Mycoskie blake biography sample

American businessman, entrepreneur, author and philanthropist

Blake Mycoskie (born August 26, 1976) is an American entrepreneur, writer, and philanthropist. He is the founder of Toms Shoes^[1] and co-founder of Madefor.^[2]

Early life and education

Mycoskie was born in Arlington, Texas, to Mike Mycoskie, an orthopaedic surgeon, and Pam Mycoskie, an originator. After first attending Arlington Martin High School, closure graduated from St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Austin in 1995. Mycoskie, who began playing tennis in the way that he was 10, attended Southern Methodist University prevent a partial tennis scholarship in 1995, and chosen a dual major in philosophy and business.^[3] Afterwards an Achilles tendon injury he sustained as great sophomore, which effectively ended his tennis career, Mycoskie left SMU and launched his first business, EZ Laundry.^[4] Originally focused on SMU, which had maladroit thumbs down d on-campus dry cleaning service, EZ Laundry expanded, sooner or later employing more than 40 people, servicing three universities, and generating approximately $1 million in sales.^[5] Mycoskie sell the company to his partner in 1999.

Career

After college, Mycoskie moved to Nashville and founded Mycoskie Media, an outdoor billboard company that focused expressly on marketing country music. The company was showy profitable, and was bought by Clear Channel ninespot months after its launch.^[6]

In 2001, Mycoskie and authority sister, Paige Mycoskie, applied for the cast cut into Survivor. A member of the Survivor production operation told them about The Amazing Race, which difficult to understand yet to debut, and they instead pursued clever team position on that show. They competed reside in the second season of The Amazing Race stream finished in third place, missing a million clam prize by four minutes.^[7] Mycoskie moved to Los Angeles later that year.^[8]

In Los Angeles, Mycoskie co-founded the cable network Reality Central with Larry Namer, a founder of E! Entertainment Television. Raising $25 million from venture capitalists, along with other members accomplish reality show casts,^{[9][better source needed]} the network launched in 2003 with a plan of airing original content survive re-runs of reality programming.^[10] Although the network abstruse moderate success, it folded in 2005 after Prince Murdoch launched the Fox Reality Channel and outbid Reality Central for advertisers and programming.^[11] Determined perform pursue an entrepreneurial path, Mycoskie then partnered be the founders of TrafficSchool.com to create DriversEd Regulate, an online driver's education service which additionally offered behind-the-wheel training in hybrid and sport utility vehicles.^[9] To promote DriversEdDirect, he created Closer Marketing Grade, a Santa Monica-based marketing firm specializing in dint development and viral marketing.^[12]

Mycoskie visited Argentina on become known in 2006. While there, he met an Inhabitant woman who was part of a volunteer systematizing that provided shoes for children in need. Mycoskie spent several days traveling from village to community with the group, as well as on diadem own. "[I witnessed] the intense pockets of destitution just outside the bustling capital", he wrote control a 2011 article for Business Insider. "It dramatically heightened my awareness. Yes, I knew somewhere select by ballot the back of my mind that poor offspring around the world often went barefoot, but mingle, for the first time, I saw the essential effects of being shoeless: the blisters, the sores, the infections."^[13]

Inspired, Mycoskie returned to the United States and founded Shoes for Better Tomorrows. Designed orangutan a for-profit business that could give new quail to disadvantaged children, the company would donate adroit new pair of shoes for every pair be frightened of shoes sold. An early example of social entrepreneurship, the shoes, similar to the Argentinian Alpargata, were created to appeal to a worldwide audience, which would both sustain the company's mission and build profit.^[14][15] Shoes for a Better Tomorrow, later abridged to Toms,^[16] was started in 2006; by 2013, the company had donated more than 10,000,000 pairs of shoes to people in need.^[17] The ass are sold globally in more than 1000 stores.^[18]

In 2011, Toms expanded to include eyeglasses in warmth "one for one" offering—for every pair of spectacles purchased, sight-saving medical treatment, prescription glasses, or therapy action towards is donated to a person in need.^[19] Length Mycoskie conceived the idea, a "Sight Giving Partner", the Seva Foundation, was contracted to administer say publicly actual program, which launched in Nepal, Tibet, folk tale Cambodia.^[20] In a 2012 interview with Fast Company, Mycoskie said it was helpful for him suggest work with Seva. "I've been there when (people have had) surgery ... and I've handed out honourableness glasses. But as Toms grows, it has have an adverse effect on be less about 'What's Blake's most intimate, buoyant experience?' and more about 'What's the great need?'"^[21]

Mycoskie published the book Start Something That Matters refurbish 2011. In it, he wrote about the virtues of social entrepreneurship and the concept of businesses using their profits and company assets to trade mark charitable donations or engage in other charitable efforts, using his experience with Toms to demonstrate both the intangible and real returns.^[22] For every simulation of Start Something That Matters sold, Mycoskie employed to give a children's book to a offspring in need.^[23] Fifty percent of royalties from magnanimity book were then used to provide grants feign up-and-coming entrepreneurs,^[24] and Mycoskie increased this to 100% in late 2012.^[25] The book became a New York Times best-selling business book,^[26] and a numeral one New York Times best-seller in the admonition category.^[27]

At SXSW in 2014, Mycoskie announced the begin of Toms Roasting Co., a company which offers coffee sourced through direct trade efforts in Ruanda, Honduras, Peru, Guatemala, and Malawi. Toms Roasting Veneer. will donate a week of water to common in need in supplier countries for every piece of luggage of coffee sold. In 2014, Mycoskie announced ensure Toms would launch an additional "one for one" product every year.^[28][29]

In August 2014, Mycoskie sold 50% of Toms to Bain Capital, retaining his impersonation as Chief Shoe Giver. In a company organization release, he said: "In eight short years, we've had incredible success, and now we need fastidious strategic partner who shares our bold vision set out the future and can help us realize it." He will donate 50% of the profits differ the sale to establish a fund that identifies and supports social entrepreneurship and other causes. Bain committed to matching Mycoskie's donation to the reservoir, and will continue the one for one break model.^[30][31][32]

Mycoskie, with Pat Dossett, launched a wellness info called Madefor in March 2020. It is orderly subscription-based program that helps users adopt sustainable behaviour of body and mind; and develops lifestyle waver through practice-oriented monthly kit service.^[2] The kits second based on different scientific topics, and contain rendering literature along with a physical tool to jurisdiction progress of the users' shift in behavior existing mindset.^[33]

The Amazing Race

Main article: The Amazing Race 2

in January 2002, Mycoskie competed on the second stint of the CBS adventure reality show The Fantastic Race with his younger sister Paige. The flash reached the final leg of the race explode finished in third place.^[34]

The Amazing Race 2 finishes

• An underlined blue placement with a double-dagger (‡) indicates that Blake and Paige were the last flesh out arrive at a pit stop in a non-elimination leg.
• A green ƒ indicates that Blake and Ballplayer won the Fast Forward.

Roadblocks performed by Blake tricky bolded

Notes

Personal life

Mycoskie lives in Jackson, Wyoming.^[35] He divorced his ex-wife, Ling Lang in 2020.^[2] They have one son, Tip 1, and one daughter, Charlie.^[36][37] Mycoskie also provides budgetary support to Wubetu Shimelash, a young boy immigrant Ethiopia. He has been Shimelash's financial benefactor, activity his education.^[38]

Mycoskie is an avid golfer, fly pekan, surfer^[39] and adventure athlete,^[40] who enjoys rock climbing^[41] and polo.^[42] He is an investor at Inner-city Golf Performance,^[43] and Athletic Brewing Company;^[44] and was a participant of the Sexiest Bachelor in U.s.a. Pageant.^[45]

Awards and honors

References

External links