decisions, such as inefficient marketing spending, collectively led to positive outcomes and aimed to drive top-line growth and transform Walmart's image as a tech company in e-commerce.
- Despite having a clear vision and capital from Walmart, Lore recognized the crucial need for exceptional talent to drive the business transformation.
- Lore acted as a catalyst, bringing in talented individuals who executed and grew the business.
- Marc Lore discusses his experience at Walmart and the challenges of creating a successful strategy within a large organization.
- He emphasizes the importance of prioritizing the company's interests over personal or team goals and describes the decision to merge Jet and Walmart into a single e-commerce site, despite emotional attachments to Jet.
- Lore highlights his direct relationship with Walmart, without involving investment bankers, and their shared goal of competing with Amazon.
- He reflects on his experience with Amazon and the lessons learned from the diapers.com and Jet acquisitions, emphasizing the significance of cultural consistency and hiring individuals who thrive within a specific culture.
- Lore contrasts his preference for social cohesion and empathy with Amazon's direct and confrontational communication style, advocating for directness while respecting emotions and building trust.
- He believes that trust, transparency, and fairness are essential for creating an empowering culture where people feel respected and motivated to drive the company forward.
- Lore suggests starting from a position of trust and being transparent with information, including financials and compensation systems, to foster a safe and empowering work environment.
- Focus on learning as much as possible.
- Find mentors and learn from their experiences.
- Follow your passion and do what makes you happy.
- Surround yourself with great people.
- Give more than you take.
- Magical things will happen if you follow these principles.