"I started it with five grand from selling fax machines and self-funded the entire 21 years,"
"I sat down with myself and I was like, you wanna spend your five grand on a vacation? Or do you wanna try to bet on yourself?"
"I never had a single investor in Spanx other than me,"
Sara Blakely founded Spanx in 2000 at age 29 after seven years selling fax machines door-to-door and working as a national sales trainer. She used $5,000 she had saved to start the company while still keeping her day job. The product idea originated from cutting the feet off control-top pantyhose to create smoother lines under white pants. Blakely wrote her own patent application, secured the Spanx trademark for $150, and convinced a hosiery mill to produce her prototype after multiple rejections. She rejected outside investors to maintain total control and keep company profits.
Read at Fortune
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