The ACL Podcast 008: Jeff Raider

Sometimes I meet successful people and I want to talk to them about what they consider the keys to their success. Maybe it’s for me to try to figure out just where I went wrong. Is my lack of success tied to my inability to better respond to emails? Ha!

Jeff Raider is hugely successful but also just a regular guy. He’s a co-founder of both Warby Parker and Harry’s, two massive brands. The growth of those two businesses don’t seem to have changed him. Jeff is one of the most normal, kind and helpful people you will ever meet. He’s always willing to talk about opportunities or problems and there with advice if you ever need it. He is proof that being successful and nice aren’t mutually exclusive. I also don’t want to miss an opportunity to praise Jeff’s Harry’s co-founder Andy Katz-Mayfield — who is also an amazing person. It’s no wonder that they have built not only a solid brand, but a successful company filled with good people.

At this point Harry’s has a suite of different brands out in the world. There’s of course Flamingo, plus the cat food brand Cat Person and now a haircare line called Headquarters. Like Harry’s, all of these offshoot brands are lighthearted and irreverent. All of it is created around good design and quality.

So many companies talk about having a good culture but it is rarely true. At Harry’s it’s actually real and the reality does match the expectations. People love working there. Everyone I’ve encountered at Harry’s is smart and good to deal with. It’s refreshing to experience and it makes supporting Harry’s even more worthwhile. Listen to Jeff and you’ll know it’s not bullsh/t.

I like to hate on all things DTC, but the Harry’s universe is just different. Part of that is related to Jeff and Andy, and part of it goes back to the culture. I wanted to hear more about how Jeff sees the world so for the podcast we spoke about life, business, DTC and yes, inbox zero. Hope you like it.

The ACL Podcast is more of an add-on to the newsletter than a full fledged podcast. You can listen in Apple Podcasts or via Spotify directly if you prefer that to Substack. If you enjoy this edition, please consider subscribing and sending to a friend who you think would like this. I appreciate your support.

Thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is: Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.