Prompt Cast
Jen Rubio's Journey to Founding Away Luggage
TLDR Jen Rubio, a college dropout turned marketing professional, co-founded Away in 2015 to create stylish suitcases with innovative features after identifying a gap in the luggage market. Through meticulous research, strategic pre-launch tactics, and celebrity endorsements, Away quickly gained popularity, selling over one million suitcases and aiming to revolutionize the travel industry.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
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06:02
Jen Rubio founded Away in 2015 to create durable, stylish suitcases with features like built-in phone chargers, inspired by her childhood experiences of moving from the Philippines to the U.S.
12:02
A college dropout, Jen Rubio left school to pursue a career in marketing, starting as a freelance social media consultant in LA.
17:56
Jen Rubio started her career in marketing as a freelance social media consultant in LA, working with clients like Buzz coffee, a food truck, a restaurant, and a new hotel, before eventually transitioning to a job at a legit ad agency in New York and later being recruited by Warby Parker.
23:27
Jen Rubio never initially wanted to start her own business, but after working in social media and marketing roles at companies like Warby Parker and All Saints, she realized her passion for building relationships between customers and brands, leading her to eventually co-found Away.
29:53
Jen Rubio discovered a lack of quality luggage brands in the market, leading her to consider starting her own business, which eventually led her to connect with Steph Corey to co-found Away.
35:53
Jen Rubio and Steph Corey decided to pursue their idea for a luggage brand, taking a leap of faith despite other job opportunities, and eventually settled on the name "Away" after struggling to find a better alternative.
41:38
Jen Rubio and Steph Corey extensively researched the luggage market by speaking to around 800 people about their travel experiences and pain points, gathering stories that shaped the features of their ideal suitcase, leading to a meticulous design process that aimed to launch the product by Christmas of the same year.
47:08
The plan was to launch the suitcases before Christmas to capitalize on the lucrative holiday season, but due to production delays, they decided to create a coffee table book featuring tastemakers' travel stories and photos as a pre-launch strategy.
52:26
They raised money to make luggage, but decided to pre-launch with a coffee table book featuring travel stories, successfully selling out and generating excitement for the brand before the suitcases were even available.
57:58
They designed their first suitcase, sold it in February 2016, and quickly gained attention through social media and celebrity endorsements, leading to rapid growth and over one million suitcases sold.
01:03:33
The founders of Away were initially daunted by the idea of creating a billion-dollar company, but now aim to build a travel brand that provides seamless travel experiences and aims to solve every aspect of the travel journey.
01:09:27
John Maroney and his team created Sled Legs, a unique sled design with independent sleds strapped to legs, which gained popularity and success after overcoming initial design challenges.
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Business
