Paul van doren biography books

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But there was also back-breaking work, a shocking bankruptcy, family turmoil, and a profound shift in how customers think about athletic shoes. The book details Van Doren's personal life, but also hard-won business lessons learned over six turbulent decades in the shoe trade: the importance of deep-rooted values, of improvisation, of vision and revisionand above all, of valuing people over profits.

Paul van doren biography books: Authentic is a surprisingly candid,

Authentic is Paul Van Doren's written legacy and his lessons for the innovators of tomorrow. Bracingly forthright and totally entertaining, Authentic is a business memoir by an American original. Listen to Your Customers. Be Authentic. The Education of an Entrepreneur. Organize a System. Respect the Workers. Never Waste an Opportunity. Go Off the Wall.

Shit Happens Get On with. Another reason I rated this book so highly is because there are so many good and inspiring pieces and quotes. Don't ever be so god damn sure of anything, because nothing in life is a given. I rated this book 4. One of the best parts and most entertaining was the 15 or so pages in the middle that had pictures and descriptions from his life and company.

There were pictures from the first shoe box that Vans ever made and the fist Vans shop to his childhood home in Braintree, MA. I also loved this book because I would someday like to have my own business like Paul. Overall this book was amazing and I would easily recommend it to anyone that is interested in true meaningful stories about the american dream.

The plot of this book has many ups and downs and I will explain them all. The book begins with Paul dropping out of his local high school. When Paul was 16 he was working in a rubber factory to make some money. One day in February he quit because he was going to be forced to make an unfair decision on who to fire.

Paul van doren biography books: In the tradition of bestsellers

But it turned out that this was a blessing in disguise. After he made the decision he asked some people to invest, and came up with a name Van Doren Rubber company and a logo. After they were getting some success the unexpected happened. In Vans went bankrupt. But luckily by vans made a full recovery from the bankruptcy. The book ends by Paul thanking all his employees and everyone who supported him throughout his life but sadly Paul died in May of Paul had every chance to give up but he did not.

He could have gone into a normal job after he quit at Randy's or when he was having trouble setting up the company but he never gave up. Paul was just a very good and hard worker and he never gave up. At one point Vans went bankrupt and their future was looking pretty dull but they never gave up and moved some things around and now they have a multi billion dollar company.

Book recommendations Sneaker Freaker. Kelsey Kelley. Much more than just a business history: Authentic is a true, heartfelt, and raw look at not only the shoe company people all over the world know and love, but the man who stated it all. Vans had humble beginnings inand despite many hard, tumultuous challenges, the van Doren family business has persevered through it all.

Many know them for skateboarding or surfing shoes, others still for huge events like Warped Tour. He learned from many years of experience at his former employer and used that to make an always family-oriented company. The book is full of lessons that will be incredibly memorable to not only people wanting to start a business of their own, but anyone who wants to live an authentic lifestyle.

What stuck out to me was Paul emphasizing that Vans in a people company that makes shoes. At the end of the day, who we surround ourselves with and having a common goal along with perseverance can make anything possible. I expected a good read, but my expectations were far surpassed. Sadly, van Doren passed away just 9 days after the publication of his memoir.

Jared Dean.

Paul van doren biography books: Paul Van Doren ; Most

Pro's: Interesting story of a sort-of American Dream. Van Doren is clearly bright, and tells tales of himself building an identity while holding the values he grew up with to heart. I could also see getting some business knowledge out of the book. Van Doren talks about getting people to believe in a common mission, the importance of being people-focused, and wearing your brand with pride.

Con's: I think Van Doren often comes across a bit grating or hypocritical, at least in my read of it. Many stories seem to be him at conflict with other people, where the resolution comes when Paul was right and proves his adversaries wrong even when they were his own family in his company! At the same time, he touts that his success was in being able to listen to anyone who was smart and have a good idea.

Reading this book you'd be told that the author has never made a single mistake with Vans, outside of trusting other people when he retires. Maybe that's true, but it's hard to read this book and feel like Van Doren isn't writing it to either cement some legacy or with a superiority complex on hand. Ostensibly he did a lot right in building a great company, but I would have loved to hear more of the challenges and how he dealt with them.

Troy Kelley. Paul Van Doran's take on his life and the history of his iconic brand came out in last month just before he passed away at The story starts slow, but the final third is a great comeback story. As a SoCal transplant and Vans fanboy, here were my big highlights: Logistics wins: Few stories of iconic brands go so deep into production efficiencies.

Van Doren wasn't into style or marketing. He knew one thing - how to make vulcanized rubber shoes efficiently. This allowed him to keep the company financially stable until the big break came. Influencer marketing? The Zephyr Skate Club wore Vans, but they were total thugs. Vans took a chance and got behind them. Malibu up-and-comer Sean Penn wants a custom pair of checkered Vans.

Give him what he wants, and send a few to the set of his new movie. Focus your brand promotion: Have you seen many Vans ads over the last 20 years? Instead, they invested their ad spend into the sponsorship of the Vans Warped Tour. Instead of pushing ads, they were pressing palms with the next generation of customers. Michael Murphy. Author 3 books.

Paul van doren biography books: The book details Van Doren's

Right now, I have five pair in my closet. They're a comfortable, quality shoe, and the lightweight enough to be preferred footwear during the heat of summer. I was so glad I did. It's not really a rag to riches narrative, but quite simply a tale of a hard-working young man who was motivated to create a quality product at a reasonable price.

The Vans story has a few bumps along the way, particularly when he handed his brother the keys to the Vans kingdom when he decided to retire. The difficulty of rebuilding a company after bankruptcy is certainly interesting, more so because Van Doren was intent to make sure every single creditor was paid off in full, a goal he accomplished.

It fit with the man's impressive work ethic. If you appreciate books about the origin of a business you like and you're wearing a pair of checkered slip-ons, find yourself a comfy chair, kick off those shoes and enjoy a good read. Justin sabe. A fun read about a bright guy who was good at making shoes in a time that shifted from local manufacture to a global market.

Van Doren is good at seeing into manufacturing processes, identifying markets and knowing when to roll up his sleeves and get into the dirty hard work. He talks a lot about making and supporting crews that are good at what they do. There is in this book a healthy bit of old white guy pulling themself up by their boot straps with hard work and good luck that is short sided on the privileges he has as a white male.

There is an odd omission in this book. He talks about a Japanese manufacturer that was a mentor and supporter for him. He references a trip to Japan post war but suspiciously there is no chapter recalling that trip. I suspect that the chapter was edited out entirely. This was a fun read that inspired me to buy my first pair of vans in decades and fondly remember the pairs I had as a skate rat back in the 90s.

Estupenda lectura con lecciones valiosas sobre la importancia del equipo humano, el trabajo arduo y disciplinado, la integridad y el servicio al cliente. Van Doren, P. Alise Matilde. This is an amazing book! I don't even think that you have to be a fan of the Vans brand or their products, but the story is one of its kind. For the most part, I was already familiar with the origin story - the rubber company, the Z-Boys, selling one shoe at a time, the unusual marketing strategies etc.

However, I was not expecting the book to also be a representation of insane work ethic, discipline, business sense although sometimes nonsense as well and at the same time - family values both in business and outside as well. Given that Vans is one of the most popular brands in the world, reading about their core values not fully complying to what you would expect from a brand like that, is a breath of fresh air.