Outthinkers
The Outthinkers podcast is a growth strategy podcast hosted by Kaihan Krippendorff. Each week, Kaihan talks with forward-looking strategists and innovators that are challenging the status quo, leading the future of business, and shaping our world.
Chief strategy officers and executives can learn more and join the Outthinker community at https://outthinkernetwork.com/.
Outthinkers
#164 — How Coach Went From $6M to $5B Without Losing Its Soul
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New on Outthinkers Podcast, supported by LHH, host Kaihan Krippendorff speaks with Lew Frankfort about how Coach scaled while building trust, durability, and emotional connection with customers.
During the conversation they unpack what scaling really requires when growth threatens to dilute what made you successful in the first place.
Lew Frankfort reflects on spotting Coach’s early cult following, why direct-to-customer channels became a strategic turning point, and how brands build trust, durability, and emotional connection at the same time while leaders balance creativity with operational discipline.
The conversation covers:
Why strategy is the bridge between vision and execution, and what it looks like in practice while scaling
How to build brand equity through trust, durability, and emotional connection without losing what makes the brand distinctive
How leaders balance creativity and discipline, and what it takes to be an intrapreneur inside a larger organization
Episode Timeline:
00:00 Welcome and Sponsor
00:44 Meet Lou Frankfort
03:31 Family and Values
06:05 Defining Strategy
06:56 From Public Service
09:19 Coach Cult Following
12:34 Brand Equity Triangle
16:20 Going Direct to Consumer
19:10 Magic and Logic Leadership
21:48 Becoming CEO at Coach
26:17 Intrapreneur Mindset
28:36 Designing for Growth
32:25 Advice and Closing
Additional Resources:
Book: Bag Man (Lew Frankfort)
LHH: https://www.lhh.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lew-frankfort/
Thank you again to our sponsor, LHH. Thank you to our guest, Lew Frankfort.
Thank you to our executive producer Zach Ness, our producer Nazanin Homayoun Jam and our editor James Pearce. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow, download, and subscribe. I’m your host, Kaihan Krippendorff—thank you for listening.
Follow us at outthinker.com/podcast
