👟Allbirds goes public

PLUS: Your best purchases under $100. September 3, 2021 [The Hustle] [The Hustle]( Like much of the US, we’ll be taking Sunday and Monday off to rest and recharge. To those celebrating, enjoy the holiday! Today’s rundown: - Comfy shoes go public: Allbirds’ “sustainable IPO,” explained. - The “cold start problem”: We spoke with Andrew Chen, a general partner at VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, about his new book. - You answered: Readers share their best purchases under $100. Let’s do it. The big idea [walking in Allbirds]( Allbirds, Silicon Valley’s favorite shoe company, has filed for an IPO Allbirds -- maker of the [official]( sneaker of Silicon Valley -- has [filed]( for an IPO, describing the event as the “first sustainable public equity offering.” The company preemptively tapered expectations, claiming that, as a public benefit corporation, not all decisions it makes will maximize shareholder value. Yet its sustainability focus hasn’t hindered growth According to the numbers, Allbirds is firing on all cylinders: - Revenue: From $194m in 2019 to $219m in 2020 - Stores: From 1 location in 2017 to 30 as of last month - Product: From strictly footwear to apparel, including casual, performance, and outdoor styles Unfortunately, losses are growing as well The company has posted a net loss each of the last 3 years and in the 1st half of 2021, and doesn’t expect the trend to end soon. This is a common thread among D2C leaders: - Warby Parker (which filed for an IPO last week) [reported]( a net loss of ~$56m in 2020 - Casper (already public) posted a net loss of $89m for 2020 Both Warby Parker and Casper have expanded their physical footprint, a track Allbirds will likely follow. It’s also unclear if Allbirds is truly sustainable… … or just more sustainable than its competitors. - Allbirds says its supply chain has been carbon neutral since 2019 and its sneakers have 30% less carbon footprint than the average pair. - The company is also currently [facing]( a class-action lawsuit for making misleading sustainability claims. One way to silence the critics would be to go perfectly sustainable. According to [2PM](’s Web Smith, that would mean having a circular supply chain and not making new products. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Allbirds%2C+Silicon+Valley%E2%80%99s+favorite+shoe+company%2C+has+filed+for+an+IPO%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F09032021-Allbirds-IPO%3Futm_campaign%3DAllbirds%2BIPO%26utm_content%3D09032021-Allbirds-IPO%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SNIPPETS NEW! Introducing our new and improved [Snippets](. You can now get extra snippets on your favorite topics. Follow the button below to get started. (It takes less than 30 seconds!) Functional fizz: Poppi, a startup that makes prebiotic soda, [raised]( $13.5m from investors that include Russell Westbrook and The Chainsmokers. Apple health evolves: Apple [announced]( plans to add a blood pressure monitor and thermometer to the Apple Watch. Truckin’ into the public markets: Samsara, a fleet management software company valued at $5.4B last year, [filed]( for an IPO. We’re hiring: Amazon [announced]( plans to hire 55k tech workers in the 1st hiring push under new CEO Andy Jassy. Reddit IPO? The social platform plans to go public in 2022. It’s eyeing a [$15B]( valuation after recently raising money at $10B. Join the 94,381 others who are now enjoying extra, personalized snippets. Click the button👇 to choose your favorite topics and see your list grow in tomorrow’s email. [Personalize Your Snippets]( Q&A [best purchases]( How to start and scale network effects What do Zoom, Slack, Tinder, Reddit, Uber, Airbnb, and Twitch have in common? They all faced a seemingly impossible challenge at launch: create network effects by acquiring a critical mass of users and have the users interact with each other. Andrew Chen, a general partner at VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, calls this the “cold start problem” and just wrote a book by the same name. He interviewed 100s of tech leaders (including CEOs of the aforementioned companies) to uncover detailed frameworks and practical tips. The Hustle spoke with him to find out more about [The Cold Start Problem](. What’s a common theme for scaling network effects? Start small. All of these companies started with very simple products targeted at very niche markets, with the idea of gaining saturation and density before going to the next market. For example, Slack started by testing its chat product inside a half dozen other startups. But once these initial networks are built, and people are engaging each other in your app, then what you see is that every one of these startups pivots into “win the entire market” mode. What was the biggest surprise from your research? One big surprise: “Network effects” is an old idea that appears over and over again in the best products over history. It turns out, for example, that AT&T referenced the idea that its phones were only valuable when more people used them, back 100+ years ago. What are your favorite business books? - Crossing the Chasm (Geoffrey Moore): a book about how products -- mostly B2B -- can go from early adopters to the mainstream market. - The Lean Startup (Eric Ries): The book taught an entire generation of entrepreneurs to iterate and learn quickly. (You can read the [full Q&A here](.) [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=How+to+start+and+scale+network+effects%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2Fandrew-chen-cold-start-q-and-a-trung-phan%2F%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( You Answered [best purchases]( What’s the best purchase you’ve ever made for $100 or less? Here’s what our readers said. Earlier this week, we asked you about your best $100-or-less purchase ever. And by golly, you delivered. Across 100s of responses, the average price per item was $46. Some themes emerged, including: 10 water bottles, 9 air fryers, 8 instant pots, 7 massagers, 5 Yeti tumblers, 4 egg cookers, 4 blenders, 3 dogs, 3 bidets, 3 TSA PreChecks, and 2 fly swatters. Here are a few answers that caught our eye: - A $100 Spanish radio station: “It hadn’t done anything except just played the same music over and over for years... I added a morning show and new modern music and now it’s generating a profit of $6k+ per month.” -- Scott (London) - A $25 olive tree: “I purchased it ~20 years ago and it’s now a part of our landscape and our lives and will hopefully be around forever.” -- Sally (San Diego) - $100 AMC stock: “ 🚀 ” -- J (Durango, Mexico) - A $17.99 garlic press: “I heard my girlfriend complain about how long it took to prepare garlic. I got her the press for her birthday. She’s my wife now.” -- Matt (Moscow, Indiana) - An $80 workout trampoline: “Fun low impact way to lose weight, relieve stress, and throw adult tantrums.” -- LaShonda (Charleston) - A $40 bidet toilet attachment: “Can you really put a price on a clean tush?” -- Brian (Seattle) - A $5 website domain: “I spent $5 registering the domain Nuclear.vc. A few months ago, a guy named Naga Kataru (he created Google Alerts) reached out and paid me $3.5k for it.” -- Braden (Los Angeles) Thanks to all who answered, and keep an eye out for more community polls. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=What%E2%80%99s+the+best+purchase+you%E2%80%99ve+ever+made+for+%24100+or+less%3F+Here%E2%80%99s+what+our+readers+said.%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F09032021-best-purchases%3Futm_campaign%3DAllbirds%2BIPO%26utm_content%3D09032021-best-purchases%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( AROUND THE WEB 🍦 Hmm: The FTC is [investigating]( why McDonald’s ice cream machines are always broken. And [this site]( lets you know the status of your nearest machine. 🎷 Useful: Create the slickest, safest [password]( out of jazz chords. And yes, the site lets you play them. 🤝 On this day: In 1783, the American Revolution [ends]( as the US, Great Britain, Spain, and France sign the Treaty of Paris. 🦨 Wild Story: Scientists have confirmed [7 species]( of spotted skunks exist in the world. They’re cute -- even when performing [handstands]( to signal they’re about to spray. ⌛ How to: Are you taking on too much? The Guardian [explains]( how to say no, set boundaries, and reclaim time for yourself. Meme of the day [Allbirds meme] When you want all the colors! (Source: [Reddit]() In Case You Missed It (A roundup of our best reads from the last week...) 🕵️‍♂️ [The family business]( that owns a share of the $7B James Bond franchise. 🏈 [Our conversation]( with Super Bowl champ and investor Ndamukong Suh. 💀 [A roundup of the best NFT tweets](, as told by Dr. Parik Patel. 🚌 [Electrifying chart:]( The number of EV school buses in the US, visualized. 💊 [The man who accidentally found a way]( to potentially heal 400m people of disease. Shower Thoughts - [“The ‘Falling Rocks’ road sign is less of a warning and more of a reminder to be lucky or die.”]( - [“A lot of people have probably tickled a dead person thinking they were faking.”]( - [“If you eat a peanut you become the shell.”]( - [“The most terrifying sound a homeowner can hear is dripping water where there shouldn't be any.”]( - [“Schools advertise their small class sizes when they're trying to increase their class sizes.”]( - [“We're going to have the biggest percentage of long haired men since the late 1960s/early 1970s.”]( [via Reddit]( SHARE THE HUSTLE [Hustle Cons Greatest Hits ebook]( Over the years, we’ve learned… secrets. The business secrets, tips, and tricks that have helped founders go from zero to millions -- and even billions -- of dollars. Want to see ‘em? Just refer 3 more friends to The Hustle and we’ll send you our curated set of interviews with founders from brands like Zola, AWAY, Vungle, Bonobos, and more. 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