Whatever Works: Where Product is King

Originally, it was thought Larry should work with Steve, but instead, Williams and Jacobs “kidnapped” Larry to work at Jay Norris, where he spent the next seven years as an apprentice, learning the mail-order business and off-the-page advertising from two legends in the industry.

“Through sheer luck,” Brown says, “I became an expert—not in just one aspect of mail order—but in virtually every aspect. Space, copy, list selection, merchandising, foreign imports, fulfillment, customer service, returns. It was a great training ground. I got 20 years of knowledge in seven years.”