Fordham Law alumnus Chieh Huang ’08, CEO of Boxed, was interviewed by CNBC about how to maintain a successful business.
In 2013, Chieh Huang launched online warehouse club Boxed out of his parents’ two-car garage in suburban New Jersey — “the cradle of civilization,” he jokes. Boxed did $40,000 in sales that year.
In 2016, less than 36 months later, Boxed — which ships bulk-sized packages of paper towels, laundry detergent and potato chips — did $100 million in annual revenue. And in January, Boxed reportedly turned down a buyout offer from Kroger in the neighborhood of $325 million to $500 million.
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Whatever the case, that’s astronomical growth. But 36-year-old CEO Huang, who sits at the helm of this empire, still flies coach — even for international flights.
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“There are policies like that that we need to stick to because they’re the same policies when we were in a garage. And now that we’re big, that doesn’t mean that we deserve the luxuries of being a bigger company.”
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“At the end of the day, organizations, no matter how big or how small or how powerful or how weak are all about people. And if the people are unhappy and you’re not investing in them then you’re doing them and the company a disservice. So that’s the message that I give to our investors. Luckily I’m still employed.”