Levi help Jacob patent the famous rivet on the Levis jeans that make the pockets so durable. That is how Levis starts to build the empire. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Simple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I'm Stephen's sidekick and business partner Dave Young. Before we get into today's episode, a word from our sponsor, which is, well, it's us, but we're highlighting ads we've written and produced for our clients. So here's one of those. [OG Law Ad] Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, Dave Young, here alongside Stephen Semple. We're talking about empires, we're talking about things that people built, businesses, and you know what I mean, empires. Stephen Semple: That sort of thing. Dave Young: What don't you get about empires? Come on. Boy, the one you just whispered in my ear as the countdown started, I know a little bit about it just because it's like a classic business lesson. Right? Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: If you're going to follow the gold rush, man, don't dig for gold, sell to miners. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah. Big time. Dave Young: You said it's going to be Levi's, so I assume Levi Strauss and Company. Stephen Semple: Yep. Dave Young: This is the guy that started the little store to sell to the miners out in California. Stephen Semple: Yeah. We're going way back because Levi Strauss was founded May 1, 1853. So we're going way back. Today, it's trades on the stock exchange under L-E-V-I, Levi. They've got 3,400 company operated stores. They do like 6 billion in sales and almost 19,000 employees. It is the best selling five pocket gene out there. Dave Young: I don't even think about them as having stores for some reason. That must be outlet mall kind of things. Stephen Semple: Yeah, I think that's primarily what they are because, again, I was the same. I looked, I went 3,400 stores, boy. It's one of those ones you just don't think about it. Dave Young: Yeah. In high school, man, if you weren't wearing Levi, button-up five-pocket jeans, you weren't cool at all unless you had the Jordache back in the day designer jeans. Stephen Semple: There you go. Dave Young: You either go standard Levi's or full designer. God help if your mom bought you Lee. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: Or some off-brand from Sears. Stephen Semple: Yep. Oh yeah. Then it was going to be a rough week at school. Dave Young: Well, take us back to 1853. Stephen Semple: The other thing that's interesting is they hold the original patent for the rivet in the jeans. They actually hold the original patent for that. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: You know the little rivet that you see in the jeans? Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: That's their original patent. Dave Young: Well, that's cool. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Now, jeans were not invented by Levi, so that's often a misconception. The company was started by Levi Strauss, and Levi was a Bavarian immigrant. He actually first had a business doing dry goods in New York City. He built that business basically selling these dry goods door-to-door. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: As you were talking about, Dave, he hears about this thing called the Gold Rush in California. The boom is amazing. I knew it was a boom, but I didn't realize this. In the two years from 1849 to 1850, the population in San Francisco grew from 1,000 people to 25,000 people in two years. Dave Young: I know the Oregon Trail, but man. Stephen Semple: That is just mind blowing. Dave Young: I think a fair number of them actually sailed around South America. Stephen Semple: When people talk about it being a boom and a rush,
