Ryan Cohen kept Chewy under the radar until it sold for more than $3 billion

CEO Ryan Cohen didn’t start his online pet food retailer Chewy in a popular e-commerce market like New York, Seattle, Los Angeles or San Francisco.

Nor did he seek publicity around the more than $200 million in venture capital that his Florida-based startup had secured.

Instead, he focused on building the loyalest customer base of pet owners online with a recipe of hard-to-beat customer service, speedy and affordable shipping, and a giant selection of pet food and supplies that rivals any other catalogue online.

The result: A sale to PetSmart earlier this year that valued his company at around $3.35 billion — the largest-ever acquisition of a U.S. e-commerce business.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Contributions are a key part of the future of Vox

Readers rely on Vox for clear, nuanced coverage that not only illuminates the issues, but poses solutions, too. And we rely on help from our readers: Advertising and grants cover the majority of our costs, but we count on contributions to help us close the gaps in our budget. In fact, we’re looking to reach 95,000 individual contributions before the end of the year. Will you make the next contribution right now? Our average gift is just $20 — and it goes a long way in helping us keep our work free. Vox is here to help everyone understand what’s shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. Join that mission by making a contribution today.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via