Lovesac Official Company Blog

America at its best (and worst)

Today I spoke in LA at an event with Richard Branson as the headliner and Christian Audigier (Creator: ED HARDY shown BELOW) as the closer....what a lineup!   The "Perfect Pitch 2009" seemed to be a huge success to me.  With hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs and investors in attendance I know that I was inspired by all of the success stories and information shared.  I love these events.  The greatest thing about these entrepreneur events is also the most humbling: hearing SO MANY incredible stories of success, over-achieving and ridiculous wealth creation--all under one roof.  THAT is America at its best - no matter what Michael Moore says about it.  Capitalism breeds unbridled innovation - God bless America.  (GOTTA see the vid below though!)

I spoke on a panel with Apprentice (2nd Season) winner, Kelly Perdew.  It was fun to rewind a bit and recant some of my experience from the old Rebel Billionaire days.  I was reminded of just what a rare opportunity that was.  God bless America.  (Me and Kelly Perdew shown right)

One of the coolest entrepreneur presentations ("pitches") of the day came from the founder of Icon Aircraft.  I was blown away by his concept for a "Sport Plane," meant to tap into the "Power Sports" market (Sport Cars, Sport Bikes, Sport Boats, etc)...but for planes.  This plane is SICK.  Checkout: http://www.iconaircraft.com/ It will only cost about $140k and anyone can fly it, on land or on water...and tow it home on a trailer.

Finally, in contrast, I leave you with this thought - which can only be expressed in this real-life, unplanned, un-scripted, spur-of-the-moment little video that I just had to record as I watched TV the other night.  THIS is the antithesis of everything that I stand for.  I mean, hats off to Bob for his entrepreneurship, but OH, America - don't give in to becoming the unabashed couch potato that this ad implies that you are....

God bless America??

-- Shawny D.

Come to LA with Me & Branson

If you're an entrepreneur, or aspire in any way to start-up, create, or run your own business you should really be in LA next week! Next Monday (Oct 26) my old pal Richard Branson is headlining "The Perfect Pitch" entrepreneur's conference in Marina Del Rey.  I'll be on one of the breakout panels as well, representing the Sac.  A very busy year has gone by since I was last able to spend any time with Richard and this event should be amazing.  It is PACKED with heavy hitters and I'm sure it will be more than worth it.

For any of you who might not understand my connection with Virgin's Rebel Billionaire, Richard Branson, just check out these YouTube videos.....

Rebel Billionaire Early Episodes

Rebel Billionaire Middle Episodes

Rebel Billionaire Finale

[[SPOILER !!!...]]  You see, Richard once gave me a million bucks and made me President of Virgin Worldwide (yep, that actually happened).  Definitely one of the more exciting periods in my life.  Since then he has remained a friend, investor, and mentor to me.  I'm honored to be part of this event with him.  CHECK OUT THIS LINEUP:

PerfectBusiness presents The Perfect Pitch 2009 with
Sir Richard Branson



Monday, October 26th, 2009
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
  

ENTREPRENEUR PANEL

    Tom O'Malia, Orfalea Director's Chair in Entrepreneurship - University of Southern California

    Steven Lipscomb, CEO / Founder - World Poker Tour

    Wing Lam, Founder - Wahoo's Fish Taco

    Jeff Tinsley, CEO / Founder - MyLife.com  

WISDOM FROM SERIAL ENTREPRENEURS

    Nolan Bushnell, Founder - Atari, Chuck E. Cheese’s, Tapcode & uWink

    Holly Han, Co-Founder - MyShape; Principal - 64North; Director of Special Projects - UCLA Anderson School of Management


HOW SMALL BUSINESS LENDING REALLY WORKS

    Alberto Alvarado, District Director - Small Business Administration


REALITY TV ENTREPRENEURS

    Kelly Perdew, Winner of “The Apprentice” on NBC; CEO of RotoHog.com

    Shawn Nelson, Winner of “Rebel Billionaire” on FOX; CEO / Founder of LoveSac

Hope to see you in LA next Monday!!!  I know a few of my fellow friends in business plan on being there.  Comment if you happen to be coming.  Find me, we'll hang in LA.  .  

-- Shawny D. 

Customers Do it Better

I’m always showing you what we can do with Sactionals and (what I think is) our wicked-cool LoveSac furniture.  Here are some Sac’rs personal pads as (is always the case): customers do it better….

This is one of our Colorado Sac’rs: Shane Moss.  Shane clearly has good taste.  Shane chose to go with our (now extinct) Puppy Phur, which was discontinued in late ’07 after P.E.T.A. found out just how many puppies went into making a seven cushion sectional like this one.  (Actually, this washable LoveSac Cover is 100% faux and 99% puppy friendly….its just a joke….its not even really my joke….I stole it from our FlatIron, Colorado store’s blog).

I really like the way that Shane chose to do a DOUBLE Chaise Sectional.  This is a position not even shown in our video of 69 Sactional Positions, which, by the way, was NOT an intentional attempt at college humor.  We literally just kept shooting positions in the white room until we had gone all day.  When we counted them up, guess how many we had!?   Yeah – we had to just let it ride.  BUT, the point is, even at that many, the seating possibilities stemming from LoveSac Sactionals go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on, etc.

This second Sac pad is none other than Mr. Jackie Chan’s place in Beijing China.  You can only barely tell (from the left side of the photo), but Jackie also owns a seven cushion sectional built out of our extremely modular Sactionals, all with Espresso PlushSuede Covers (our most popular fabric).  Jackie picked up a GRIP of LoveSac gear while filming his upcoming Hollywood release “The Spy Next Door,” in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  This film is sure to be a hit, largely thanks to his on-set naps on the Sac in the on-set LoveSac store shown in the film - - spoiler alert!

Needless to say, after experiencing the power of the Sac himself on-set, Jackie raided our Cottonwood Mall location and flew home with stacks of Sacs.  Now, as you can see, his whole entourage crashes on them after a long day of trying to keep up with THE most energetic person I have ever met in my life. 

Stores in China, you ask!?   Yes, we’ve talked with him about it.  Someday, it will come.

 Finally, we have Hank, from Salt Lake City, Utah.  I just happened to be at our Gateway location the other day and as I was handling some biz at the counter, Hank walked right up, and with confidence, bought himself a Sac for his upcoming college days….without even flinching.These are my kind of customers! Hank: college will never be the same...

-- Shawny D. 

 

New Celebs & Weird Stuff

Here's a new video you probably haven't seen.  A compilation of our just some of the various TV appearances & celebs rockin' the Sac over the years...also starring all of our store Sac'rs from last year: LIVE IT. LOVE IT. LOVE SAC. -- Shawny D.

Travis Pastrana has a Big Sac

As it turns out, athletes from the NBA to the X Games use the LoveSac as a place of refuge and meditation before the big game, heated match, or sick trick.  Long time fan of the Sac, Travis Pastrana invited me down to spend a little time with him (which means I get to winch him out of his foam pit) as he prepared for the X Games...."Oh, and bring my Sactionals with you."  I believe were his orders.  So I loaded up his order into my Navigator and delivered it myself, hoping to get a few Rally Racing tips out of him.  I drove to Maryland to SAC TRAVIS PASTRANA'S PAD.

So in what precious little time off I do have I end up working with foam, and fluffing....at least this time it wasn't fluffing Sacs. (and it certainly wasn't that kind of fluffing either).  Travis' foam pit, filled with 40,000 pieces of cut-foam blocks (should've been Sacs), needs to be "fluffed" after each and every time he goes in on one of his attempts so that the next time the landing area will be as fluffy as the first time.  All I have to say is this: I watched this dude wake up, throw on a T-shirt, jump on his bike, get a 30 foot run at the ramp and bust a double back flip as his warm up trick...a trick that he originated 3 years ago and hasn't been caught up with until this year, finally.  This guy is truly the best in the world at what he does.  Oh - and if you don't follow action sports, just tune in to MTV this fall for the 2nd season of his hit TV show "Nitro Circus."  Who knows, you may even just spot a Sac there too.  In the mean time, check out this little vid of this, the 2nd ever episode of SAC MY PAD...

 -- Shawny D. 

ROLLED MY CAR INTO A RIVER

The LoveSac Rally Racing Team made its debut at the Idaho Rally this weekend.  We ALL entered the race knowing really only two things about Rally: Go fast & stay on the road.  Being that it was my first rally, my co-driver's first rally, and even my mechanic's first rally, I decided to make the pilgrimage first to my buddy, owner of LoveSac furniture, America's top Rally Car Driver & X-Games Gold Medalist, Travis Pastrana, for some Rally car tips at his house in Maryland over the 4th of July.  Unfortunately, between craning him out of his foam pit as he practiced his sick trick for the X-Games,  and getting cold-cocked by some rugby player that night in the chaos that follows fireworks & partying, all I could out of Pastrana was: "Go fast & stay on the road."  Well Trav, as my wife would tell you, I seem to listen to about half of anything.....we went fast, anyway.  

Hopefully the 2 videos below do a good job of explaining how the LoveSac Rally Fiero got upside down, into that river.  For any of you considering a career in Rally Car Racing I figured I would make this video in a way that would hopefully give you a glimpse into what the whole 2 day event is really like...as my YouTube Rally research only showed me a bunch of wrecks and some insane driving. There is so much more to rally it than that.  Tell me what you think, please COMMENT.  Check em out (stay tuned for the jump, crash, & slideshow at the end of day #2 video)...

To see all the pics from my first Rally or to download them visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/chairmansac/IDRallyPics709Filt# 

A HUGE thanks to our sponsors: Action Auto in SLC (who prepped my car and now has to put it back together), Spoon Me Frozen Yogurt, Franchise Foundry, Caballo Negro Energy Drink (which our rally car practically runs on), Team DI for the sick fire-suits and gloves, Loomis Solar (WOW did those helmets and the WATERPROOF dash-cam ever come in handy), and of course LoveSac Alternative Furniture Co....who pays my life insurance, etc.

Not to mention a BIG THANKS to: Ryan Money, my co-driver for life, you are AMAZING dude...oh, and you saved my life.  Bill Talbot (Dirty Billy) who can fix anything on wheels.  Jeremy Back, who thought he was going on vacation only to find out that Rally is a team sport.  Joe Loomis & Jenna who always just show up and help out (not to mention hooked up our Rally suits in entirety). My parents, who came, volunteered, blocked the trail to vehicles for 12 hours and who STILL hate the idea of this whole thing.  My partners, Nancy, Ryan, and the rest of LoveSac HQ for tolerating me.  And most importantly the women in my life, Tiffany & Lucky Anne...THE coolest chicks on the planet.

-- Shawny D. 

Jackie Chan Round 2

So I had dinner again tonight with my everybody's favorite Asian, (and hopefully biz partner) Jackie Chan in Beijing tonight.  Hopefully he can help me make the right connections to roll out LoveSac in China and help us take care of a 1/4 of the world in one fell swoop on our way to total global furniture domination.

I swung by his new place in Beijing after.  It is an amazingly cool mansion apartment with a view.  It is still under final construction, awaiting the interior designer but he has Sacs throughout.  Last fall Jackie was filming his new movie, "The Spy Next Door," in Albuquerque New Mexico.   They filmed part of it in a mall and they wanted a LoveSac storefront on the set.  Jackie ended up napping in a BigOne, and just had to have one, so his entourage followed him into our Cottonwood Mall store in Albuquerque where a LoveSac rising star, Mr. Any Morales hooked him up with Sacs for his pad here in Beijing. [ABOVE: Andy, his family & the NM LoveSac crew with Jackie on Sactionals.]  Jackie is going to have a sick Sactionals pit set up in his entertainment room, and Sacs in 3 or 4 rooms throughout the place!  It will definately be the pimpest place in the Eastern Hemisphere, no doubt.

Who knows where the partnership will take us.  We are certainly dealing with the heaviest of hitters her in China.  We've got big plans but I'll keep em under wraps for now.  I feel very lucky for this opportunity.  Yes, mom, I got you a personalized Jackie autograph.

Y'ALL DON'T FORGET TO SHARE A COMMENT ON MY "SEXIST" BLOG BELOW!!! - win something!

-- Shawny D.

[ABOVE: Just a taste of the grandeur to come.  Jackie got a personal fluffing lesson from the ChiefSac himself....that kinda came out wrong, yeah!?]

China's Always a Party

I head to China again this week. 

First to Beijing to meet with Jackie Chan again, then on to Shanghai and Hangzhou to work with our Sac and Sactionals factories there.  The Last time I was in China, February of this year, we got a lot of work done.  My friends Joe & Rob came over on a trip of their own to check things out, but ended up hanging out with Dave and I as we worked with our factories somewhat.  It definately added a little life to our party.

I must have been to China now over 30 times.  I first went to China at 5 years old, singing and dancing.  I lived in Taiwan for 2 years as a missionary, then Shanhai for 1 year working as a consultant.  I must have ridden in 1000 Chinese cabs, but on this last trip we actually discovered something new.  You see, Joe is probably 6'2" tall or something, and these little Volkswagen Chinese Cabs are just not meant for big Americans.  Joe leaned back a bit and litereally bent the passenger seat in half, backwards.  We were laughing so hard we were crying.  The seat was in Dave's lap by the end of the trip.  We felt bad, but still, couldn't stop laughing.  It is not every day you see a car seat literally fold in half, in the place where it shouldn't fold in half. 

Crazy Rob ate a chicken foot at lunch.  In my years of travelling to China I have seen  many a toddler happily munching on a chicken's foot (its like the dum-dum sucker for Asians), but have never felt inclined to integrate myself into the culture in this way.  Way to go Rob. 

Dave...was Dave.  Doesn't say too much, but when he does I usually laugh.  Dave is "restricted" according to the giant Chinese character behind him.

I'm seein' Jackie again on Wednesday.  Should be cool.  Hopefully he wants to be our biz partner in Asia.  I guess we'll see.

I'll keep you updated from the flip side.

--Shawny D.

MC Hammer & Vanilla Ice Bus Blog

Children of the 90's unite!  I'm sure that many of you, like me, had "friends" who rocked those genie-like Hammer Pants to dances in Jr. High School.  In my case it was the Holmgren twins.  Man, they could do the running-man like nobody's business...in MATCHING twin blue-with-sequen Hammer Pants no less.  WHAT a memory.  Well, I guess the next best thing to having Josh & Jeremy Holmgren to roll with is rollin' with the man, the myth, the legend himself, MC Hammer on the LoveSac Bus.  Oh, snap--and Vanilla Ice too!!!??? (more below)  What's even better, THE BUS HAS ITS OWN BLOG! That's right, save it as a favorite - check it everyday: http://lovesac.typepad.com/bus/ will keep you updated on exactly where the LoveSac bus is, moment to moment, day-to-day, which is valuable information if you like free stuff.  That's right, free LoveSac swag for anyone who catches the driver and says, "Show me your Sac."  There is also a "text me" phone number on the side of the bus that you can text the word "where" to and get the bus's location, in real time, anywhere in the U.S. & be entered to win our weekly drawings for a FREE SAC. 

  We have heard from a number of you die-hard Sac fans just might not be getting enough love from the Sac from my blog alone, so we've added Charlie (our beloved keeper of the bus, AKA luckiest job in the world) to the ranks of LoveSac bloggers, and he'll be keepin' you updated from the road via the Bus Blog.  He's lucky enough to be rollin' the open highways of the southern U.S. with the likes of upcoming pop-star and MAJOR HOTTIE Jesse James. (shown left)  That's right, JESSIE JAMES IS ON THE LOVESAC BUS RIGHT NOW!  Go Charlie.

Anyway, enough with current, relevant pop-stars...back to Hammer & Ice.  So a few weeks ago, our man, the infamous Mr. Samuel Salisbury, a virtual legend in Salt Lake City, Utah, put together a concert for the history books.  Sam brought in Vanilla Ice & MC Hammer for a very special one-night-only/ever sold out concert event.  The LoveSac Bus was rollin' deep thru the weekend with the Hammer Dancers, Vanilla Ice, and the Hammer himself takin' their own pics and rockin' the Guitar Hero on the way to their various party spots.  To see all the photos from this crazy event click here  to see the gallery at LoveSac.com with all the pics of Hammer, Vanilla, and maybe even YOU at this event.  Check out this little raw user-video (below) of this very weird event....and Sam, i gotta hand it to ya, no one throws a party like you.

Tiffany, Jesse (with a broken neck, man!), Dan, Chris, and all of you in the S.L.C. who made this go OFF!!!!!!!...........I love you guys.

-- Shawny D.

Virgins Shouldn't Sell Out

Last night I had the opportunity to attend the grand closing party of the Virgin Megastore in Times Square, NYC.  This marks the end of an era--both for the music business, and in my mind, for Virgin as well.  Virgin's SOUL is music, just as LoveSac's soul is the Sac.  Although we will likely sell 10 times the Sactionals than we have sold or will sell Sacs, we will never abandon the Sac.  It is our namesake--it is our soul.  [RIGHT: Scott McDonough (my former biz partner), Tiffany, Me, Alex & Sarah Rhodeen attended the Virgin finale on March 26th in Manhattan.]

I am sure that much thought and consideration went into the decision to sell the Megastore business.  Knowing what I know of the organization (excluding Richard) I am sure it is just a financial consideration, no doubt.  In fact, this segment from an article in the NY Times summarizes it nicely:

It has remained “very, very profitable” by shifting its merchandise toward apparel and electronics, including iPods, he said, adding that those two categories accounted for about 25 percent of sales during the holiday shopping season. (Simon Wright, Virgin MegaStore's CEO)

But the chain’s owners, two big New York-based real estate development companies, saw greater potential in leasing the prime space to Forever 21.

The Virgin chain, once part of Sir Richard Branson’s business empire, has been owned since 2007 by the Related Companies and Vornado Realty Trust. It comprised 11 stores when it was acquired, but now will be down to just five, two of them in California. Virgin closed other stores late last year. (visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/nyregion/15virgin.html to read the entire article)

It is obviously the new Real Estate Group's perogotive to do whatever they like with the business they bought.  My argument is that Virgin should have never sold the Megastore (especially not the Times Square one) in the first place.  The real estate behind them clearly had value, which could have been realized sub-leasing under-par locations to any other concept, but as the article above states, the store itself was very profitable.  Virgin should have taken less money (the ongoing profits from the store), kept its soul and continued to focus on its other businesses.

I'm sad to see Virgin Mega NYC close its doors - just watch any movie that shows Times Square...Virgin Mega WAS Times Square.  But what do I know about building a mega-brand...I'm just the Rebel Millionaire.  Last I checked, the Rebel Billionaire is doing just fine. 

-- Shawny D.

[ABOVE: Me, Simon Wright & Lori Levin.  All ex-Virgins.  Simon, CEO of Virgin Mega was a board member at LoveSac for 3 years.  Thanks for everything Simon!]