The picture above is a screen shot of Amy Jo Martin, CEO of Digital Royalty & Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos on the day they finalized their partnership terms.
"Nothing like a Skype high-five on a Saturday afternoon versus a handshake in a boardroom." ~Amy Jo Martin, Founder of Digital Royalty
Recently, I received “A Royal Announcement” from Digital Royalty, a Phoenix Startup Business, that contained 3 major pieces of brand evolution developments:
1. A new business partnership with Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos
2. A headquarters relocation to Las Vegas
3. A soon to be released book: Renegades Write The Rules
Since my peers have labeled me a “Pioneer,” her title, “Renegade,” sounded much cooler and instantly grabbed my attention. After I read this inspiring news and saw the book cover, showing Amy taking flight with her jetpack, it made me realize that I was missing something... a current Richard Bransonesque, female role model. Someone who is rolling up her sleeves and making it happen... not just talking about doing it or about how she used to do it!
I hope this Serendipitous* Real Life story inspires you to keep on developing your passion, purpose, and relationships so you too, can take flight!
The Story: How did a mentorship start if they were strangers?
In 2009, while social media was still a fad, Amy Jo Martin started Digital Royalty after managing social engagement for the Phoenix Suns basketball team. During this engagement, Amy was constantly getting her hand slapped for trying to recruit everyone from the mascot to the president of the company to embrace social media. HR wanted to establish a social media policy and she wanted to write the rules because they simply didn’t exist yet.
So she DM'd (Direct Messaged) Tony Hsieh, who was a complete stranger, and asked him if he could share his social media policy given his company was clearly progressive in this area.
Two weeks later she received a DM back from him that stated,
“Be real and use your best judgment.” She thought to herself, “Wow, a man of few words.” Turns out those seven words are the Zappos company-wide communication policy.
A month later, Tony visited Scottsdale for a speaking engagement and that first meeting eventually led to a mentorship, friendship, clientship, and now a business partnership.
Fast forward to today: As a result of this "Stranger > business partnership relationship development" Digital Royalty is moving their headquarters to Las Vegas, and will be joining Tony Hsieh’s $350 million Downtown Las Vegas Revitalization Project.
Amy Jo says: “Where purpose, passion and skill collide, bliss resides.”
Tony says: “If we fix the cities, we fix the world.”
Bottom line:
It started with a strong desire to solve a personal problem, along with courage to seek advice from a proven leader with no hidden agenda, just a pure intention.
*According to Wikipedia: Serendipity means a "happy accident" or "pleasant surprise"; specifically, the accident of finding something good or useful without looking for it.
Here is how my “Serendipity” {a.k.a. Happy Accident} equation works:
Passion + Purpose + Persistence + Pure Intentions = Serendipity
Amy Jo: Thank you for re-inspiring me and many other "Renegades" out there by being you.
Tony: Thank you for continuing your "Inspire and be inspired." mission.
Congratulations on your continued success and best of luck on your new chapter together!
Still hungry? Here is more info on:
Digital Royalty and Amy Jo Martin -- What does it take to be Digital Royalty?
Digital Royalty Partnership with Tony Hsieh and Baron Davis -- This one includes an intern/investor -- Have you ever seen one of those dual roles?!
Delivering Happiness -- First it was a book. Then it was a bus tour. Now it's a Movement.
Zappos and Tony Hsieh -- Customer service, customer service, and more customer service.
Downtown Las Vegas Revitalization Project -- What you might find next time you visit Vegas.
Want to know why Tony is heading up this Revitalization project...
“Definitely not” to have someone erect a statue or have a street named after him, he says. Part of it is solving a puzzle that many have believed is impossible.
“It’s like a really big, complicated puzzle that doesn’t get boring,” he says. “Entrepreneurism is about being able to combine creativity, optimism and execution."
“It’s good for me since I live downtown, it’s good for Zappos because it’ll help us attract and retain more employees. It’s good for the city, and, ultimately, hopefully, it will help inspire other cities to revitalize themselves.”
That simple. That complex.
Source: Las Vegas Sun.
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