Learn Everything: Interview with Ron Rudzin, Founder and CEO of Saatva

I recently went one on one with Ron Rudzin, founder and CEO of Saatva.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

Ron: I was blessed to enter business very young, at the age of 16, with a company that had one store. I became part of the founding team that went on to open 219 retail stores across the country, giving me every experience I needed in customer service, sales, logistics, manufacturing, and marketing. 

In 2008, pressures from the mortgage crisis affected the home furnishings space, and I sold out of my position. Coincidentally, for a couple of years prior to that, I had become fascinated with the internet. I was doing a lot of reading about Zappos and other pioneering e-commerce companies, and I knew I wanted to join this industry. I asked myself, what’s the highest margin item in the home furnishings industry? It was the luxury mattress. So I went out and bought every luxury mattress I could find and did a raw materials analysis and realized that I could sell a comparable or even better quality product for a much lower price if I sold directly to consumers online. It was because of the hit that retail took in 2008 and 2009 that I got into e-commerce. Saatva launched in 2010, and today we are the #1 online luxury mattress brand in the country.   

Adam: In your experience, what are the key steps to growing and scaling your business?

Ron: Over the last 10 years, Saatva has become the best performance marketer in the digital space. Anyone who searched for mattresses online of course knew of Saatva. The next step to growing the business is to take the brand and expose it to the world, led by our modern and immersive physical retail experience. We have started opening Saatva Viewing Rooms in cities across the country, which allows us to reach 100% of the consumers in a market rather than just the 21% who purchase online.  

Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?

Ron: Often, people who are in very high-paying professional jobs have a one-dimensional skill set. They are very organized or operationally minded, for example, and don’t have much creativity. Or they’re a creative type that lacks organizational and operational skills. To be a successful entrepreneur and a true leader, to build something from scratch, you need to be a combination of both. You don’t need to be an “A” in both—I’m a “B” in both. But I combine that with vision, hard work, and a super-competitive personality. 

Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

Ron: Always remember that your most interesting and most creative ideas will come outside of your normal working hours. When you’re working, you’re working. When I’m not working, I’m dreaming. When I have my coffee and read the paper on a Saturday morning I’m imagining. When I’m driving in my car I’m thinking about wonderful new things I can do for my business. I’m always learning, and constantly looking at other businesses. I’m watching the news, and listening to podcasts. I always look for a new  “aha” moment every single day of my life. 

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives and civic leaders?

Ron: You have to sweat every week–a lot. Watching from the sidelines is great to get your juices flowing, but it isn’t enough. I don’t care if you walk or play tennis or basketball or boxing–you need to sweat every single week. If you do not release yourself and take your mind off your business, you will not be a great leader. You need to be a responsible person in the world and do good things in the world. Work for change, give of your time and resources, donate, teach. Thirst for knowledge. Try to learn something new every day.

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?

Ron: I am a consensus-building leader. I set the standard early by telling everyone, I’m going to include you, do not be afraid of me, I want you to come at me. But at the end of the day, I’m going to gather all the information I need to make a decision, then I’m going to make the call. And when I make that call, be on board with me—that’s my rule. I love being with a great team, I love to sit in a room together as equals and share ideas. But as the leader, once I hear everyone’s idea, I have the responsibility to stand up and pick the path forward. 

Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of sales, marketing, and branding?

Ron: Don’t lose focus on who you are as a brand. Continue to build your business—no cheating, no shortcuts. Know that you’re in it for the long haul and stick with your plan. Pivoting is okay, but in general when you start a business, you know who you are as a brand. Continue to be that, stick with your brand ethos. 

From a sales standpoint, everybody on your team who talks about your company, whether it’s a CFO, a COO, or a content leader–it doesn’t matter–everybody has to talk the same language. When your whole company speaks the same language, everyone is a salesperson, not just the salespeople. 

Understanding social styles is one of the most important things you can do in face-to-face sales combat.  One of the great gifts in my life is that I learned this early. When I walk into a room, I can talk to someone for 15 seconds and I know what type they are. That’s how I learned to sell. Understanding social styles is the most important skill in face-to-face sales.  You have to be able to adapt your style to meet the other person where they are. Once you learn that, you can build relationships with virtually any person you meet. 

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

Ron: “Don’t buy a motorcycle.” My mentor and now business partner told me that when I was 21 years old and starting to become successful. I took his advice and bought a convertible instead. I still drive one today. On a more serious note, my father taught me to “learn everything.” It doesn’t matter what you do, even if you start the way I did, cleaning tables in a furniture store, learn everything about that business while you’re there. Talk to everybody, no matter your position. I did that—I learned about sales, manufacturing, supply chain. But let me tell you, I really know how to clean a table. Perfect, with no streaks. 


Adam Mendler is the CEO of The Veloz Group, where he co-founded and oversees ventures across a wide variety of industries. Adam is also the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. Adam has written extensively on leadership, management, entrepreneurship, marketing and sales, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities and non-profit organizations.

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