# diapers.com: Marc Lore. The ecommerce visionary who lost to Amazon but still made billions (2021)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz-714258/diapers-com-marc-lore-the-ecommerce-visionary-who-lost-to-amazon-but-still-made-billions-2021
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz-714258/diapers-com-marc-lore-the-ecommerce-visionary-who-lost-to-amazon-but-still-made-billions-2021.md
Podcast: [How I Built This with Guy Raz](https://stenobird.com/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz-714258)
Published: 2026-03-30T07:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://rss.art19.com/episodes/9fc0ae31-7724-40ac-a489-21ee3e158647.mp3?rss_browser=BAhJIg90cmFuc2NyaWJyBjoGRVQ%3D--952c5701c84ad333c69d5faa668f8177091704f0
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Duration seconds: 4393

## Resource

Back in the early days of ecommerce, Marc Lore took a classic retail loss leader–diapers– and turned it into a DTC giant– Diapers.com . It did so well that it attracted the attention of Amazon, which slashed prices on its own diapers until Marc was forced to sell them his business.   It was not a happy moment, but it was a galvanizing one: Marc went on to launch another ecommerce company, jet.com. Within a year, it was bought by Walmart in a deal valued at $3.3 billion.   This is a story about a devastating corporate surrender, a multi-million dollar comeback, and a founder with a relentless ability to re-invent himself.   Timestamps:  10:04 – Marc’s “boost-your-grades” bet with his college coach    14:21 – A job on Wall Street and a Master Plan: 8 figures by age 48 16:28 – How a lunchtime lark turned into a spot on the U.S. Bobsled Team 27:44 – How random Google searches led Marc to diapers 35:29 – Guerilla tactic: Buying all of P&G’s diapers to get their attention 40:07 – The simple packaging hack that boosted sales   45:53 – Building a retail empire (and getting on Amazon’s radar) 47:52 – Amazon’s scorched earth strategy forces Marc to sell  1:00:11 – Raising $750M to take on Jeff Bezos 1:03:02 – A brand new business and a $3.3 billion exit: Walmart’s record-breaking deal This episode was produced by Casey Herman with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant.  Follow How I Built This: Instagram → @howibuiltthis X → @HowIBuiltThis Facebook → How I Built This Follow Guy Raz: Instagram → @guy.raz Youtube → guy_raz X → @guyraz Substack → guyraz.substack.com Website → guyraz.com See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Priva…

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