Welcome back to the Amway Untold Stories podcast with a very special episode. Today we often hear a lot about billion-dollar business empires, but we rarely talk about those first stumbling steps. It is precisely those first steps that paved the way to the resounding success that followed. What truly made that journey? Going back in time to 1959, nearly 70 years ago, in a small basement in the state of Michigan, USA, two close friends decided to start everything from scratch.
They began with four core beliefs: freedom, family, hope, and reward. And they called those the fundamental principles of the two co-founders. How do we hold on to these beliefs without losing our identity along the long journey? The answer lies in four values we always preserve: collaboration, integrity, individual worth, and responsibility.
Picture it this way: if the fundamental principles are the roots of a tree, then the core values are how that tree grows and bears fruit. Today we will discuss the connection between the fundamental principles and the core values through a conversation with someone who not only inherited the legacy but is also actively writing the next chapters.
It is a great honor to welcome to the Amway podcast today Mr. Doug DeVos, Co-Chairman of the Amway Corporation. Thank you for taking the time to join the program.
Thank you. It is a great honor for me to be talking with you.
Wonderful. I'm very glad. How has Vietnam welcomed you on this trip?
Oh, I'm truly very impressed. This is my sixth time coming to Vietnam. It's been quite a while. I think it was about 9 years ago. This country and this city are developing at an astonishing pace. It's wonderful to be back.
I'd like to revisit some childhood memories with you. If you can recall them.
Of course. I'll do my best.
In your memory, how did your father, Rick DeVos, bring the fundamental principles — freedom, family, hope, and reward — into everyday life? Not just as business ideas, but in life as well, right?
Exactly. That is how our family lived. Before we truly understood those words, we were already living in that atmosphere. My father always encouraged my brothers and me to make our own decisions and choose what we wanted. He let us decide for ourselves what we wanted to do, where we wanted to go, what our aspirations and goals were. He always asked us that way. He also created a close-knit family.
Interestingly, my house and the Van Andel house were neighbors. So the business careers of the two families became even more tightly bound. The two families frequently visited each other's homes, and the children grew up together in a rural area of Michigan.
So basically we relied on each other, creating a warm family atmosphere, and my father never let us fall into a dead end. When we faced problems, he always told us to work hard to overcome them. So hope was something he always nurtured. Whether we got bad grades at school or didn't perform well in sports, no matter the situation, he would say: practice more, study harder, try another way and see. You can do better, keep going. And of course there were always rewards — that was the encouragement, the words of praise. We often only think of rewards in financial terms, but in life there are other rewards that are much more precious, like when you're encouraged with 'well done' or some word of support.
That is what I experienced throughout my life. I grew up with Amway, attending events. I saw those values in everything my father did.
You grew up in a wonderful environment. Your father chose family, a very important factor among the four principles. How did the family factor shape the bond between you and your siblings?
My brothers and I always did everything together. Because the rural area was quite remote, family was our closest friends. When we needed a shoulder to lean on, a word of encouragement, or support, the first people we turned to were always family. My parents created that atmosphere through the simplest things — spending time together, eating meals together. If there was a vacation, the whole family would go together.
We learned together, discussed everything together — from world affairs and business to personal matters, right at the dinner table. There was no such thing as dad going to work and that being one world, then coming home and it being another world. As a family, we always felt we were one united whole. When we were together, we could get through any challenge that came our way or seize any opportunity that came our way.
It's good to always have someone standing behind you.
Exactly so, just like a family.
Speaking of the foundation of hope among those four pillars, I want to ask you a question about this. Was there a moment when your father used it to pull you out of a failure or difficulty? Like lifting your spirits with that hope. How did that hope factor impact you as you grew up?
I remember when I was in elementary school, around 8, 9, 10 years old. I didn't have friends. I thought I couldn't befriend anyone. My father noticed that and offered to drive me to school. Because we lived in a rural area, we had to drive to school. He never stopped encouraging me. 'You can do it. You can make friends. Be confident and introduce yourself.' He gave me a lot to think about and to put into practice.
I remember when I walked through the school gate, from inside the car he even shouted out loud: 'Go for it, be happy!' And I remember that day I walked into school with a completely different mindset. I remember telling myself: I can make friends, I can do things differently, I will introduce myself, I will get through it, I will be brave. My father interpreted hope as: you're not stuck. You can overcome it through practical action. That changed my life.
Sometimes all we need is a little hope. Someone to push us a little, a little encouragement. If you had to choose just one thing, what is the greatest legacy your father left you as a person, not just in business?
I think it is the cultural foundation that my parents built for the family. The most powerful thing for me was witnessing my father practice those values every day. And then I could also begin to learn how to do that. Even when I had grown up, he would still say: 'Dad will always be your dad.' Do you understand what I mean? That is, even when you grow up and have children, dad will always be your dad. Dad will show you what you do well, where you don't do well, and dad will continue to walk alongside you, continue to be your father. And that never ended until the day he passed away.
He always thought about that. So the greatest legacy is that he taught me about life, about how to be a good person, through his own example. That's what our parents always say, right? No matter how old we get, children will always be children of their parents.
I will always be his son.
Let's talk a little about Amway. In the current context, the corporation's vision is to help people live better lives. I'm curious how this vision reflects your father's philosophy — Mr. Rick DeVos and his friend Jay Van Andel — and how?
The slogan that begins with the word 'people' was always about people. The Amway business is a story between people — connecting, helping, and building relationships — so it starts from there. This is not simply a business story, even though profit is important. Nor is it just about growing customers, even though having many customers is important. It is a story about striving toward a better life.
Because Amway has never imposed what a better life must look like, or that you must do this or that to succeed in Amway. There are things you must do to succeed, but we don't choose for you. Building an Amway business is each person's individual decision. They might be in a situation where both spouses work. They already have a family and one of them wants to stay home and raise children. They may have made a choice for the whole family. Someone else might want enough financial means to move house or do something different. But that is not their own choice. What is their goal? Because then they will do what is necessary to achieve what they want.
So we have never imposed what 'better' looks like. We don't impose a goal and then make everyone strive to achieve the goal we set. Everything here is the exact opposite. What can we do to help you conquer your own goal? We want to help people live better lives, and the definition of 'better' depends on each person.
Inheriting is a privilege. Yes. But I believe it also comes with considerable pressure. Did you ever feel your father's shadow was so large that you doubted yourself? And what is the biggest difference between you and your father in the way you work and live?
In some way, no one can replace his position. He carried the stature of a legend, and Uncle Jay Van Andel was the same. You will never fill the shadow of those people. But I never felt pressure because, once again, I always had the right to choose. Did I want to do this job? Did I want to be part of Amway, or did I want to do something else? I always had the right to decide for myself. He never imposed, never said I had to do everything rigidly in his way.
We have a unified foundation — the fundamental principles and core values — with expectations about how we apply and practice them. But they always let our generation do it our own way, with a deep understanding of what is happening in the market. So I never felt pressure, never felt forced to do anything. I never saw them say: 'This is something you must do, and you must do it exactly this way to maintain the family's reputation.' Instead of imposing, they always said: 'This is an opportunity for you, and you have the opportunity to take it forward. You have the opportunity to grow, to carry on the legacy of the previous generation. You have the opportunity to shape the company in your own way, with your own mark.'
And that very mindset connected and united my siblings and the Van Andel family in the second generation. We also have to think in a similar way when looking at the next generation. We want to create opportunity rather than pressure. If you see this path as right, if you believe you can contribute value to Amway, then join and walk alongside Amway. But you don't have to do it the way we did.
Do you have a new way? Is something shifting in your generation? How should we think to meet the demands of the next generation? And we should be thoroughly prepared.
I often reflect on this. This is truly a very good question. In fact, there are many examples of the previous generation unintentionally passing on burdens and pressure to the next generation. But that never happened in my family. I deeply cherish that. Everything always revolved around opportunity.
Speaking of the principles you just mentioned from your father's earlier time — was there a principle that at first you didn't really believe in, didn't fully understand, or even somewhat disagreed with, but later you realized your father was completely right?
Maybe back then I was the type who was absolutely obedient, but honestly I never felt any disagreement. I never felt I needed to prove a difference. My parents' teachings and way of living were very convincing to me. When I was still in school, I also met different friends who would have different experiences growing up, when stepping into the threshold of university and starting to make friends in a larger, wider circle. And at that point you start observing the people around you, and my parents' teachings and way of living were completely right to me.
I began to see those things manifest in other people's lives. I saw clearly when people behaved differently from the values we were taught, and I saw the consequences that I personally did not want at all. I didn't want to go that way. I chose this path. I never felt I had to argue or resist. And it wasn't that I doubted — I always wanted to find out and experience things for myself.
But I was always given the opportunity to verify things myself, to step out, to experience things for myself, to make my own decisions. My parents were always firm in what they believed, yet they gave me the opportunity to form my own judgment and build my own beliefs. I never found myself in a situation where I had to struggle — like, 'Oh, I don't think I would do it that way' — because I would embrace it, but to test it in my own life. From that, the values became stronger for me, because it was my own decision, never imposed.
Looking at the fundamental principles — freedom, family, hope, reward — together with the core values of collaboration, integrity, individual worth, and responsibility, I notice that between the fundamental principles and the core values there seems to be an extremely deep connection. Can you explain why Amway places these two value systems side by side?
That is a very good question. When my father and Uncle Jay began their partnership from high school, and collaborated for many years before founding Amway, and these were the things they shared with each other throughout their youth: 'We want to be self-employed, to run our own business, to make our own choices — freedom. We want to decide our own future, and we want to do it together.' They were bonded like a family, living in two houses next to each other, building their own homes, and the two families were always close. So that was extremely important to them.
As for hope, we went through the most difficult times together. They grew up during the Great Depression in the United States. They had to face harsh challenges and witnessed their parents' efforts. So they understood that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. In other words, there is always a better future if you persevere through all the challenges. They never gave up, and they wanted to integrate the reward factor into the system — the desire to reap success. That was their identity.
Similarly, Simon started with the question 'why', while they started with 'who are we?' The fundamental principles represent who they are and why they act the way they do. From those principles, the core values are developed and spread. And when you apply these values in practice, you begin to shape things. This is how we operate every day.
We will work with a spirit of collaboration. We will comply with absolute integrity. We will absolutely not take shortcuts. We will not do shady things that we would be ashamed of in the future. We will always be transparent from the very first step. We will always be responsible and brave in facing all our actions. And when we make mistakes, we will face them and admit that we were wrong. Above all, we always put people first, honoring the individual worth of each person in every sales activity, sponsorship, or bringing in new people.
This is a business opportunity for everyone. Over the years, there have been people who tried to say that perhaps the market should be tiered, focusing on those with experience or higher education. But my father and Uncle Jay always rejected that view. This is a business model for everyone. So it is of utmost importance to always put people first.
We always think about collaborating with everyone. We always think about maintaining integrity. And we are always deeply aware of our responsibility — taking proactive action, planning, and preparing solidly for the future. Adapting to market fluctuations, developing new product lines, and doing everything of a sustainable business to ensure success for many generations to come. Everything is tightly and consistently connected, blending the fundamental principles and the core values, always walking side by side.
