Changes

Zappos.com was born of one man's frustration to find his favorite pair of boots. He looked high and low for the size and color he wanted and came up empty-handed. It should not be so hard to find a pair of shoes, right? So thought Nick Swinmurn, an Internet entrepreneur who decided to put his money where his mouth was and start his own shoe store. The catch was that this would be no ordinary shoe store, but an online megastore stocking all colors, styles, and sizes—and shipping orders anywhere in the world. Swinmurn reasoned that plenty of people shopped for clothing and shoes from catalogues, so why not an online footwear showcase, complete with photos and sizing charts?

Zappos.com was born of one man's frustration to find his favorite pair of boots. He looked high and low for the size and color he wanted and came up empty-handed. It should not be so hard to find a pair of shoes, right? So thought Nick Swinmurn, an Internet entrepreneur who decided to put his money where his mouth was and start his own shoe store. The catch was that this would be no ordinary shoe store, but an online megastore stocking all colors, styles, and sizes—and shipping orders anywhere in the world. Swinmurn reasoned that plenty of people shopped for clothing and shoes from catalogues, so why not an online footwear showcase, complete with photos and sizing charts?

Swinmurn was born and raised in California. He attended the University of California at Santa Barbara and earned a degree in film studies in 1996. After graduation, Swinmurn worked for the San Diego Padres before joining Internet pioneer Autoweb.com as marketing manager. His success there led to a position as webmaster for Silicon Graphics, then to his own startup in 1999. After managing to raise about $150,000 in initial capital, Swinmurn christened his Internet shoe store Shoesite.com and launched it in June 1999.

Swinmurn was born and raised in [[Directory:California|California]]. He attended the University of California at Santa Barbara and earned a degree in film studies in 1996. After graduation, Swinmurn worked for the San Diego Padres before joining Internet pioneer Autoweb.com as marketing manager. His success there led to a position as webmaster for Silicon Graphics, then to his own startup in 1999. After managing to raise about $150,000 in initial capital, Swinmurn christened his Internet shoe store Shoesite.com and launched it in June 1999.

By the end of July, however, Swinmurn changed his mind and revamped the cyber shoe source, calling it Zappos.com. The name played off the Spanish word for shoes, zapatos, and the new site had more selection (over 100 brands for men, women, and children) and offered accounts and passwords for returning customers. In addition, Swinmurn made deals with shoe manufacturers to ship orders, partnered with AOL and several shopping sites to be a featured link, and in a stroke of marketing genius sponsored the Golden State Warriors NBA basketball team for the 1999–2000 season.

By the end of July, however, Swinmurn changed his mind and revamped the cyber shoe source, calling it Zappos.com. The name played off the Spanish word for shoes, zapatos, and the new site had more selection (over 100 brands for men, women, and children) and offered accounts and passwords for returning customers. In addition, Swinmurn made deals with shoe manufacturers to ship orders, partnered with AOL and several shopping sites to be a featured link, and in a stroke of marketing genius sponsored the Golden State Warriors NBA basketball team for the 1999–2000 season.