Lessons From The Jet.com $3 Billion Sale To Wal-Mart
Household product retail delivery service Jet.com broke the internet with headlines about its $3.3 billion sale to retail giant Wal-Mart. The deal will give Wal-Mart the ability to compete in the delivery market with rival Amazon.com. The story isn’t about the deal itself, but its the story behind the story. In a tough economy where small business startups are sluggish, Jet.com was founded by Marc Lore a serial entrepreneur. Lore previously founded Quidsi, the parent company of Diapers.com and Soap.com.
Lore could’ve stopped at this creation, but entrepreneurship and innovation is in his blood. He sold Quidsi to Amazon for $500 million. That’s enough cash to charter a private jet, go to any beach in the world and never be seen again. The problem with people who love to create innovation, there’s always the need to do more and create more.
Lore raised his goals, challenged himself and made something bigger than his original business creation. Creativity isn’t something that belongs to an artist, dancer or musician. Creativity comes from new ideas, looking to the world and making change.
Wal-Mart hasn’t had the best reputation among businesses. While the company stays at the top of discount retail, there have been times where its connection with workers and communities were off. There were loads of complaints and threats of lawsuits that compromised the growth of the retailer. In spite of all of its challenges the company has remained a leader in its segment. The survival of Wal-Mart is about reinvention. Acquiring a new tech-based retail delivery company will give them an edge, creativity and reinvention to attract new customers.
Being creative belongs to us all in every industry. The Jet.com deal with Wal-Mart is proof that entrepreneurship is alive, creativity is good and there’s a place in the market for us all to make change in business and at work everyday.