Steve Conine | $1B+
Get in touch with Steve Conine | Steve Conine is the co-founder and co-chairman of Wayfair, the e-commerce giant that transformed how consumers shop for furniture and home goods online. An engineer by training from Cornell University, Conine has been the technical architect behind the company’s massive growth, focusing on the sophisticated logistics and data-driven infrastructure required to ship oversized items globally. Alongside his longtime business partner, Niraj Shah, he led the evolution of the business from a collection of hundreds of niche websites into a single, multibillion-dollar brand. His leadership is characterized by a relentless focus on proprietary technology, from augmented reality shopping tools to complex supply chain automation, securing Wayfair’s position as a dominant force in the digital retail landscape.
Steve Conine (born c. 1972) is an American entrepreneur and business executive best known as the co-founder and co-chairman of Wayfair Inc., a leading e-commerce company specializing in home furnishings and décor.[1][2]
Conine launched Wayfair in 2002 alongside Niraj Shah, starting as an online furniture retailer that has since expanded into a global platform offering over 30 million products from more than 20,000 suppliers.[1][3] Under his leadership, Wayfair achieved significant growth, reporting $11.9 billion in net revenue for fiscal year 2024, with the company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, where Conine resides.[4][1]
A Cornell University alumnus with a Bachelor of Science in engineering, Conine served as Wayfair's chief technology officer until 2015, driving technological innovations that enhanced the company's online retail capabilities.[1][5] His contributions have helped position Wayfair as a dominant player in the home goods sector, and as of November 17, 2025, Conine's net worth is estimated at $1.4 billion, primarily from his Wayfair stake.[1] Beyond Wayfair, Conine serves on the board of directors for CarGurus Inc., an online automotive marketplace, and is a co-founder of Pillar VC, a venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments.[6][7] Conine is also active in philanthropy through the Conine Family Foundation. Conine is married with three children and is an avid competitive mountain biker.[1]
Early life and education
Early life
Steve Conine was born in 1972 in New Vernon, a section of Harding Township, New Jersey.[8]
He grew up in a family deeply involved in the furniture retail sector, with his mother, Eunice Conine, founding and operating outdoor furniture stores in New Jersey.[9] Conine's sister, Sarah, later took over the management of this family business.[1]
As a teenager, Conine worked at his mother's stores, where he handled sales, inventory, and day-to-day operations, gaining practical insights into retail management and customer service.[10] This hands-on experience exposed him to the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship from an early age.
The family's retail ventures profoundly shaped Conine's interest in business; he has attributed his strong work ethic and entrepreneurial mindset to his mother's influence in building and sustaining the stores.[9]
Conine graduated from Delbarton School, a private Catholic preparatory institution in Morristown, New Jersey, in 1991.[11] He then pursued higher education at Cornell University.[10]
Education
Conine enrolled at Cornell University in 1991 as a freshman, where he pursued studies in mechanical engineering.[12] He graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.[13][12]
During his time at Cornell, Conine met his future business partner Niraj Shah through a university summer program for high school students and later as dorm neighbors in their freshman year.[12] The two quickly bonded over shared entrepreneurial interests and collaborated on early business ideas, including launching their first venture, an online retailer called Racks and Stands, as a project in Professor David BenDaniel's entrepreneurship class.[12][14]
Conine's mechanical engineering education equipped him with rigorous problem-solving skills and a technical foundation that directly informed his subsequent leadership in technology development for internet startups, where he focused on scalable software solutions and operational efficiencies.[13][12] This background proved particularly relevant for innovating in e-commerce platforms, bridging engineering principles with retail technology.[14]
Business career
Early career
After graduating from Cornell University with a degree in engineering, Steve Conine co-founded Spinners Incorporated in 1995 alongside Niraj Shah, serving as a top executive and Chief Technology Officer of the IT services firm.[13][15] The company focused on technology operations and was acquired by iXL, a global technology consulting firm, in 1998.[16][5]
Following the acquisition, Conine joined iXL as Chief Operating Officer of its London office in the late 1990s, where he managed international technology consulting operations during the dot-com era.[17][18] This role provided him with hands-on experience in global business management and scaling tech services across borders.[19]
In 2001, Conine co-founded Simplify Mobile Corporation with Shah, taking on the positions of Chief Technology Officer and board member.[20][21] The company developed enterprise software solutions for mobile phone management, targeting early mobile technology adoption by businesses.[22] Through these ventures, Conine honed key skills in software development, technical leadership, and international operations, laying the groundwork for his future entrepreneurial pursuits.[9][23]
Founding and growth of Wayfair
In 2002, Steve Conine and Niraj Shah co-founded what would become Wayfair, initially operating as CSN Stores, from a spare bedroom in Conine's Boston townhouse as an online retailer specializing in home goods.[24] The duo launched their first site, RacksAndStands.com, in August of that year, focusing on niche products like audio equipment stands to test the e-commerce model for furniture and decor.[24] Drawing briefly on their prior experience developing software at Simplify Mobile, which they sold in 2001, Conine and Shah built the initial platform to handle online sales without external funding.[24]
The company bootstrapped its operations amid early challenges, including limited resources and the need to manually manage inventory and shipping as a drop-ship model with no warehouses.[24] To differentiate from traditional retailers, CSN Stores aggregated inventory from hundreds of independent furniture suppliers, enabling a vast selection across specialized categories without holding stock.[24] This approach fueled rapid expansion, growing from one site to over 200 niche e-commerce brands under the CSN umbrella, such as AllBarstools.com and LightingCloseouts.com, by the mid-2000s.[24]
By 2011, CSN Stores had rebranded its primary platform to Wayfair.com, consolidating the niche sites into a unified marketplace while retaining sub-brands like Joss & Main and AllModern to target specific customer segments.[25] The company's growth accelerated, with net revenue surpassing $500 million that year and reaching $1.3 billion by 2014, driven by increased supplier partnerships and investments in digital marketing.[26][24]
Wayfair went public in October 2014 through an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, selling 10.5 million shares at $29 each and raising approximately $319 million to fund further expansion.[27] The IPO valued the company at around $3 billion on debut, reflecting investor confidence in its scalable model for online home furnishings.[27] In 2017, Wayfair's share price peaked above $70 amid strong revenue growth, propelling Conine and Shah into billionaire status with a combined net worth exceeding $2.7 billion at the time.[28]
Leadership roles and innovations at Wayfair
Steve Conine served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Wayfair from its founding in 2002 until 2015, during which he oversaw the development of the company's core platform architecture and e-commerce tools that enabled scalable online retail operations.[5][29] In this role, Conine directed the engineering efforts behind Wayfair's proprietary software systems, including the integration of machine learning for enhanced functionality, which laid the foundation for the company's technological infrastructure.[13]
In January 2015, Conine transitioned to the position of co-chairman, a role he continues to hold alongside co-founder Niraj Shah, while maintaining influence over strategic technology initiatives.[30] As co-chairman, he has guided the adoption of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality to improve Wayfair's competitive positioning in e-commerce.[13] This ongoing leadership has emphasized innovation in user-centric features, ensuring Wayfair's platform evolves with emerging digital trends.
Under Conine's technological stewardship, Wayfair developed proprietary algorithms for product recommendations, leveraging data analytics and machine learning to deliver personalized suggestions based on user behavior and visual search capabilities.[31] He also contributed to supply chain optimizations, including decisions in 2011 to consolidate logistics and implement in-house capabilities that streamlined operations and reduced delivery times for large-item shipments.[32] Additionally, enhancements to user experience, such as AI-driven personalization and AR tools for virtual product visualization, were advanced during his tenure, fostering greater customer engagement.[13]
Conine's contributions to Wayfair's success were reflected in his estimated net worth of $2.3 billion as of mid-2019, primarily derived from his ownership stake in the company amid its rising valuation.[33]
Other ventures and board positions
Beyond his role at Wayfair, Steve Conine has engaged in several investment and advisory pursuits in the technology sector. He serves as a founding pillar at Pillar VC, a Boston-based venture capital firm established in 2016 that focuses on early-stage investments in innovative companies, particularly those advancing scientific breakthroughs in fields like artificial intelligence, healthcare, and automation.[34][7] Through this involvement, Conine contributes operational expertise to support founders, drawing on his e-commerce scaling experience to guide portfolio companies.[35]
In June 2018, Conine joined the board of directors of CarGurus, Inc., a leading global online automotive marketplace, where he offers strategic oversight on product engineering and business innovation.[20][6] His tenure has emphasized leveraging technology to enhance user experiences in digital marketplaces, informed by his background in building scalable online platforms.[36]
Conine's broader entrepreneurial contributions earned him and Wayfair co-founder Niraj Shah the 2018 Cornell Entrepreneurs of the Year award from Cornell University, recognizing their impact on innovation and business growth.[12][37]
He has also pursued direct investments in tech startups, including a seed-stage funding in TurningArt in 2011, a subscription-based platform for rotating digital art displays in commercial and residential spaces.[21][38] These activities reflect his interest in consumer-facing technologies that blend digital innovation with everyday applications.[39]
Philanthropy
Conine Family Foundation
The Conine Family Foundation is a private nonprofit organization established in 2017 by Steve Conine and his wife, Alexi Conine, to support healthcare and education initiatives across the United States.[40]
Funded primarily by the couple's wealth derived from co-founding Wayfair, the foundation directs resources toward charitable causes that enhance access to medical care and educational opportunities, particularly for underserved communities.[8]
Key grantees include BostonSight, a nonprofit providing specialized vision care for individuals with corneal and ocular surface diseases, and the Boston Foundation, which funds community programs addressing local needs in health and social services; the foundation also supports other regional organizations focused on health and education efforts.[8]
In 2023, the foundation reported total expenses of $6.92 million, primarily in grants and distributions, with total assets amounting to $78.2 million.[40]
The foundation supports broader community well-being through targeted grants that promote health, education, and youth development programs.[41]
Major donations and recognitions
In 2021, Steve Conine and his wife, Alexi Conine, donated $5 million to Cornell University's Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science to support the construction of a new building adjacent to Gates Hall, as part of a combined $10 million gift with fellow Wayfair co-founder Niraj Shah and his wife, Jill Shah.[42] This contribution aimed to advance computing education and research at their alma mater.[43]
In 2019, Conine received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Housewares Charity Foundation, recognizing his philanthropic efforts within the home goods industry alongside Wayfair co-founder Niraj Shah.[44] The award highlighted their support for charitable causes tied to the sector.[18]
Forbes assigned Conine a Philanthropy Score of 1 in its annual assessments, reflecting modest but targeted giving, particularly in areas such as healthcare and education, relative to his wealth.[1]
Conine has been included among Boston's billionaire philanthropists, noted for his community impact through strategic donations that benefit local institutions and initiatives.[8] Much of his giving is channeled through the Conine Family Foundation, which focuses on education, health, and community development.[45]
Personal life
Family
Steve Conine is married to Alexi Conine, a Cornell University alumna from the class of 1996.[46] The couple, who reside in Boston as their family base, have jointly led philanthropic efforts through the Conine Family Foundation, where Alexi serves as president and Steve as treasurer.[40]
Together, they have three children and enjoy family involvement in outdoor activities, including cycling adventures that inspired initiatives supported by their foundation.[1][47] Their family getaway home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, facilitates such pursuits amid the Teton mountains.[48]
Conine maintains a close family connection to the furniture industry through his sister, Sarah Conine, who manages the business originally founded by their mother and operates CO9 Design, a supplier to Wayfair.[1][49]
Residence and interests
Steve Conine, born in August 1972, was 53 years old as of November 2025.[50]
Conine resides primarily in Boston's South End neighborhood, where he has lived for many years.[8] The family also maintains a vacation home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, designed as a modern retreat that incorporates smart technology and serves as a getaway for relaxation and outdoor activities.[51]
Outside his professional life, Conine pursues hands-on creative hobbies, including chainsaw sculpting of ice and wood, often collaborating on art projects with his family. He is an avid paddleboarder, frequently enjoying sessions on the Charles River using various board types to explore Boston's waterways. Additionally, Conine is a competitive mountain biker, having participated in global races and embracing backcountry trails as a way to stay active.
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