Profile of Success: It’s in the Bag

So, in 1998 he co-founded eBags, a multichannel retailer of handbags, luggage, backpacks and more.

WHAT HIS BIGGEST MISTAKE WAS AND HOW HE RECOVERED FROM IT: Trying to expand eBags’ niche into the shoe market. In 2004, eBags acquired the footwear Web site Shoedini.com. But after just three years in the shoe market, and only modest success, Cobb realized it wasn’t worth pursuing. So in October 2007, eBags sold the site (which it had renamed to 6pm.com) to the online shoe giant Zappos.