Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne Is An Innovator And Survivor – Utah Business
windowswear, 02 January 2019
Patrick Byrne, the CEO of Overstock is known as two things: innovator and survivor. Over the course of his life, Mr. Byrne has beaten cancer three times, hepatitis twice, and endured over 100 surgeries and medical procedures. From this, he draws inspiration.
“Life is short,” said Mr. Byrne in a recent interview with Silicon Slopes. “Samuel Johnson says, ‘When you tell a man he’s to be hung in a fortnight, it tends to focus his mind tremendously.’ Well, I’ve been very focused on getting some things done and it has lasted about 30 years. It’s probably the best thing that ever happened to me. If I hadn’t gotten cancer I probably would’ve been a lifeguard somewhere and not nearly as driven.”
Alongside this constant battle, Mr. Byrne has grown into one of Utah’s most notable innovators. In 1999, he launched Overstock.com to corner an emerging market: discount goods sold via the internet.
“When we started, there was a quarter of retail that had not made it to the internet yet and it was the liquidation part,” said Mr. Byrne. “The American retail supply chain is all about mass quantities, similar goods, small number of suppliers, and everything is optimized around that. Goods become available in closeout, or excess orders, or bankruptcies, or cancelled orders, where there is just dribs and drabs of different goods…The idea was, bring that online.”
Overstock caught on quickly by bringing these liquidated goods online, turning public in 2002. As time has gone on, Overstock has shifted their approach to incorporate more drop shipping, where goods are bought on Overstock and shipped directly from a supplier’s warehouse — accounting for 94 percent of sales, according to Mr. Byrne’s estimates.
Mr. Byrne was recognized as the EY National Entrepreneur of the Year in 2011 and by 2016, Overstock was generating $1.8 billion in revenue. At the same time, Overstock unveiled new corporate headquarters in Midvale dubbed the Peace Coliseum, home to 1,500 employees and a campus created for innovation.
