A Short History of Better World Books

The Genesis

The BWB cofounders (from left to right):
Xavier Helgesen, Chris "Kreece" Fuchs & Jeff Kurtzman

In late spring 2001, two scrappy, broke college students sat in their apartment in South Bend, Indiana looking for ways to make some much-needed money. Graduating seniors from the University of Notre Dame without job prospects, Xavier Helgesen and Christopher “Kreece” Fuchs looked to their used textbooks for an answer. “Hey, I heard you can sell books online,” said Xavier to Kreece in passing one day. Within the first week of listing his books online, Kreece made his first sale – and then another! With the encouraging news, Xavier listed his books online as well. By the end of the summer, both Xavier and Kreece had not only listed and sold most of their own used textbooks, but also the bulk of their roommates’ old books.

The Idea

Realizing that other students also had old textbooks at the end of a semester, Xavier and Kreece had to do something – there was just too much waste in all these used books. In spring 2002, Xavier and Kreece approached the Robinson Community Learning Center in South Bend with the idea of running a book drive. The two knew that promoting a book drive on Notre Dame’s campus in support of the beloved Robinson Center would stimulate students to donate their books. Having had limited time as students to give back to the community, Xavier and Kreece thought this was the perfect opportunity. They would run the drive, collect and sell the books, and deliver the proceeds to the Robinson Center, which was looking to raise funding for an after-school reading program.

Success

After running the drive, Xavier and Kreece could not believe the overwhelming support from students! Students donated more than 2,000 books into campus collection boxes. After taking a step back and realizing what they had gotten themselves into, the two boys took the summer to figure out how to inventory the books and manage the hundreds of daily orders that poured in over the fall. With a few hiccups, and a lesson or two learned here and there, Better World Books had its first success. That initial drive raised $8,000 for the Robinson Center.

Better World Books is born

In order to take the idea beyond just a single book drive, Xavier and Kreece teamed up with Jeff Kurtzman, their good friend and college roommate. Rounding out the trio of co-founders, Jeff Kurtzman brought a strong financial background and dedication to the team. Fed up with his short experience in investment banking, Jeff jumped at the opportunity to join a cause with a rewarding mission and exciting potential. Thus, Xavier, Kreece, and Jeff stumbled upon the business niche that became Better World Books.

Realizing that hundreds of thousands of used books end up in landfills each year, the three company founders set out to give new lives to books previously viewed as waste. Putting a plan in place to convert the one-time book drive into a sustainable, full-time operation, Xavier, Kreece and Jeff expanded across country. As winners of the McCloskey Social Venture Business Plan competition at Notre Dame in 2003, the three founders took that momentum and expanded beyond the Midwest. Met with enthusiastic support everywhere they went, and with the fortune of being surrounded by great people, Better World Books exploded nationwide in just three years. The founders attribute much of their success to a very simple concept: "We made it easy for students to give back, in a simple and tangible way – by offering them the option of donating their used books."

Today, Better World Books continues to be the leader in converting donated books into funding that supports world literacy efforts. In addition to its college and university textbook drives, Better World Books now works with libraries and other book sources with the goal of promoting literacy. The Better World Books team looks forward to the promise of the future and to continued growth and success with the help of its partners.