Josh Luber: Love and sneakers (and hip hop). How to turn your passion into profit.

Today’s guest is Josh Luber, founder of StockX: the stock market of things. At last count, StockX had over 19,000 pairs of pre-owned sneakers for sale. Josh also founded Campless, an online pricing guide for resale sneakers. We found him through his TED Talk where he persuaded a roomful of creatives and techies to think about how Air Jordan could be relevant to their businesses. In short, Josh is a data guy with a passion for sneakers. A few years back, he left his corporate gig at IBM to build a business that blends those two qualities. And it’s paid of big time. He was able to sell Campless and score a partner with big money and clout. In our interview, we explore some of the ins and outs of sneaker culture. If you’re into sneakers, you’ll dig some of the history we get into. There’s one man responsible for the popularity of sneakers more than anyone else. Do you know who that is? If you’re not familiar with sneaker heads, sneaker culture, sneaker collecting, we got your introduction right here. By the end, you’ll know the difference between Ones, Js, Clydes, Yeezeys. You’ll probably have to look up Winos though. We also learn how Josh built his business so quickly, how he was able to connect with a community of rabid fans, how he crowdsources information and ideas. We discuss how he protects customers from buying fakes. (Did you know counterfeit sneakers were even a thing? Josh explains why NDAs are stupid, why the best businesses combine human intelligence with data and algorithms, and how to keep pushing through when you’re working day and night. That’s a lot of knowledge for one hour! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices