This week, we connected with Andrew Neelon, Founder & CEO at 1REC. 1REC's mission is to enhance retailers' strategies and processes by providing executive advisory services, accompanied by custom analytical tools. Prior to 1REC, Andrew was VP of Growth at Interior Define, a digitally native furniture brand. He’s also held leadership roles at Bonobos and Walmart. We asked Andrew about his journey from executive to founder along with the leadership lessons he’s learned along the way.

What’s the single biggest leadership lesson you’ve learned throughout your career so far?

Learning how to give and receive feedback well. A lot of people get defensive when they hear negative feedback, especially when they disagree with it. But the reality is that the feedback came from somewhere, and someone feels that way.

on feedback
“The best trick I ever learned that helped me digest and act on feedback is to ignore whether you agree with it or not and instead frame it as ‘how could this feedback be true, and what would I do if it were?’.”

Think of it as a mental and emotional exercise to train your brain and leadership style by just “hypothetically” assuming it was true. This was a huge unlock for me because it eliminated the need to feel defensive, and instead gave me a mental training opportunity. It’s also a great framework to give feedback with because it helps you steer a tough 360 review conversation from “is this negative feedback true?” to “how could it be true, and what would you do differently if it were?”

We usually ask executives what great leadership means to them. I’d like to ask you the opposite. What does bad leadership mean to you? Bad leadership to me means a style that doesn’t invest in their direct reports. I’ve met a handful of terrible leaders who horde everything, from access to leadership to fun projects and growth opportunities – ostensibly to preserve “efficient process,” but in reality it’s fueled by fear.

These leaders tend to fear that putting their direct reports on a pedestal may raise questions about their own value when in reality the rock star direct reports are what will help put them on a pedestal and unlock their time for higher-level projects. I would also say that a lot of bad leaders stem from having bad managers themselves, so in some ways, bad leadership can also be a reflection of a CEO or overall C-suite that is unable or unwilling to invest in their own direct reports.

What inspired your transition from executive to founder?

I’ve always enjoyed building things, and it’s been a dream of mine for years to build something of my own. Because I’ve worked in consumer retail for so long, I always thought I’d build a brand someday, but I eventually fell in love with the idea of solving a real problem rather than launching another “Warby Parker/Uber of X.” The problem I identified is the huge barrier to entry for retail, and I’m not even referring to the huge capital requirement that exists by default. Since 2008’s real estate crisis, retail real estate has had a tough break: the crisis led to the inability to join the real estate world (including in retail). The rise of e-commerce moved all retail focus to digital platforms and growth. 2017’s “retail apocalypse” solidified much of that thinking and most recently COVID’s retail shutdowns of 2020-2021.

All of these factors have contributed to a field that is fragmented, lacks SMEs among younger professionals, and is technologically ill-equipped relative to their e-commerce peers. But on the other hand, retail is back in a big way: 2022 was the first year of net store openings since 2016, and the most openings in at least a decade. So part of my inspiration came from this intersection of problem and opportunity, which really comes down to it being the right timing for what I’m trying to build: a platform that lowers the barrier to entry to offline retail through content, consulting, and community.

What advice would you give to executives who would like to start their own companies one day?

Be problem solvers, not solution developers. By that I mean, there are a lot of entrepreneurs who want to put a product or service out in the world without first thinking about what problem they’re even solving. I’ve taken this inefficient approach numerous times in my former jobs and in the early days of 1REC (and I’m sure I still am!), and it’s rarely led to worthwhile outcomes.

The startup mantra is to “move fast and break things,” but it’s really a balance. You should definitely prioritize speed over quality in a startup environment more so than you would in a stable job, but do it for the sake of accelerating your learnings and iterations – not just for the sake of going faster.