Spanx Founder Sara Blakely Shares Secrets To Building A Billion-Dollar Business | #Next1000 Summit

Summary

In a special conversation at the Next 1000 Summit, Sarah Blakely, founder and executive chairwoman of Spanx, shares her inspiring journey of building a billion-dollar business from just $5,000 in personal savings. Starting with a simple idea to solve a personal fashion dilemma, Blakely bootstrapped her business into a global shapewear brand. She emphasizes the importance of mindset, which she considers the single greatest asset for an entrepreneur. Blakely's story highlights the power of intention, innovation, and the ability to turn failures into opportunities. She also discusses her approach to leadership, focusing on sharing the 'why' behind Spanx, which has resonated with consumers and helped to create a brand that stands for more than just a product. Additionally, Blakely talks about her philanthropic efforts, including the Red Backpack Fund, which supports female entrepreneurs, and her recent decision to sell a majority stake in Spanx to Blackstone, a move she sees as beneficial for the company's future and her personal growth.

Takeaways

• 💡 Sarah Blakely, founder of Spanx, started her billion-dollar business with just $5,000 of personal savings and bootstrapped the company to success.
• 👚 Spanx revolutionized the shapewear industry, making it synonymous with women's empowerment and comfort.
• 💭 Blakely's initial idea for Spanx came from a personal need and her frustration as a consumer, highlighting the power of addressing unmet consumer needs.
• 🧘‍♀️ A strong mindset has been a critical component of Blakely's journey, emphasizing the importance of mental strength and daily self-improvement for entrepreneurs.
• 📚 Early in life, Blakely was influenced by Dr. Wayne Dyer's motivational teachings, which taught her about the power of positive thinking and visualization.
• 🚀 Despite having no prior experience in fashion or retail, Blakely's confidence and persistence allowed her to challenge industry norms and innovate.
• 🤝 Blakely's approach to business was to connect emotionally with consumers by sharing the 'why' behind Spanx, rather than just the 'what'.
• 💰 She entered into partnerships with major retailers like Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom with no industry contacts, demonstrating the power of audacity and a compelling story.
• 🤣 Using humor and playfulness as a strategic advantage, Blakely differentiated Spanx in the market and connected with consumers on a personal level.
• 📈 Spanx created a new industry category and grew without advertising for 16 years, relying on word-of-mouth and a strong brand connection.
• 🤔 Blakely advises entrepreneurs not to focus on competition but to innovate and create superior products that meet consumer needs.
• 🎉 In a generous act of gratitude, Blakely gifted all Spanx employees with two first-class tickets anywhere in the world and $10,000, emphasizing the value she places on employee experiences and contributions.

Q & A

What was the initial inspiration behind the creation of Spanx?

The initial inspiration for Spanx came when Sarah Blakely couldn't find the right undergarment to wear to a party. She ended up cutting the feet out of her control top pantyhose to wear under cream pants, which sparked the idea for a new type of shapewear.

How did Sarah Blakely fund the start of Spanx?

Sarah Blakely funded the start of Spanx with $5,000 from her personal savings.

What was Sarah's background prior to founding Spanx?

Sarah had no formal business education or experience in fashion or retail before founding Spanx. She had aspirations to be a lawyer, but after not getting into law school, she worked at Disney World and then sold fax machines door-to-door for seven years.

How did Sarah Blakely's mindset contribute to her success?

Sarah's mindset was a significant part of her journey. She believes that mindset is the single greatest asset an entrepreneur has and that it needs to be worked on daily. Her mindset allowed her to navigate obstacles and innovate in an industry where she had no prior experience.

What role did failure play in Sarah's upbringing and how did it influence her approach to business?

Sarah's father encouraged her and her brother to fail, reframing failure as a learning opportunity rather than something to be avoided. This approach helped Sarah to not fear failure and to see it as a part of the process for innovation and growth in business.

How did Sarah approach the challenge of entering the retail market without any industry contacts?

Sarah approached the challenge by picking up the phone and directly calling large retailers like Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. Her confidence and the strength of her product allowed her to succeed despite having no industry contacts.

What was the significance of the 'why' behind Spanx for Sarah Blakely?

The 'why' behind Spanx was significant for Sarah because it connected to her personal mission of empowering women and making them feel good about themselves. She believes that selling the problem you're solving rather than the product itself creates a stronger emotional connection with consumers.

How did Sarah's use of humor and playfulness contribute to the success of Spanx?

Sarah's use of humor and playfulness helped to differentiate Spanx from competitors and create a connection with consumers. She used humor in her marketing and in dealing with failures, which helped to humanize the brand and make it more relatable.

What advice does Sarah have for dealing with competition and copycat brands?

Sarah advises not to pay much attention to the competition and to focus on being an innovator rather than an imitator. She believes that focusing on innovation and creating superior products will ultimately serve a business better than worrying about what competitors are doing.

What motivated Sarah to create the Red Backpack Fund and how does it work?

Sarah created the Red Backpack Fund to support women entrepreneurs who were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. She donated $5,000 to 1,000 different entrepreneurs to help them through difficult times, mirroring the amount she started Spanx with.

Why did Sarah decide to sell a majority stake of Spanx to Blackstone?

Sarah decided to sell a majority stake of Spanx to Blackstone because it was the right time for the business and for her personally. She felt that Blackstone's global resources would help take Spanx into the future, and she still retained a stake in the business to continue her role in product development.

What was Sarah's motivation behind gifting all Spanx employees two first-class tickets anywhere in the world and $10,000?

Sarah wanted to include employees in the celebration of a major milestone for the brand. Her belief is that the more experiences one has in life, the more they have to offer others. She wanted employees to create memories for themselves and celebrate the brand's history.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Founding Spanx: From Idea to Billion-Dollar Business

Sarah Blakely, the founder and executive chairwoman of Spanx, shares her entrepreneurial journey. Starting with just $5,000 of her personal savings, she bootstrapped Spanx into a billion-dollar enterprise sold in over 50 countries. Sarah's story is a testament to the American dream, showcasing how she turned a personal need into a globally recognized brand. Her background includes an unsuccessful attempt to become a lawyer and a stint selling fax machines door-to-door. Her innovative mindset and determination to create a product that could be sold to millions and make them feel good led her to the idea of Spanx. Sarah emphasizes the importance of mindset in entrepreneurship and how it has been a crucial part of her journey since she was 16, helping her navigate obstacles and maintain a positive outlook.

05:01

💡 The Power of Mindset and Innovation

Sarah Blakely discusses the pivotal role that mindset plays in her success. She believes that mindset is an entrepreneur's greatest asset and something that needs daily attention. Sarah's early life experiences, including a series of tragedies and her parents' separation, led her to discover the teachings of Dr. Wayne Dyer, which profoundly impacted her thinking. She learned about the law of attraction, visualization, and the importance of being a 'no limit person.' These tools helped her to take on a billion-dollar industry with limited resources. Sarah also talks about her approach to challenging the status quo in the manufacturing process, leading to the creation of Spanx products that offered women comfort and results, which were a game-changer in the industry.

10:02

📈 Breaking into Retail with Confidence and Storytelling

Sarah recounts how she managed to get Spanx into major retailers like Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom without any prior industry contacts. Her confidence stemmed from her strong 'why' and her ability to share the story behind her product. She emphasizes the importance of communicating the problem you're solving rather than just the product itself. Sarah also discusses her commitment to advocating for women, both in her product design and in the workplace. She talks about her early years in the manufacturing plant and her realization that she needed to be a voice for women who were uncomfortable with existing products. Her approach to business, infused with humor and vulnerability, helped her connect with customers and build a strong brand identity.

15:02

🤣 Embracing Failure and Using Humor in Business

Sarah Blakely shares her philosophy on failure and the importance of not being afraid to make mistakes. She believes that failure should be reframed as a learning opportunity rather than something to be avoided. Sarah's father encouraged her to fail, which helped her to see failure as a part of the process rather than a negative outcome. She also talks about her use of humor in marketing and how it helped her to stand out against larger competitors. Sarah's approach to business is characterized by playfulness and authenticity, which she believes helps to connect with consumers on a deeper level.

20:04

🛍️ Scaling Spanx and Dealing with Competition

Sarah discusses her approach to scaling Spanx and dealing with competition. She identifies as an innovator rather than an imitator and advises not to focus on the competition unless it's for the purpose of innovation. Sarah explains that she only pays attention to the market to identify gaps or weaknesses that Spanx can address. She also shares her experience with larger companies copying Spanx products, which inadvertently helped to raise awareness for her brand. Sarah's focus on innovation and her commitment to not letting competition distract her have been key to Spanx's success.

25:05

🎉 Philanthropy and the Future of Spanx

Sarah talks about her philanthropic efforts, particularly the Red Backpack Fund, which she established during the pandemic to support women entrepreneurs. She donated $5,000 to 1,000 different entrepreneurs, mirroring the amount she started Spanx with. Sarah also discusses her decision to sell a majority stake in Spanx to Blackstone, emphasizing that it was the right time for both the business and for her personally. She mentions her ongoing role in the business and her excitement for the future. Additionally, Sarah shares a generous offer for the audience, providing a discount code for Spanx products and an opportunity to win her master class for free.

Keywords

💡Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship refers to the process of designing, launching, and running a new business, which typically involves taking on financial, psychological, and social risks. In the video, Sarah Blakely, the founder of Spanx, embodies the concept of entrepreneurship by starting her business with personal savings and growing it into a billion-dollar enterprise.

💡Bootstrapping

Bootstrapping is a method of starting a company with minimal outside funding, often relying on personal savings or small amounts of capital. Sarah Blakely used bootstrapping to start Spanx, which is highlighted in the video as she began with her personal savings of five thousand dollars and did not rely on external investors.

💡Innovation

Innovation is the process of introducing new ideas, methods, or products. Sarah Blakely's story in the video is a testament to innovation, as she created a product that did not exist before and disrupted the shapewear industry with her unique solution to a common problem.

💡Mindset

Mindset refers to the established set of attitudes held by an individual. Sarah emphasizes the importance of mindset in entrepreneurship, stating that it is the single greatest asset an entrepreneur has. She shares her personal journey of developing a positive mindset, which helped her navigate challenges and achieve success.

💡Failure

Failure is the inability to meet a desired objective. In the context of the video, Sarah Blakely discusses the importance of not fearing failure and using it as a learning opportunity. Her father's encouragement to embrace failure and her own experiences with it shaped her approach to business and personal growth.

💡Shapewear

Shapewear is a category of clothing designed to alter the appearance of a person's body shape by slimming or reshaping certain areas. Spanx, the company founded by Sarah Blakely, specializes in shapewear, and the video highlights how her product became synonymous with making women feel confident and invincible.

💡Philanthropy

Philanthropy is the act of promoting the welfare of others, typically through the donation of money to good causes. Sarah Blakely's philanthropic efforts are mentioned in the video, particularly her Red Backpack Fund, which supports small business entrepreneurs, especially women, in their entrepreneurial endeavors.

💡Competition

Competition refers to the contest or rivalry between individuals or groups for a particular goal or objective. Sarah Blakely addresses the issue of competition and copycat brands in the video, sharing her strategy of focusing on innovation rather than on what competitors are doing.

💡Adversity

Adversity is a state or instance of serious or continued misfortune, misfortune, or loss. Sarah Blakely's story includes facing adversity, such as failing the LSAT and not being able to pursue her initial dream of becoming a lawyer, which ultimately led her to the path of entrepreneurship.

💡Product Development

Product development is the process of creating a new item or improving an existing product. In the video, Sarah Blakely talks about her product development journey with Spanx, starting from identifying a need to creating a product that did not exist before and eventually revolutionizing the shapewear market.

💡Leadership

Leadership is the act of leading a group of people or an organization. Sarah Blakely's leadership is central to the video's narrative, as she discusses her approach to leading her business, Spanx, and the importance of sharing the 'why' behind the brand to connect with consumers and employees.

Highlights

Sarah Blakely, founder of Spanx, started the business with just $5,000 of her personal savings and bootstrapped it to a billion-dollar enterprise.

Spanx has become synonymous with shapewear that empowers women to feel invincible.

Blakely's initial business idea was born out of her personal frustration with not having the right undergarment to wear to a party.

Despite not having a business or fashion background, Blakely's mindset and determination led her to create a successful product.

She attributes her success to a strong mindset, which she considers the single greatest asset an entrepreneur can have.

Blakely emphasizes the importance of daily mental exercises to maintain a positive mindset, as essential as physical exercise.

Her father introduced her to motivational tapes by Dr. Wayne Dyer at the age of 16, which had a profound impact on her mindset and approach to life.

Spanx's success was achieved without any advertising for the first 16 years, relying on word-of-mouth and strong consumer connections.

Blakely believes that not knowing can be an asset, as it allows for innovation and challenging the status quo.

She actively encourages her team to embrace failure as a learning opportunity, hosting 'oops meetings' to celebrate mistakes.

Blakely used humor and playfulness as a marketing strategy, differentiating Spanx from more traditional and serious brands.

Spanx has been a category creator in the shapewear industry, and Blakely's advice to others is to focus on innovation rather than competition.

Blakely has been a strong advocate for women in business, supporting female entrepreneurs through her Red Backpack Fund.

She donated $5 million to 1,000 different entrepreneurs during the pandemic, providing each with $5,000 to support their businesses.

Blakely sold a majority stake in Spanx to Blackstone, choosing them for their global resources and alignment with her vision for the company's future.

As part of a recent deal, Blakely gifted all Spanx employees two first-class tickets anywhere in the world and $10,000, encouraging them to create memorable experiences.

Blakely offers her MasterClass for free to several followers who comment on her Instagram post, providing further insights into her entrepreneurial journey.

Spanx offers a 20% discount on all products for the next 24 hours with the code 'forbes', a rare promotion only previously offered during Black Friday.

Transcripts

now for our next discussion the next

1000 interview building a billion dollar

business from the ground up

please welcome sarah blakely founder and

executive chairwoman spanx

and interviewer minit ahuja senior

editor forbes

sarah it is such an honor thank you so

much for joining us for this special

conversation for our inaugural next 1000

summit in celebration of the most

intrepid founders and business owners

from every corner of the us

yours is truly a story of the american

dream from starting spanx with five

thousand dollars in personal savings and

bootstrapping the business to the

billion plus dollar enterprise sold in

over 50 countries that stands today

uh the name of your brand has become

synonymous with what it represents

shapewear that has the power to make

women feel invincible

many of us know at least a little

something about your background but can

you take us back to the beginning of it

all i'll set the scene

it's 1998 you're getting ready for a

party when you realize you didn't have

the right undergarment

hi money thank you so much for having me

yes i'm excited to be here and i'm

excited to talk to you know fellow

entrepreneurs um

i listen the sound bite in the media for

20 years has been sarah cut the feet out

of her panties because she couldn't

figure out what to wear to a party and

while that's true i want to give you a

little bit of the back story of that so

i grew up on a beach in florida

clearwater beach and um i'd never taken

a business class in my life i'd never

worked in fashion or retail i actually

um wanted to be a lawyer and i'm a

really bad test taker so i bombed the

lsat lsat not once but twice

and i was not able to really get into a

law school so i ended up you know which

most people would do if you bombed the

lsat and dashed your dreams of being a

lawyer i drove to disney world and i

tried out to be goofy

and you have to be five eight money to

be goofy who knew i'm only five six i

was the perfect height of a chipmunk so

i worked at disney world for a few

months and then i ended up selling fax

machines door-to-door

in clearwater florida for seven years so

i you know i got a lot of business cards

ripped up in my face i did a lot of

being escorted out of buildings and one

day i pulled off the side of the road

money and i had had a really tough day

i was crying

and i just remember thinking i'm in the

wrong movie like call the director call

the producer cut this is not my life

and i went to my apartment and i wrote

down a goal and i said you know i know

that i like to sell

i like offering something to someone

that they didn't already have or might

help their life and so once i identified

that i wrote down i want to invent a

product that i can sell to millions of

people that will make them feel good

and i didn't know what it was going to

be i just knew i set that intention i

looked up in the sky and i said to the

universe universe you have to give me

this idea and i will not squander it and

two years later i'm still selling fax

machines i'm still you know doing doing

what i had been doing

but i cut the feet out of control top

pantyhose one night to go to a party and

wear them under cream pants because

everything showed

and

i thought this might be my idea and

because i had set that intention two

years prior i was constantly searching

for what my idea was going to be so i

actually cut the feed out of my control

top paneos one time

wow when i created the company and that

set me on the path to try to create you

know i was a frustrated consumer which a

lot of inventions just come from

frustrated consumers and

what i ended up creating worked better

for me in my closet than anything else i

could find in the store that's

incredible so it really shows the power

of mindset and on that point we're just

talking about mindset where do you feel

like that came from from you and how has

it helped you i mean we see where you

are today but if um you know you could

expand on that a little bit yeah

absolutely so mindset is really a big

part of my journey and i say this all

the time and i truly believe it but

mindset is the single greatest asset

that an entrepreneur has and it's

something we have to work on daily we

literally have to make it part of our

daily routine there's so much negative

stimuli happening you know and so just

like you go to a chiropractor if your

back gets out of alignment or we go to

the gym and we work on our physical

what are we doing daily to work on our

mental like how are we getting positive

mindset how are we working on that

because being an entrepreneur is nothing

but navigating obstacles daily it's just

a you know constant like putting out

fires and figuring out this is the end

no it's not the end i'm going to make it

in lemon into lemonade um but

i would say many this started for me

really early when i was 16 years old i

um i had gone through a series of

tragedies in high school and they were

really heartbreaking for me and around

that same time my dad and mom got

separated and my dad came into my

bedroom and he said sweetie i wish i was

your age when i discovered this instead

of the age of 40. and he handed me a

cassette tape series of 10 tapes

and it was by dr wayne dyer who's a

motivational inspirational speaker

and it said how to be a no limit person

and many i had never heard of this

thought of it but i was so broken and

sad and not in a good place that you

know i always say there's a hidden

blessing in every situation in our life

in all the dark times my hidden blessing

was i was so down and desperate i was

willing to listen to these cassette

tapes of a middle-aged bald man with a

bushy mustache which most 16 year old

girls would have chucked that in the

bottom of their closet

i put the tapes in and i started crying

and i thought to myself i have spent 16

years in school being taught what to

think but no one has ever taught me how

to think and the light bulb went off for

me that i am in control of how i think i

can process things in a way that either

propels me forward or holds me back and

i became a lifelong student that day of

mindset and wayne dyer back then taught

me about law of attraction manifesting

what you want visualization which have

all been tools that i used to take on a

billion dollar industry with a an

endless ad budget with my five grand and

i really think that's part of my secret

weapon

well you know you know what's funny

money i grew up i went to clearwater

high

and in high school nobody ever wanted to

be trapped in my car after a party

because they're like she's going to make

you listen to that crap you know i

always

i always had the cassette tapes going

but then fast forward all those years i

end up on the cover of forbes and all my

friends from clearwater high they texted

me and all they read was damn should

have listened to that

oh my god that's great i actually just

started listening to wayne dyer because

my uh my massage therapist was speaking

his praises and i i heard his name but i

actually was listening to it and it

really it it has to come at you with the

right moment in your life as you

mentioned right to where you're

receptive to it um and and i was in a

similar spot so that's just so

that's so interesting to hear even for

you this is david and goliath situation

where you took on a huge industry right

there the odds couldn't have been more

stacked against you but it really was a

tool that you know we all have and

that's the power of harnessing our

mindset

and so you know as you said when you

started spanx you never worked in retail

or fashion before did that have any

effect on your confidence i mean i think

you know we're following a trail here

with this mindset

discussion

you know absolutely it did but because

i've been working on mindset since i was

16 it didn't didn't shake my confidence

you know i had this

belief and i've been listening to to to

conversations and reading books about

trust your inner knowing we all have an

inner knowing and so i think because

i've been doing that work i was willing

to take the leap knowing nothing and

what i tell people now is you know what

you don't know will be your greatest

asset if you let it you know because it

means you don't know how it's supposed

to be done and when you don't know how

it's supposed to be done there's the

innovation there's the magic you know

we're all on autopilot in life we're

doing things exactly the way someone

showed us how to do it we either were

taught it in school we saw someone else

do it they were like here good morning

this is how you brush your teeth this is

how you eat your breakfast this is how

you know how would we be doing all that

stuff if no one showed us and that's

literally how i went through the spanx

journey and you know the confidence

piece is really big because to stand in

a room full of experts and be the girl

with no experience whatsoever and be

willing to have the confidence to keep

pushing back

and you got to push back in a really

strategic way you know because when i'm

starting out i had no money no contacts

i'm standing in the manufacturing floor

saying

you know well what why is it done that

way like why are you guys putting a

rubber cord inside of all of our

waistbands and they'd say well that's

because that's what keeps it up and i'd

say well right but we've made a lot of

advancements in yarn with lycra is there

a chance we took the rubber cord out

would it still stay up you know and just

asking questions like that and they go

no it won't stay up and i'd say well

have we tried it you know has anybody

tried this recently and then i would

just press them on it and and you know

so spanx created products that were

giving women tremendous like comfort and

results and was a game changer in

women's closets around the world and

that was all just from someone with no

previous experience being willing to

stand in a room with experts and

challenge the way it was done

yeah and i think i remember from an

earlier interview i read um with you

from years ago or maybe it was an

interview we did together but um i think

the shock that you said individuals felt

when you um when they said how did you

get into neiman marcus nordstrom these

huge big box retailers with zero

zero industry contacts and i think uh i

think you would said well you just

picked up the phone and called and they

were their

jaws dropped open right and that was

also to your point you you didn't know

any better because you hadn't been in

the industry but you had that confidence

and

speaking of confidence when i go on

stage for any speaking event i love to

wear your moto leggings they give me the

confidence and i um so

yeah i mean now you're you're paying it

forward with that too um so

in the beginning you really mastered the

art of sharing your story which you do

so beautifully and sharing the why

behind the product particularly as you

had to pitch so many men

now that spanx has become successful for

so long over 20 years do those early

years still inform how you lead your

business today

yeah i mean absolutely i think it's

critical for you to share the why behind

what you're doing you know people are

really focused on the what but consumers

get very connected to the why and so

from the very beginning i was like

here's my product but let me tell you

why i did it and i kept staying very

focused on the why

um i always say you know sell the

problem you're solving not the product

people are far more emotional about that

and why my why also was um about women

you know like i feel very strongly that

i was given this opportunity i was born

in the right place at the right time i

had nothing to do with those two things

i saw my mom and my grandmother's lack

of options

and a lot of women still around the

world today that don't have the option

to fulfill their potential

and so that was a real strong why for me

was to to to make the most and to push

myself as hard as i could in areas that

scared me on behalf of the women that

don't have that chance

and also many when i stood on the floor

21 years ago in the manufacturing plant

i looked to my right and i looked to my

left and there was not a woman in the

room

and i thought

i'm going to advocate for women through

product like somebody needs to be

standing in this room going but we're

really uncomfortable you know or it's

digging like i can't breathe like it's

not working or it's leaving a big bulge

on my thigh under my

full slacks so um that became a passion

for me and staying connected to the y

people hear that they're so much more

invested than if they just hear well

here's my product it's a footless

pantyhose you can wear it with open-toed

shoes and not have a panty line you know

that's important to kind of get it but

without telling them the why you're

missing a huge piece

right especially people that aren't

directly maybe people that you're

selling to for like perhaps men like you

said but aren't having that firsthand

frustration or experience too you know

so

you talk a lot about the importance of

fearing failure and making mistakes and

why do you think that that's so crucial

to be successful we all face tons of

failure and um you know it

it dissuades a lot of founders and

entrepreneurs from picking themselves

back up

i would say

um

a tremendous amount why why is it so

critical to the path to success

so you know i think the greatest fear is

fear of failure for human beings and

when i sit and think about that i'm like

what is it about the fear of failure i

also think it's connected to the fear of

being embarrassed those things and that

really comes down to caring a lot about

what other people think about you and

that's something i've been working on

with mindset since i was 16. i'm a work

in progress but if there's anything i

can recommend you guys work on is that

like really freeing yourself up from

what other people think so i will

intentionally embarrass myself i mean if

like a month goes by and i haven't done

something embarrassing i'm like oh i

gotta go embarrass myself because i

found that when i do that it loses its

power

and what i realize is when you make a

mistake or you have a failure or you

have an embarrassing moment if you are

allow it to become a great story

you've got a great asset you know

because that's like a really wonderful

way to connect with other human beings

other customers is through that

vulnerability that we share with each

other so i kind of see oops and failures

as like gifts like a gem like oh good

thank you for that i'm gonna you know

i'm gonna use it and make someone else

feel really good or not as alone or i'll

be able to connect in a way and growing

up my dad taught my brother and need to

fail he he encouraged us to fail

i would sit at the dinner table and my

dad would say sarah what have you failed

at this week

i remember that story yeah and you do

really put your money where your mouth

is where the embarrassing situations are

concerned because i uh you also had done

stand-up comedy for a little bit right

to kind of

i did which is absolutely terrifying i

mean that is so terrifying but you know

i used a lot of what i learned in

stand-up comedy in my marketing you know

i think making somebody laugh or smile

is so powerful and

um i used humor as a secret weapon up

against the billion dollar companies for

sure and the best way you know when

people say well i'm not funny it's like

well be vulnerable you know like show

your humanness like humanness is going

to connect you to people and make other

people laugh and feel good more than

anything more than telling like the best

joke you know but um

yeah i i my dad encouraged us to fail

and that was huge because he reframed my

definition of failure it didn't become

about the outcome it became about not

trying

and i i would come home and say dad i

failed at this and he would high-five me

wow that wasn't my experience growing up

right and so a lot of us are also afraid

to fail because like we don't want to

disappoint parents we don't want to

disappoint you know other loved ones so

that was very freeing that he did that

for for my brother and me

you've always been very passionate about

infusing your brand with playfulness and

humor and one of spanx's taglines is

making the world a better place one butt

at a time how can people especially

women use humor and business and sales

to their advantage

i would just say by being vulnerable you

know like also just being i believe when

i started spanx 21 years ago i was like

everybody's so serious in business why

is everything so serious do we have to

act this serious and so i remember

thinking i don't want to have to act

serious to be taken seriously you know

and so i use playfulness i'm silly i'm

just you know willing to laugh at myself

at spanx back to the failure we have

things called oops meetings where we

celebrate our oops and i'll stand up in

front of the company and tell them what

i messed up

at other people in the company are

invited to share their oops a lot of

times we put theme songs with them

so we'll we'll look up

hilarious like one of the things you

know um

yeah so i made a whole list of the songs

that that went with it and and um

presented one day all the things that we

had not been doing right throughout the

history of the company but um as far as

being silly and um playful

you know

i i in the marketing i was like

i just want to talk to the consumer the

way i would talk to my friends at dinner

and i felt 21 years ago it was very

different i mean everybody was you know

i felt like the industry in all

industries acted like if i don't act

serious and act like the expert you

might not

think i'm credible enough and then

won't buy my product well i showed up

and i'm like i laminated a picture of my

own butt and

it's from kinko's and i'm standing at

neiman marcus with like the fanciest

women ever and i'm holding this kinko's

laminated copy of my rear end and i'm

like look what this can do for you so i

mean i just took a very different

approach and i think it worked i mean

spanx never advertised for 16 years and

we became a global household name right

and that's incredible with no

advertising and i think it's just

because women felt so connected to it

and shared it with women

i mean i have to admit though the

packaging though was very appealing

because i think i was like

uh in my teens when it came out and

previous that my mom would always talk

about like a girdle or shapewear and i

feel like that's for grandmas but then

the red packaging with the cute girl and

the the

the butt uh reference on the front and

her high heels just made it seem like a

cool it product um

and speaking more on like scalability

transitioning a little bit the brand and

product that you created was totally new

right it was a industry category creator

a need that had gone unaddressed for

over the last 20 years

we've seen spanx create this whole new

category as i said what advice do you

have for people who get frustrated with

competition or copycat brands how can

you how have you personally uh

approached this

well i mean i've had people copy me for

the last 20 years and my advice is i

don't pay much attention to the

competition at all

i mean i'm an innovator and i've told

the company you know i wake up every day

and there's innovators and there's

imitators and i'd far rather be an

innovator it's harder it requires more

work but it's so much more rewarding so

the only time i would ever pay attention

to the competition is through innovation

if i'm innovating if the team and i have

a new idea for women we would want to

know hey does this already exist you

know we thought this but so i would

check that market for that

um you can also be checking the market

for weaknesses you know like i'm a

consumer and what's not working about

what's out there and that's a really fun

place to try to create product and and

services

um but i have not focused on the

competition

i find that when you start to really pay

attention to the competition that's when

things are probably not they're probably

going to start heading south for you

those are little indicators

um in 21 years you know we've had

moments where the team started getting a

little too preoccupied with that and i'm

like this is a flag what is this telling

us about ourselves

right

you know

i've had competition serve me really

well i had big companies knock me off

very early on and they spent eight to

twenty million dollars on ad budgets

that gave awareness for the product that

i had just created and my product was

superior so it ended up benefiting me

working for your advantage so i know

we're just about a time but i have two

last quick important questions so

especially pursuant to this audience so

giving back has been such an important

part of your business from the beginning

you've also been a huge supporter of

small businesses many of whom are in the

audience today can you tell us a little

bit more about your philanthropic work

and your most recent efforts with the

red backpack fund

sure i mean during the pandemic i saw

that women were being disproportionately

impacted uh very much so and um so i

ended up donating

yeah i know it's just unbelievable so i

ended up donating five million dollars i

gave 5 000 different uh entrepreneurs

excuse me i gave 1000 different

entrepreneurs 5 grand each which is what

i started spanx with and i just did that

to try to help get them through this

difficult time bridge a gap they were

small startup businesses but you know

they they made a difference and um i'm

just so proud of that and happy for that

and that's the red backpack fund i named

it that because i started spanx with my

lucky red backpack from college which

now hangs framed in a clear box at the

spanx headquarters but it really is

lucky i'm telling you it is so i gave

each uh woman with the money her own

lucky red backpack as well but you know

i just want to say many there's fifty

percent of small entrepreneur small

business entrepreneurs or women and only

two point percent of vc funding is going

to women so

there is a tremendous gap there and i'm

happy to do my part and what i can to

try to fund um a lot of those women out

there that are starting out and trying

to make a difference

that's awesome that's incredible and and

the way that you pay it forward and your

give back nature we're going to get

right back to that but one quick

important uh last question was on um

this is a full circle moment for you

having sold the majority stake your

business to blackstone why now and what

made you land on blackstone as the right

custodian to take spanx into the future

you know i am so someone who operates

off of gut and intuition and people have

been asking me for 21 years when am i

going to sell who would i sell to

and i just always knew i would know and

the time is now it's the right time for

the business we've pivoted into

activewear apparel swim

the business is doing phenomenal and to

have a partner like blackstone with

global resources is just the right time

for the business and it's the right time

for me personally so you know i still

own a

stake in the business and i'm still

going to play a role in product which is

my favorite part of the business

and um super excited about the future

for the brand and also new beginnings

and on a final note we all saw the

incredible news on social media that um

you gifted all of spanx employees two

first-class tickets anywhere in the

world plus ten thousand dollars i'm the

first to admit i was pretty jealous what

made you decide to do that

you know i spent a lot of time as i knew

the deal was getting nearer it became a

real focus for me on how can i

include the employees in this and it

just felt like i wanted them to have an

experience my motto in life is the more

you experience in life the more you have

to offer others and i knew that you know

um a lot of times people aren't willing

or they they don't spend money on

themselves like if they just receive

money it ends up not they you know not

being spent on themselves so i thought

if i give them two first class tickets

and the money for the trip they're gonna

go create a memory for themselves to

celebrate this big milestone in the

brand's history and that's how i landed

on that

and it was really exciting and fun and

i was thrilled to be able to do it i had

no idea the video was going to go so

viral i probably would have worn more

than a white t-shirt but

but anyway and in corporations all

across the world i think i know

definitely with me and my forbes

colleagues we were like where would we

go if we had that experience

yeah

well i'm happy to be able to do it you

know so it's great

well i think you have a little something

you wanted to share with our audience

here today as well before we say goodbye

right i do mini it's not two first class

tickets to anywhere in the world i'm

sorry

but it is it is really good it is really

good so two things one is if you're not

following me on instagram and you want

to i'm at sarah blakely and if you just

put

forbes in my latest post in a comment

i'm going to pick several of you and

send you my um master class for free

um and that's got all kinds of insights

about my journey

and then the other thing is if you go to

spanx.com for the next 24 hours and when

you check out you just type in the word

forbes we're going to knock 20 off

everything that you're getting and

that's something spanx only does once a

year during black friday we never do

that we have so many amazing products

and a lot of them are probably going to

be gone by black friday so this is like

a little preview for you guys to go grab

what you want and get 20 off everything

well that's so generous and incredible

sarah thank you so much for joining us

and inspiring our next 1000 audience of

entrepreneurs