#227 Outliers: Rose Blumkin — Women of Berkshire Hathaway

The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish

Rose Blumkin didn’t just build a business. She revolutionized retail. After fleeing Russia with $66 in her purse, she opened a basement furniture store in Omaha at 43 years old—with no English, no education, and no connections. Her formula? Sell cheap, tell the truth, don't cheat the customer. Nebraska Furniture Mart would survive depressions, fires, lawsuits, tornadoes—and eventually become a billion-dollar empire Warren Buffett called “the ideal business.”

Learn how Mrs. B’s relentless focus, radical simplicity, and unbreakable work ethic built an empire from scratch—and what her story teaches us about business, resilience, and the power of earned trust.

This episode is for informational purposes only and most of the research came from "Women of Berkshire Hathaway" and oral history interviews with Rose Blumkin and her daughter Frances.

(03:20) PART 1: Early Childhood

(07:10) A Natural Entrepreneur

(09:37) PART 2: Building an Empire

(12:53) The Competition

(15:54) The Passing of Isadore

(18:32) Expansion through Hardship

(20:32) Natural Instinct for Character

(25:15) PART 3: The $60m Handshake / The Buffett Connection

(28:25) A Rebel at 96

(33:47) Reflections, afterthoughts, and lessons

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Check out highlights from this books in our repository, and find key lessons from Blumkin here — fs.blog/knowledge-project-podcast/outliers-rose-blumkin

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