Cotopaxi: Davis Smith

Today’s callers: Kristina in Florida wants to take her local pottery workshops nationwide. Then Jim from Colorado wonders if retail is right for his quick release camera straps. And Will in Ohio hopes his business will change what consumers expect from tool rental services. Thank ...  Show more

John Gabbert built a massive furniture brand. But in order to do it, he had to defy his family. John grew up working at his dad’s furniture store in the suburbs of Minneapolis. It sold classic, American-made furniture, with flowery prints and curved legs. But in 1972, John took a ...  Show more

Davis Smith is the Founder and Chairman of Cotopaxi, an outdoor brand with a humanitarian mission. The company has assisted over 4 million people living in poverty. The company has been profitable for the la ...

After a disastrous start, FedEx needs to change its sales pitch or it will run out of money before it even has a chance to take off.  Smith resorts to surprising means to raise the money to keep his fledgling company going.

UPS is convinced FedEx will be out of busi ...

It’s the early 1970s, and 27-year-old Fred Smith has an idea for a new kind of package delivery service, one that uses its own planes to deliver packages in under 24 hours. Skeptics tell him the start-up costs are too high and the demand too low, but Smith thinks he’s fou ...

From losing his job in the 2008 financial crash, to a billion dollar idea.We speak to Mohit Lad, who teamed up with his old college friend Ricardo to trawl through the trash cans of shuttered businesses in Silicon Valley to get the first server for their tech start-up, ThousandEy ...  Show more