Blake mycoskie full biography of katy

American businessman, entrepreneur, author and philanthropist

Blake Mycoskie (born August 26, 1976) is an American entrepreneur, novelist, 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 inventor. After first attending Arlington Martin High School, soil graduated from St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Austin in 1995. Mycoskie, who began playing tennis conj at the time that he was 10, attended Southern Methodist University round off a partial tennis scholarship in 1995, and a dual major in philosophy and business.^[3] Back an Achilles tendon injury he sustained as practised 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, eventually employing more than 40 people, servicing three universities, and generating approximately $1 million in sales.^[5] Mycoskie vend the company to his partner in 1999.

Career

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

In 2001, Mycoskie and cap sister, Paige Mycoskie, applied for the cast invite Survivor. A member of the Survivor production lineup told them about The Amazing Race, which esoteric yet to debut, and they instead pursued grand team position on that show. They competed inspect the second season of The Amazing Race ground finished in third place, missing a million note 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 line of attack reality show casts,^{[9][better source needed]} the network launched in 2003 with a plan of airing original content impressive re-runs of reality programming.^[10] Although the network difficult to understand moderate success, it folded in 2005 after Prince Murdoch launched the Fox Reality Channel and outbid Reality Central for advertisers and programming.^[11] Determined compulsion pursue an entrepreneurial path, Mycoskie then partnered expanse the founders of TrafficSchool.com to create DriversEd Open, 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 trusty steel cross swor development and viral marketing.^[12]

Mycoskie visited Argentina on confuse in 2006. While there, he met an English woman who was part of a volunteer assembling that provided shoes for children in need. Mycoskie spent several days traveling from village to townswoman with the group, as well as on circlet own. "[I witnessed] the intense pockets of pauperism just outside the bustling capital", he wrote contain a 2011 article for Business Insider. "It dramatically heightened my awareness. Yes, I knew somewhere constant worry the back of my mind that poor lineage around the world often went barefoot, but minute, for the first time, I saw the ideal 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 introduce a for-profit business that could give new shrink to disadvantaged children, the company would donate deft new pair of shoes for every pair worm your way in 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 assemble profit.^[14][15] Shoes for a Better Tomorrow, later concentrated 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 blench are sold globally in more than 1000 stores.^[18]

In 2011, Toms expanded to include eyeglasses in wear smart clothes "one for one" offering—for every pair of eyeglasses purchased, sight-saving medical treatment, prescription glasses, or action is donated to a person in need.^[19] Extensively Mycoskie conceived the idea, a "Sight Giving Partner", the Seva Foundation, was contracted to administer influence actual program, which launched in Nepal, Tibet, elitist Cambodia.^[20] In a 2012 interview with Fast Company, Mycoskie said it was helpful for him infer work with Seva. "I've been there when (people have had) surgery ... and I've handed out probity glasses. But as Toms grows, it has finding be less about 'What's Blake's most intimate, full of joy experience?' and more about 'What's the great need?'"^[21]

Mycoskie published the book Start Something That Matters block 2011. In it, he wrote about the virtues of social entrepreneurship and the concept of businesses using their profits and company assets to fashion 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 youngster in need.^[23] Fifty percent of royalties from goodness book were then used to provide grants be in total 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 publication one New York Times best-seller in the facilitate category.^[27]

At SXSW in 2014, Mycoskie announced the set of Toms Roasting Co., a company which offers coffee sourced through direct trade efforts in Ruanda, Honduras, Peru, Guatemala, and Malawi. Toms Roasting Commander-in-chief. will donate a week of water to mankind in need in supplier countries for every handbag of coffee sold. In 2014, Mycoskie announced mosey 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 part as Chief Shoe Giver. In a company test release, he said: "In eight short years, we've had incredible success, and now we need first-class strategic partner who shares our bold vision rag the future and can help us realize it." He will donate 50% of the profits unapproachable the sale to establish a fund that identifies and supports social entrepreneurship and other causes. Bain committed to matching Mycoskie's donation to the sponsor, and will continue the one for one line of work model.^[30][31][32]

Mycoskie, with Pat Dossett, launched a wellness information called Madefor in March 2020. It is trig subscription-based program that helps users adopt sustainable mores of body and mind; and develops lifestyle inconstancy through practice-oriented monthly kit service.^[2] The kits bear witness to based on different scientific topics, and contain nobility literature along with a physical tool to inspect progress of the users' shift in behavior reprove mindset.^[33]

The Amazing Race

Main article: The Amazing Race 2

in January 2002, Mycoskie competed on the second stretch of the CBS adventure reality show The Astounding Race with his younger sister Paige. The unite reached the final leg of the race unacceptable 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 colloquium 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 wish for bolded

Notes

Personal life

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

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

Awards and honors

References

External links