It all started with a three-page vision statement for Joey Zwillinger and his company, Allbirds, which is revolutionizing the footwear industry with its eco-friendly and sustainable products. Joey and his co-founder Tim Brown set out to emulate nature’s brilliant design skills by creating the now iconic Wool Runner, a shoe made from Merino wool, and to create a sustainable global company in the process. In this episode, the latest in a limited series sponsored by Shopify, Joey shares some of the challenges that Allbirds faced, the technology that transformed their direct-to-consumer business into a global brand, and how to align mission with profitability.

Joey Zwillinger is the CEO and Co-Founder of Allbirds, which uses wool to create sustainable footwear. He has long been passionate about making things from renewable resources, which led him to start Allbirds with New Zealander Tim Brown and begin tackling sustainability issues in the footwear industry. Working together, Tim and Joey crafted a revolutionary wool fabric made specifically for footwear, resulting in an entirely new category of shoes inspired by natural materials.

In this episode, Hala and Joey will discuss:

- How competitive sports translates into business

- Finding a career with meaning and impact

- The importance of constraints to creativity

- Aligning your mission and profitability

- Learning innovation from nature

- Founding a purpose-focused company

- Launching Allbirds with the Shopify platform

- The secrets to a million-dollar launch

- Breaking through in a noisy marketplace

- And other topics…

Joey Zwillinger is the CEO and Co-Founder of Allbirds, which uses wool to create sustainable footwear. Prior to co-founding Allbirds, he spent six years at biotech firm Terravia (formerly Solazyme, Inc.) leading its renewable chemical business, developing and selling high-performance algae-based chemicals into various industries such as CPG, personal care, and industrials. He has long been passionate about making things from renewable resources, which led him to start Allbirds with New Zealander Tim Brown and begin tackling sustainability issues in the footwear industry.

Resources Mentioned:

 Joey’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jzwillinger/

Allbirds Website: https://www.Allbirds.com/

Allbirds Twitter: https://twitter.com/Allbirds

Allbirds Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Allbirds/

Allbirds Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weareAllbirds 

Zingerman’s Deli's Mission and Guiding Principles: https://www.zingermanscommunity.com/about-us/mission-guiding-principles/

Why and How Visioning Works by Ari Weinzweig, founder of Zingerman's Deli: https://www.zingtrain.com/article/why-and-how-visioning-works/

LinkedIn Secrets Masterclass, Have Job Security For Life:

Use code ‘podcast’ for 30% off at yapmedia.io/course.

Sponsored By:

Shopify - Sign up for a one-dollar-per-month trial period at youngandprofiting.co/shopify

Greenlight - Sign up for Greenlight today and get your first month free when you go to greenlight.com/yap

MasterClass - Get 15% off right now at youngandprofiting.co/masterclass

Relay - Sign up for FREE! Go to relayfi.com/profiting

**Relay is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services and FDIC insurance provided through Evolve Bank & Trust and Thread Bank; Members FDIC. The Relay Visa® Debit Card is issued by Thread Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa® debit cards are accepted.

More About Young and Profiting

Download Transcripts - youngandprofiting.com 

Get Sponsorship Deals - youngandprofiting.com/sponsorships

Leave a Review -  ratethispodcast.com/yap

Watch Videos - youtube.com/c/YoungandProfiting

Follow Hala Taha

LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/htaha/

Instagram - instagram.com/yapwithhala/

TikTok - tiktok.com/@yapwithhala

Twitter - twitter.com/yapwithhala

Learn more about YAP Media Agency Services - yapmedia.io/