Frictionless: Why the Future of Everything Will Be Fast, Fluid, and Made Just for You

by Christiane Lemieux, Duff McDonald, Jean Ann Douglass (Read by)

Overview

Serial entrepreneur Christiane Lemieux describes the new rules of entrepreneurship and business, arguing that visionary startups leverage the concept of “frictionless” to beat their competitors.    Based on interviews with dozens of startup founders, experts and scholars on entrepreneurship, Frictionless provides readers with a wide-ranging education in starting companies that thrive in the world of frictionless commerce—made possible by new technologies, a new mindset, and new demands from Millennial consumers. Working with bestselling author and journalist Duff McDonald, Lemieux also shares her own story—lessons learned, failures absorbed—at the helm of DwellStudio (which was acquired by Wayfair) and her latest venture, The Inside.  

Some founders profiled in the book are reducing friction in their own business models, others reduce friction through improved customer experiences, and still others are revolutionizing their operations to create frictionless organizations. Readers will glean lessons from the founders of well-known companies such as Instant Pot, Bonobos, Hims, and Halo Top—as well as upstarts Billie, Dame Products, and Convene. 

Frictionless outlines the groundwork necessary for getting a company up-and-running and explains how companies make and market products and services while meeting the demands of their customers and employees today. Frictionless is the essential handbook for creating tomorrow’s mind set and competitive advantage.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781094161815
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	06/23/2020
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)

About the Author

Christiane Lemieux is founder and CEO of The Inside, a direct-to-consumer Home Furnishings Brand, and also operates and designs her namesake brand Lemieux et Cie. She is the author of Undecorate and The Finer Things, and is a frequent contributor to Architectural Digest, Apartment Therapy, and other design media. She lives in New York City.

Duff McDonald is a contributor to Fortune and the New York Observer and has also written for Vanity Fair, New York, Esquire, GQ, Wired,
and Conde Nast Portfolio, among other publications.

Table of Contents

Introduction xiii

Chapter 1 What Do We Mean by Frictionless? 1

Chapter 2 My Journey Toward Frictionlessness 9

Chapter 3 The Frictionless Elephants: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google 33

Chapter 4 A Frictionless Experience 41

The End of the Line Eric Kinariwala, Founder and CEO of Capsule 47

The One-Click Move David Greenberg, Founder and CEO of Updater 53

Project Body Hair Georgina Gooley, Cofounder of Billie 59

The Most Comfortable Pair of Sweatpants Ever Made Joe Kudla, Founder and CEO of vuori 63

Getting Personal Arnaud Plas, Cofounder and CEO of Prose 69

Men Have Skin and Feelings Too Nick Allen Dave Skaff, Cofounders of Geologie 73

When Your Best Customers are "Potheads" Robert Wang, Founder and CEO of Instant Brands 79

We've Got You Covered Jennifer Fitzgerald François de Lame, Cofounders of Policygenius 83

Schooled by the Machine Max Bennett Fayez Mohamood Mahmoud Arram, Cofounders of Bluecore 89

Chapter 5 Frictionless Competition 93

Everybody Wins, Including Your Dog Brett Podolsky Jonathan Regev, Cofounders of the Farmer's Dog 107

The Four Seasons of Coworking Ryan Simonetti, Cofounder and CEO of Convene 113

Start Your Startup Here Emily Heyward, Cofounder of Red Antler 119

Disrupting Insurance the Artist's Way Dave Hanley, Founder and CEO of Tomorrow 125

Decadent and Healthy Justin Woolverton, Founder of Halo Top Creamery 131

How to Ace "The Walgreens Test" Andrew Dudum, Founder and CEO of Hims 137

Chapter 6 Frictionless Organizations 143

The Organization is the Product Ari Buchalter, CEO of Intersection 147

What Office? Andrea Breanna, Founder and CEO of Rebelmouse 155

The Power of the Pivot Chris Kemper, Founder and CEO of Palmetto 161

The Frictionless Fit Andy Dunn, Cofounder and CEO of Bonobos, Former SVP of Digital Brands, Walmart Ecommerce 169

Chapter 7 The Frictionless YOU 179

The Courage to Learn Heidi Neck, Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies, Babson College 181

The CEO of Living Forever Gil Blander, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Insidetracker 185

Go with Your Gut Dr. Erika Ebbel Angle, Cofounder and CEO of Ixcela 191

The Business of Orgasm Alexandra Fine, Cofounder and CEO of Dame Products 197

One Penny at a Time Brandon Krieg, Cofounder and CEO of Stash 203

Chapter 8 Frictionless Systems 207

Can I Put it on My Spaceship? Matt Barnard, Cofounder and CEO of Plenty 213

Eating Our Way Out of this Mess Brent Preston Gillian Flies, Cofounders of the New Farm 219

Trillion-Dollar Triage Sanjeev Krishnan, Chief Investment Officer of S2G Ventures 225

Changing the World from the Bottom Up Jimmy Chen, Founder and CEO of Propel Hannah Calhoon, Cofounder and Managing Director of Blue Ridge Labs 231

Designing a Community Mariam Naficy, Founder and CEO of Minted 237

Kicking People in the Wallet Patti Greene, Professor Emeritus, Babson College 243

We're all Technologists Now Georgie Giner Benardete, CEO of Align17 247

Conclusion 253

Acknowledgments 259

Notes 261

Editorial Reviews

With more nonprofits looking to other sectors for best practices in engaging and mobilizing constituents, particularly through the use of available and new technologies, there is no book more timely or relevant than Frictionless. Christiane has gathered opinions from some of the best thinkers, from whom we all could learn a lesson or two on dissolving the barriers between people and their passions.” — Christy Turlington Burns, founder of Every Mother Counts

“In the world of fashion and retail, the more we reduce the friction from every aspect of our business, the easier it becomes to delight and engage our customers. Anyone looking to advance business, disrupt incumbents, or reshape industries should read Christiane’s book. She has helped me by gathering the opinions of other entrepreneurs and experts.” — Clare Vivier, founder of Clare V

“Frictionless is a creative user’s manual for the postvirus world, a way forward that is smarter, faster, and more nimble. Christiane Lemieux is a wayfinder, and this book may show the direction for the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs.” — Michael Cannell, author of A Brotherhood Betrayed: The Man Behind the Rise and Fall of Murder, Inc.

“Anyone looking to advance their business, disrupt incumbents, or reshape industries should read Christiane’s book. She has gathered the opinions of an erudite cohort doing just that.” — Anjali Kumar, founding general counsel and head of Social Innovation at Warby Parker

From the Publisher

Frictionless is a creative user’s manual for the postvirus world, a way forward that is smarter, faster, and more nimble. Christiane Lemieux is a wayfinder, and this book may show the direction for the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs.

Michael Cannell

With more nonprofits looking to other sectors for best practices in engaging and mobilizing constituents, particularly through the use of available and new technologies, there is no book more timely or relevant than Frictionless. Christiane has gathered opinions from some of the best thinkers, from whom we all could learn a lesson or two on dissolving the barriers between people and their passions.

Christy Turlington Burns

In the world of fashion and retail, the more we reduce the friction from every aspect of our business, the easier it becomes to delight and engage our customers. Anyone looking to advance business, disrupt incumbents, or reshape industries should read Christiane’s book. She has helped me by gathering the opinions of other entrepreneurs and experts.

Clare Vivier

Anyone looking to advance their business, disrupt incumbents, or reshape industries should read Christiane’s book. She has gathered the opinions of an erudite cohort doing just that.

Anjali Kumar

Serial retail entrepreneur Christiane Lemieux is a highly intelligent writer, so she needed someone equally intelligent to narrate this exceptional guide to how high-tech consumer brands and retailers interact with customers today. Jean Ann Douglass deftly manages the delicate balance between sounding totally in command of her content and friendly enough to soften the hard-hitting realities this audio delivers. Her comfortable phrasing and mid-range vocal pitch sound lilting but confident, assertive but humble, and respectful but not solicitous toward her listeners. Lemieux, using her own business experience and the success stories of familiar brands, explains how customer analytics and fulfillment paradigms are creating buying opportunities that are lightning-quick and free from unnecessary friction. T.W. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2020 - AudioFile

Serial retail entrepreneur Christiane Lemieux is a highly intelligent writer, so she needed someone equally intelligent to narrate this exceptional guide to how high-tech consumer brands and retailers interact with customers today. Jean Ann Douglass deftly manages the delicate balance between sounding totally in command of her content and friendly enough to soften the hard-hitting realities this audio delivers. Her comfortable phrasing and mid-range vocal pitch sound lilting but confident, assertive but humble, and respectful but not solicitous toward her listeners. Lemieux, using her own business experience and the success stories of familiar brands, explains how customer analytics and fulfillment paradigms are creating buying opportunities that are lightning-quick and free from unnecessary friction. T.W. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2020 - AudioFile