Spanx Founder Sara Blakely Shares Secrets To Building A Billion-Dollar Business | #Next1000 Summit
Summary
TLDRIn 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
🚀 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.
💡 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.
📈 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.
🤣 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.
🛍️ 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.
🎉 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Entrepreneurship
💡Bootstrapping
💡Innovation
💡Mindset
💡Failure
💡Shapewear
💡Philanthropy
💡Competition
💡Adversity
💡Product Development
💡Leadership
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
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