MARCH
INFORMING AND INSPIRING FEMALE EXECUTIVES
Nov/Dec 2010
Sara Blakely
How the founder
and CEO of
Spanx
took hosiery to new heights
7 Trends
changing the
corporate landscape
Ms. President
The high-powered
world of the Women
Presidents’ Organization
“Don't be
afraid to
fail. Fear
prevents so
many people
from pursuing
their ideas.”
SARA BLAKELY
shape
shifter
by Amy Meadows
Armed with a bright idea—and plenty
of determination—Spanx founder
Sara Blakely built a successful
shapewear empire
i
n 2004, Spanx founder Sara Blakely found herself clinging
to the side of a hot-air balloon 10,000 feet in the air. At the
top of a 150-foot rope ladder sat Sir Richard Branson. The
Virgin Group founder—and reported billionaire—was waiting
to have a cup of afternoon tea with Blakely, a spunky entrepreneur from Atlanta who, in 2000, had taken the hosiery industry by storm
with the wildly successful debut of Spanx. Blakely was a long way from
the little apartment where she conceived the idea for her famous line of
body-shaping pantyhose, but now, as a contestant on Branson’s Fox reality
show The Rebel Billionaire, she felt a familiar flicker of determination.
“Scaling the hot-air balloon was physically the hardest thing I’ve ever
done. Even though my body was telling me I couldn’t go anymore, I realized that quitting was not an option. I just had to step outside of myself
and do it,” explains Blakely, who wound up as the first runner-up on the
popular Fox reality show. “Determination has been instrumental in the
success of Spanx. When I was trying to get footless pantyhose made,
people shut doors in my face. I kept going because I believed in my idea.”
Did they ever. Today, Spanx exceeds $300 million in retail sales and has
expanded to include more than 100 products, from shaping sheers, tights,
and socks to body shapers, bras, and panties. Blakely’s revolutionary products can be found in high-end department stores like Neiman Marcus,
Nordstrom, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Spanx’s successful sister product line,
Assets, which delivers shapewear, legwear, and foundations at approachable prices, can be found at retailers like Target, David’s Bridal, and Belk.
In addition, Blakely and her team of 75 employees recently added a line
of slimming swimsuits to the Spanx catalog, as well as the Spanx cotton
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compression undershirt for men. “I always believed in my idea, but sometimes I still have to pinch myself,” Blakely reveals. “Just last week, I was
in Neiman Marcus and saw Spanx for Men on display—I had a moment!
I’m so proud of all the things we’ve accomplished as a company and can’t
wait for the next 10 years.”
i
t’s been 12 years since Blakely struggled to find the right undergarment to pair with cream-colored pants and open-toed shoes.Without hesitation, she grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the feet out of
her pantyhose. The result was astounding. Not only did the hose get rid
of the visible panty line, the smoothing effect also made her look a size
smaller. “My own butt inspired me to create Spanx,” Blakely says. “At
that moment, I knew this was something women needed.”
Blakely’s eureka moment was just the beginning. At the time, the 27-yearold inventor and would-be entrepreneur, who spent her early career
selling fax machines and office copiers door-to-door during the day and
performing stand-up comedy at night, had no experience building a
business. She had never even taken a business class, but that did not
dissuade her. Blakely researched the pantyhose industry at the Georgia
Tech library at night, read books about trademarks and patents, and
eventually wrote the patent for footless body-shaping pantyhose herself—
later finding a lawyer to help her write the claims. In 1998, Blakely was
awarded the patent for what would become Spanx and set out to develop
the product with the $5,000 she had in savings. It took two years, one
manufacturer willing to take a chance on her seemingly crazy idea, one
convinced Neiman Marcus buyer who received a personal before-andafter demonstration from Blakely, one year on the road doing in-store
Spanx rallies for sales associates and customers, and one call from Oprah
Winfrey for her pioneering pantyhose to hit the mainstream and really
take off.
“Determination has been instrumental in the success
of Spanx. [When I was starting out], people shut
doors in my face, but I kept going
because I believed in my idea.” SARA BLAKELY
MARCH
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shape shifter
Blakely says that Winfrey actually played a key role in Spanx’s success—
even before the media mogul discovered her footless body-shaping pantyhose. Sitting in her apartment one afternoon tossing around the idea
for her new invention, Blakely asked aloud for a sign. Then she turned
on the end of The Oprah Winfrey Show and heard the renowned host explain how she had been cutting the feet out of her pantyhose for years. It
was just the encouragement Blakely needed to move forward. “When
I received my first batch of footless pantyhose, I sent a gift basket to
Oprah and said, ‘Thanks for being part of this process,’ because she was
the sign I had asked for,” Blakely recalls. In November of 2000, Spanx
ended up on Oprah’s “Favorite Things” list.
Winfrey is not Spanx’s only celebrity fan. The company’s products have
become the go-to undergarments for Hollywood’s biggest red-carpet
events, worn by stars like Gwyneth Paltrow and Miley Cyrus, who have
mentioned Spanx by name along with their dress designer. While having
such loyal celebrity fans is a true honor and a boon for Blakely, it’s the
women who flash their Spanx and give her a high five while she’s walking
through the airport that really inspire her to pay attention to consumers’
ever-changing needs and regularly develop fresh and innovative products.
“Everyone in the office is always thinking of ways we can solve problems
for women—and now men, too. Our goal is to help women and men
feel more confident in their clothes,” Blakely says. To accomplish this, the
inventor listens to her customers. When Blakely got wind of requests for
Spanx that could be worn under a swimsuit, she gathered her team to
create a line of slimming swimwear.
t
hat strong desire to help people has allowed Blakely to achieve
another important life goal. She explains, “I’ve been on a mission
to make the world a better place one butt at a time, and now I'm
on a mission to make the world a better place one woman at a time.
Thanks to the success of Spanx and Assets, I was able to launch The Sara
Blakely Foundation, which is dedicated to giving women around the
world the leg up they need to realize their full potential.” With $750,000
from her mentor and friend, Sir Richard Branson, Blakely established
her organization in 2006 with the intent of helping women locally and
globally through education and entrepreneurship. For its first project, the
foundation partnered with Virgin United to support CIDA City Campus
in South Africa, raising funds for scholarships for young women. After
a variety of other successful initiatives, Blakely had the opportunity to
return to The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2007 and present a check for $1
million to The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation in South
Africa. “I feel so lucky to be a woman in America and to have had the
opportunity to succeed the way that I have,” Blakely continues. “I just
want to give other young women that same opportunity.”
With so many successes under her belt, Sara Blakely looks forward to
whatever else fate has in store for her and her expanding empire. If there
are tough challenges ahead, Blakely will doubtlessly take them in stride.
“I always encourage entrepreneurs starting out to not be afraid to fail.
Fear prevents so many people from pursuing their ideas,” she says. “When
nov/dec 2010
I was younger, at the dinner table my father would ask my brother and
I what we failed at, and if we didn’t have a story of something that we
failed at that day, he would be disappointed. It was this great reverse psychology because we’d get excited to have a story. I’m so thankful for that
because now, as an adult, I’m not afraid to fail. To me, failure is not trying,
rather than not succeeding.”
For Blakely, the bottom line is all about having a clear vision of what
you want to achieve so you can go out and attain it. And she certainly
does. “I always tell my team that I hope to make the question ‘Does
my butt look big in this?’ obsolete,” Blakely says. “I also want to invent
a comfortable stiletto. Then I can retire!" M
More SPANX, please
Blakely’s company has expanded its menu of products
to include swimsuits, maternity shapewear, and men’s
undershirts. spanx.com
Spanx convertible
one piece swimsuit,
$107
Spanx triangle
bikini set, $107
Mama Spanx footless
pantyhose, $28
Spanx for Men
cotton compression
crew neck, $58
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