Sara Blakely
Founder & Executive Chairwoman, Spanx. On 2 shows, 7 appearances. The Shows tab opens the full record on each.
founderexecutiveinvestor@sarablakely ↗sarablakely.com ↗Wikipedia ↗Instagram ↗
Sara Blakely is the founder of Spanx, which she launched in 2000 and grew into a billion-dollar apparel company before selling a majority stake in 2021. In 2024, she launched Sneex, a hybrid luxury high-heel sneaker brand.
2shows
7appearances
42statements
9resolved
7supported
1contradicted
78%fully supported
48said about them ↓ Everything Sara Blakely said on any show that made the record, most notable first. Each card names its show and opens the statement there.
Sara Blakely: Sharing fragile early ideas invites well-meaning discouragement
“An idea is its most vulnerable in its infancy, and that's also the moment in human nature we want to immediately turn to our right or left and tell our coworker, our friend, our boyfriend, our boss, you know, I have this idea, and out of love and concern, we h…”
Blakely Paid Friends to Fake Retail Momentum at Neiman Marcus
“First of all, I paid people basically friends to go buy the product and create a buzz about it because I was like, you know, I gotta have these things move off the shelf or the buyer's not gonna give me any more chance.”
Blakely: Keep Early Ideas Secret to Avoid Inviting Ego and Distraction
“I believe that ideas are the most vulnerable in their infancy, and it's instinct to turn to your right or left in that moment and tell a friend or tell your husband. And you know, when you do that, instantly ego's invited into the mix, and then you end up spen…”
Blakely Secretly Put Target Envelope Stands at Neiman Marcus Registers
“Well, I went to Target, and I bought stands, you know, for envelopes. And I ran around the store and put them at every cash register, and everybody thought somebody else approved it, so they kept them there for a while.”
Blakely: Paid friends to buy Spanx at Neiman Marcus to create buzz
“I paid people, basically friends, to go buy the product and create a buzz about it because I was like, you know, I gotta have these things move off the shelf or the buyer's not gonna give me any more chance.”
Blakely: Placed Spanx displays at Neiman Marcus registers without authorization
“Well, I went to Target, and I bought stands, you know, for envelopes, and I ran around the store and put them at every cash register, and everybody thought somebody else approved it, so they kept them there for a while.”
Blakely: Spanx ran zero paid advertising for its first 16 years
“You know, Spanx has never advertised until this year, and we're 16 years old, so this has been a word of mouth brand.”
Blakely: Spanx succeeded because she was actively hunting to execute an idea
“I meet women all the time that have been cutting the feet out of their pantyhose for years trying to solve undergarment issues for themselves, and they're always like, why didn't I do Spanx? And I really just think it's because I had been looking for this and …”
Blakely: Listing 15 improvable daily items will probably generate a big idea
“Anybody could do this exercise. Go home and look at 15 things in your life, and write them down on a piece of paper, and then write down how and why they could be better. You'll have probably a big idea right there on that sheet.”
Blakely: Spanx wouldn't exist if she shared the idea too early
“And I think, I really believe, Guy, that had I heard that in the minute that I had the idea and cut the feet out of my pantyhose, I really think I would Not have started Spanx.”
Blakely: Cold calling is one of life's greatest training experiences
“I believe that cold calling is one of life's greatest trainings.”
Blakely paid her friends to buy early Spanx in retail stores
“I was buying my own product. So I was sending checks to all of my friends around the country to go buy Spanx.”
Blakely: Hosiery Was Uncomfortable Because Male Mill Owners Never Wore It
“I found it very interesting that all I was meeting with were men, and then it kind of became clear to me why they'd probably been so uncomfortable for so long, because the people that were making them weren't spending all day in them, you know, and so, and if …”
Blakely: Made-up Product Names Perform Better and Are Easier to Trademark
“I'd read that made-up words do better for products than real words do, and they're easier to trademark”
Blakely: Assuming Retail Placement Equals Success Is Founders' Biggest Mistake
“Oh my gosh, that is the biggest mistake that entrepreneurs make. That is when the work begins.”
Hosiery was uncomfortable because it was exclusively manufactured by men
“The manufacturing plants didn't get it at all, and I found it very interesting that all I was meeting with were men, and then it kind of became clear to me why they'd probably been so uncomfortable for so long, because the people that were making them weren't …”
Sara Blakely: Sharing early ideas invites ego and halts pursuit
“I believe that ideas are the most vulnerable in their infancy, and it's instinct to turn to your right or left in that moment and tell a friend or tell your husband. And you know, when you do that, instantly ego's invited into the mix, and then you end up spen…”
Blakely: No female patent attorneys existed in Georgia when Spanx launched
“I couldn't find a single female patent attorney in the state of Georgia, and I even called the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and they said there isn't one.”
Blakely: Spanx patent was self-written using a textbook and mother's sketch
“I went to Barnes and Noble on Peachtree in Atlanta and bought a book called Patents and Trademarks, and I wrote the patent, and then my mom's an artist, and so I asked her if she would sketch me in the prototype for the patent, and that is the picture in the U…”
Blakely: Made-up product names perform better and are easier to trademark
“I'd read that made-up words do better for products than real words do, and they're easier to trademark, and even though it didn't actually have the K in it had still the K sound,”
Blakely: Thinking retail placement equals success is founders' biggest mistake
“Oh my gosh, that is the biggest mistake that entrepreneurs make. That is when the work begins.”
Blakely: Spanx ran no formal advertising campaigns in its first 15 years
“Spanx is 15 years old, and we've never done any formal ad campaign or anything, and so it's a very word of mouth brand.”
The other half of the tape: Sara Blakely's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 46 times in 28 episodes across the shows. 2 statements on the record name them. every mention, with the transcript →
Who brings them up most Guy Raz 35Maureen Kelly 2Jenn Hyman 2Chip Wilson 2Adam Grant 2Tara Bosch 1Jane Wurwand 1
Statements about Sara Blakely, by other people (2)
Hoffman: Blakely grew Spanx to a billion dollars without outside investment
“With no background in fashion, fabrication, or business, she grew it to a billion-dollar company that reinvented underwear without ever taking outside investment.”
Every mention by year
tap a year for its mentions
How I Built This 46
2025 4 mentions in 3 episodes 1 per episode
2024 9 mentions in 7 episodes 1 per episode
2023 1 mention in 1 episode
2022 5 mentions in 2 episodes 3 per episode
2021 2 mentions in 1 episode
2020 13 mentions in 5 episodes 3 per episode
2019 4 mentions in 4 episodes 1 per episode
2018 1 mention in 1 episode
2017 7 mentions in 4 episodes 2 per episode
One line per show, most statements first. The link opens Sara's full record on that show: the calibration, argument clarity, speaking style and every statement made there.
| Show | Role there | Eps | Statements | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOW I BUILT THISLEDGER | Founder & Executive Chairwoman, Spanx | 3 | 34 | 78% 7/9 | full record on How I Built This → |
 MASTERS OF SCALELEDGER | Founder & Executive Chairwoman, Spanx | 4 | 8 | — | full record on Masters of Scale → |