CEDAR CITY — Utah native David Neeleman was a 32-year-old flush with big bucks — he'd just cleared $25 million selling his share of Morris Air — but he was also miserable.
"I thought, 'That's great, life's over,' " said Neeleman, who spoke Friday to a packed auditorium at Southern Utah University. "Then I realized money is not the most important thing in life. I wanted to do something that matters. I wanted to make a difference."
A short stint at Southwest Airlines (from which Neeleman said he was "asked to leave") convinced him that he didn't like working in a large organization. Since he had also signed a non-compete contract, Neeleman found himself with five years to figure out what he wanted to do next.
"So I did a lot of entrepreneurial things. I lost a lot of money and made a lot of money," he said. "Then I decided I wanted to create the best airline in the business."
JetBlue Airways, which Neeleman got off the ground in 2000 with $130 million in startup funds from former Morris Air investors, is slightly more than three years old and has never posted a loss. The domestic airline sets itself apart by offering bargain flights, leather seats with satellite TV and an ability to make a profit.
"The hallmark of JetBlue, our values, can be said in five words. We knew if we selected these values we'd have to live by them," said Neeleman, whose talk was sponsored by the SUU Small Business Development Center, the Cedar City Chamber of Commerce and others. "Those words are safety, caring, fun, integrity and passion. When we began, we didn't have a mission statement and not much of a business plan. We just knew we had to build a better mousetrap."
Neeleman, a Brighton High graduate and University of Utah dropout, said those initial investors in the new airline made tons of money.
"At the time, when we first asked them to invest in us, we had no airplanes, no gates, no routes and no employees," he said. "At the end of the day, the investors said, 'Here's the check, we trust you.' "
A year later, JetBlue Airways had honored every commitment made to its investors. All but one of them just sold their company stock, realizing a massive profit, he said.
"When we pulled our little family of nine kids out of Salt Lake four years ago and moved to Connecticut, I told my wife we were going to try to make a difference," Neeleman said. "Those five principles don't say anything about making a profit. But we determined if we lived the correct principles and took care of our people first we would make a profit."
Using words like "employee" and "passenger" are frowned on at JetBlue.
"Employee sounds so slave-like. Everyone at JetBlue is a crew member serving customers," he said.
Anyone caught referring to a crew member as an employee owes a buck — another dollar has to be kicked in if the word passenger is uttered instead of customer, Neeleman said.
"We pay our people well. The average crew member at JetBlue makes over $50,000," he said. "Last year we gave back $17 million in profit-making to our 5,000 crew members. They were very happy about that. We have not built our company on the backs of our people."
Neeleman turns his own $200,000 salary back to a nonprofit arm of the company dedicated to helping crew members experiencing catastrophic events. His money is matched by crew members who typically donate something from each paycheck, he said.
"It means a lot to our people that they have a CEO who doesn't try to suck the company dry, who doesn't take a salary and who gives it back to them," said Neeleman, who figures he has more than enough millions in the bank right now.
"Why would I want a salary? There's a guy from Oracle who took $180 million in stock options. That's sick in the head. I mean, how much money do you need, buddy?"
JetBlue continues to grow and credits much of its success to word-of-mouth and repeat customers. The company's core values and drive to treat everyone fairly are also important to its success, he said.
"Because of our upbringing here in Utah and our religious upbringing, we really have different values and principles," said Neeleman. "But those values really do play well outside Utah."
Near the end of his speech, Neeleman reminded students to be grateful and focus on the things that matter.
"I have attention-deficit disorder. My car's a mess, I can't find my socks, and I never wrote a speech in my life. This one here has three words on it," he said. "But one of the talents I think I do have is to visualize the future in my head. I knew JetBlue would work because it worked in my mind."
E-mail: nperkins@infowest.com