This $3 billion founder told customers not to buy his product

Mindset: “Make more moves, measure progress and adapt.”

Mark’s Money Moves: Zig when they zag

When you think "successful entrepreneur," who comes to mind?

Probably folks like Elon Musk or Steve Jobs - the hard-charging, never-sleep, move-fast-and-break-things types.

But what about the quiet revolutionaries? The ones who built empires using methods that'd make most MBAs scratch their heads?

Take Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia:

• Actively discouraged customers from buying his products

• Ran full-page ads saying "Don't Buy This Jacket"

• Limited growth to avoid compromising quality

• Donated 1% of sales to environmental causes from day one

Sounds like business suicide, right?

Wrong. Patagonia's now worth $3 billion, with a cult-like customer base.

Why? Because Chouinard tapped into something deeper than consumerism - a shared value system.

Then there's Brunello Cucinelli, the "king of cashmere":

• Refuses to use email, preferring face-to-face communication

• Mandates 90-minute lunch breaks for all employees

• Pays workers 20% above market rate

• Reinvests 20% of profits into restoring his local village

In our "optimize everything" world, Cucinelli's approach seems quaint at best, disastrous at worst.

The result? A $1.7 billion luxury fashion empire built on humanistic principles.

Cucinelli's secret? He understood that true luxury isn't just about the product - it's about the story and values behind it.

Let's not forget Ricardo Semler of Semco Partners:

• Let employees set their own salaries

• Eliminated all job titles and org charts

• Allowed workers to evaluate and even fire their bosses

• Shared all financial information with every employee

Chaos, right? How could any company function like this?

Yet Semco grew from $4 million to $212 million in revenue under his leadership.

Semler's insight? Trust your employees fully, and they'll move mountains for you.

So why do I love these stories so much?

I think it's because they show there's no one "right" way to build a business. These founders looked at conventional wisdom and said, "Nah, I'll do it my way."

As James Altucher once said: "The only truly safe thing you can do is to try over and over again. To the best of your ability, don't worry whether you are confident or not... Be humble in your craft. Do what you love, and do it with love."

Looking at these examples, here's what I see as the "price to pay" for this kind of success:

You need to...

• Have the courage to ignore "best practices" when your gut says otherwise

• Be willing to sacrifice short-term gains for long-term vision

• Deeply understand your values and let them guide every decision

• Trust your team enough to give up control

Does this sound terrifying? Good. The best ideas usually do at first.

Remember, Whole Foods' John Mackey was laughed at for thinking people would pay premium prices for organic food. Now it's a $13.7 billion Amazon acquisition.

Sometimes, the most counterintuitive move is the winning one.

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