Tim Brown: From All White to Allbirds Co-Founder, Athlete Turned Serial Entrepreneur

Tim Brown is a former professional footballer who played 112 times for the Wellington Phoenix and earned 30 All Whites caps.

Then, in 2012, at the age of 31, he retired early from professional football to pursue a masters degree in management in the UK. At the same time, he was forming an idea for a woollen, environmentally friendly, sustainable shoe.

Four years later he was the co-founder of his shoe company called Allbirds, and nine years later his company went public on the Nasdaq with a valuation close to $4 billion US dollars.

In this episode we talk about the realities of being the CEO of a billion-dollar company, all the most interesting steps on his journey from a Wellington flat to worldwide footwear industry leader, partnering with Leonardo di Caprio and meeting Barack Obama, the challenges the company faced in 2023 and why he stepped down as co-CEO and all the best bits from his time with the All Whites.

Tim has been a dream guest for us since we started this thing in 2019 – and he didn’t disappoint. This was one of our favourite episodes. Tim is sharp, charismatic, a brilliant storyteller and incredibly humble for a guy that has achieved so much in his life. We both left this recording feeling incredibly inspired. You’re going to love this one.

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