The Kingdom of Happiness
An insider’s look at the enigmatic and phenomenally successful CEO of Zappos, Tony Hsieh, and his quest to create his own version of utopia in the center of Las Vegas.
In 2010, Tony Hsieh emerged as a visionary modern business leader when his book Delivering Happiness became a #1 New York Times bestseller. Hsieh, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, detailed how he built Zappos into the world’s largest online shoe company by championing satisfied customers and a valued workforce. After his company was purchased by Amazon for $1.2 billion—and even as he continued as its CEO—Hsieh engaged his energies and considerable fortune toward a much larger goal: building a new and more socially conscious Silicon Valley in the heart of downtown Las Vegas, all within his five-year plan.
When future US presidential candidate Andrew Yang introduced Hsieh to technology journalist Aimee Groth at his inaugural Venture for America gala in 2012, Hsieh invited Groth to participate in his social engineering experiment. His one stipulation was that she start a company or build a product closely following his business philosophy and personalized guidance to deeply understand his worldview. Hsieh famously helped countless entrepreneurs unlock personal constraints, push boundaries, and deconstruct social norms so they have the tools to do this in business, and encouraged Groth to do the same as she wrote the book. In return, Hsieh provided her with rare, unprecedented access, on par with what Steve Jobs and Elon Musk provided biographer Walter Isaacson.
With hundreds of interviews from insiders over those immersive five years—which involved traveling to China with Hsieh’s parents, joining Hsieh and his inner circle at Burning Man, and learning from Hsieh’s longtime business partner, now at Sequoia Capital in Silicon Valley—Groth offers a unique view of a fascinating world, illuminating the life of a beloved American entrepreneur who was years ahead of his time.
The Kingdom of Happiness is the story of a technology pioneer’s quest to create his own nirvana in the desert based on his exacting design and experimentation with lessons he’s gleaned not only from the incredible success of Zappos, but also from rave culture and Burning Man. In this compelling documentary crafted with the vivid narrative of a novel, you’ll discover how Hsieh’s ground-breaking experiment challenges and re-shapes our understanding of modern business, organizational design, community building, and urban innovation.
An insider’s look at the enigmatic and phenomenally successful CEO of Zappos, Tony Hsieh, and his quest to create his own version of utopia in the center of Las Vegas.
In 2010, Tony Hsieh emerged as a visionary modern business leader when his book Delivering Happiness became a #1 New York Times bestseller. Hsieh, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, detailed how he built Zappos into the world’s largest online shoe company by championing satisfied customers and a valued workforce. After his company was purchased by Amazon for $1.2 billion—and even as he continued as its CEO—Hsieh engaged his energies and considerable fortune toward a much larger goal: building a new and more socially conscious Silicon Valley in the heart of downtown Las Vegas, all within his five-year plan.
When future US presidential candidate Andrew Yang introduced Hsieh to technology journalist Aimee Groth at his inaugural Venture for America gala in 2012, Hsieh invited Groth to participate in his social engineering experiment. His one stipulation was that she start a company or build a product closely following his business philosophy and personalized guidance to deeply understand his worldview. Hsieh famously helped countless entrepreneurs unlock personal constraints, push boundaries, and deconstruct social norms so they have the tools to do this in business, and encouraged Groth to do the same as she wrote the book. In return, Hsieh provided her with rare, unprecedented access, on par with what Steve Jobs and Elon Musk provided biographer Walter Isaacson.
With hundreds of interviews from insiders over those immersive five years—which involved traveling to China with Hsieh’s parents, joining Hsieh and his inner circle at Burning Man, and learning from Hsieh’s longtime business partner, now at Sequoia Capital in Silicon Valley—Groth offers a unique view of a fascinating world, illuminating the life of a beloved American entrepreneur who was years ahead of his time.
The Kingdom of Happiness is the story of a technology pioneer’s quest to create his own nirvana in the desert based on his exacting design and experimentation with lessons he’s gleaned not only from the incredible success of Zappos, but also from rave culture and Burning Man. In this compelling documentary crafted with the vivid narrative of a novel, you’ll discover how Hsieh’s ground-breaking experiment challenges and re-shapes our understanding of modern business, organizational design, community building, and urban innovation.
An insider’s look at the enigmatic and phenomenally successful CEO of Zappos, Tony Hsieh, and his quest to create his own version of utopia in the center of Las Vegas.
In 2010, Tony Hsieh emerged as a visionary modern business leader when his book Delivering Happiness became a #1 New York Times bestseller. Hsieh, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, detailed how he built Zappos into the world’s largest online shoe company by championing satisfied customers and a valued workforce. After his company was purchased by Amazon for $1.2 billion—and even as he continued as its CEO—Hsieh engaged his energies and considerable fortune toward a much larger goal: building a new and more socially conscious Silicon Valley in the heart of downtown Las Vegas, all within his five-year plan.
When future US presidential candidate Andrew Yang introduced Hsieh to technology journalist Aimee Groth at his inaugural Venture for America gala in 2012, Hsieh invited Groth to participate in his social engineering experiment. His one stipulation was that she start a company or build a product closely following his business philosophy and personalized guidance to deeply understand his worldview. Hsieh famously helped countless entrepreneurs unlock personal constraints, push boundaries, and deconstruct social norms so they have the tools to do this in business, and encouraged Groth to do the same as she wrote the book. In return, Hsieh provided her with rare, unprecedented access, on par with what Steve Jobs and Elon Musk provided biographer Walter Isaacson.
With hundreds of interviews from insiders over those immersive five years—which involved traveling to China with Hsieh’s parents, joining Hsieh and his inner circle at Burning Man, and learning from Hsieh’s longtime business partner, now at Sequoia Capital in Silicon Valley—Groth offers a unique view of a fascinating world, illuminating the life of a beloved American entrepreneur who was years ahead of his time.
The Kingdom of Happiness is the story of a technology pioneer’s quest to create his own nirvana in the desert based on his exacting design and experimentation with lessons he’s gleaned not only from the incredible success of Zappos, but also from rave culture and Burning Man. In this compelling documentary crafted with the vivid narrative of a novel, you’ll discover how Hsieh’s ground-breaking experiment challenges and re-shapes our understanding of modern business, organizational design, community building, and urban innovation.