John Christakos, co-founder and CEO of Blu Dot, grew up taking road trips with his father to textile mills, skipping school in favor of real-world experiences. He went on to double major in economics and studio art, a combination of creativity and business which proved itself invaluable later in life. After a life-changing year traveling the world with his closest friends, John eventually co-founded Blu Dot alongside them in 1997. In the decades since, under John’s leadership, Blu Dot has grown into an overwhelming success with a dynamic retail presence (online and IRL), prestigious design awards, a devoted following, and a reputation for responding to their customers and world events, with empathy, curiosity, and humanity. Head to cleverpodcast.com for a transcript (with links!) of this episode, images, and more! SUBSCRIBE - listen to Clever on any podcast app! SIGN UP - for our Substack for news, bonus content, new episode alerts VISIT - cleverpodcast.com for transcripts, images, and 200+ more episodes SAY HI! - on Instagram & LinkedIn @cleverpodcast @amydevers Clever is hosted & produced by Amy Devers , with editing by Mark Zurawinski, production assistance from Ilana Nevins and Anouchka Stephan, and music by El Ten Eleven . If you enjoy Clever we could use your support! Please consider leaving a review , making a donation, becoming a sponsor , or introducing us to your friends! We love and appreciate you! Special thanks to our sponsors! Wix Studio is a platform built for all web creators to design, develop, and manage exceptional web projects at scale. Sub-Zero, Wolf, and Cove's Kitchen Design Contest is a global design competition celebrating outstanding kitchen design projects. Apply now! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
