Flipping
The Switch

How we started and scaled a global
lighting brand

Successful entrepreneurship is not a straight line. It’s a thrilling, unpredictable roller coaster full of extreme ups and downs.

Flipping the Switch is the story of Cole and Guillaume, two guys who left their respective home countries of America and France to move to China and start a business.

What’s in the book

Why we wrote the book

Having met with many entrepreneurs and managers of different company sizes, industries, and geographies, we realized our struggles are all similar.

We hope this book can help businesses avoid the same pitfalls or realize how to get out of them.

Newsroom

"Bootstrapping from Opposite Sides of the Globe"

Read More
"How Two Entrepreneurs Found An LED Lighting Niche And Built A Booming Business"

Read More
“Green Creative BR30 Cloud LED review: A clever design helps the Cloud LED shine”

Read More
“Start by getting fired: Cole Zucker lost his job and bought a ticket to Shanghai — it helped him build a $65 million Peninsula lighting empire”

Read More
"4 Old-School Characteristics That Make Modern Entrepreneurs Thrive"

Read More
Movers and Shakers: How Cole Zucker Co-Founder of Green Creative Went From Living in a Car to Building a $65M Revenue Company

Read More

— Coming Soon

Read about our entrepreneurial journey

Available Now

Bios

Cole Zucker

Cole Zucker is an entrepreneur and investor who has founded, scaled, and sold two companies.

Cole spent 4 years living and working in Shanghai before starting GREEN CREATIVE with Guillaume in 2010. Cole built the sales and distribution arm of the company, which encompassed an internal team of 50 inside and outside sales reps along with over 1,000 outside sales reps across North America.

Utilizing best practice sales processes, the company built an extensive distribution network, bringing tremendous scale from inception to sale.

Guillaume Vidal

Guillaume Vidal is an entrepreneur and investor who is hooked on marketing and product management.

Guillaume of French origin spent 15 years in China where he established R&D Laboratory and oversaw a team of Engineers. Guillaume scaled the company’s Product Management capabilties to release industry leading technology and patented innovation.

Leveraging an extensive network of subcontractors and best in class QC measures, Guillaume and the team grew the SKU offering from 15 to > 1,000, while managing a short product life cycle and tremendous volume growth.

A Bright Story

In 2010 Cole and Guillaume started their entrepreneurial journey in Shanghai by establishing a commercial grade LED lighting company for the US market.

Bootstrapped, they grew the business from scratch to more than $60 million in annual revenue and exited it through private equity within seven years.

As a new entrant against industry giants, the two managed to gain tremendous market penetration and brand awareness, and was recognized for its innovation.

It is the countless mistakes Guillaume and Cole made in building GREEN CREATIVE that makes Zuvi Investments a true entrepreneurial partner.