Feb 11, 2019 · 53m · how-i-built-this
TOMS: Blake Mycoskie (2019)
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of How I Built This, host Guy Raz interviews entrepreneur Blake Mycoskie, tracing his serial startup journey and the serendipitous Argentine travels that led to the creation and global rise of TOMS Shoes and its One-for-One social impact model.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Guy holds 28.1% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Guy as informed peer 1.9 Guest teaching 0.3 Guest disagreement 0.1 Guy pushing back 0.6
speaking balance: gold is Guy, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 8:36 Don't say 'idea' to older building owners
Mycoskie firmly pushes back against Raz's framing of pitching landlords with an 'idea', explaining that presenting it as an unproven concept destroys commercial credibility.
Hardest push from Guy ▶ 44:14 Raz confronts Mycoskie with supply chain criticismsRaz presses Mycoskie with specific economic criticisms, noting that dumping free shoes harms local shoemakers and fails to address systemic poverty.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 44:44 Mycoskie explains shifting manufacturing into aid countriesMycoskie educates Raz on the legitimate complexity of aid vs job creation, admitting TOMS had to adapt to manufacture over 40% of shoes locally in countries like Kenya and Ethiopia.
Guy holds their own ▶ 43:25 Raz challenges movement branding as marketing cynicismRaz demonstrates industry knowledge by interrogating whether calling TOMS a 'movement' instead of a business is merely calculated public relations.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Guy as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Guy pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode Preview and the Buenos Aires Shoe Scramble | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Raz introduces the episode premise and outlines Mycoskie's unusual serial entrepreneurial path preceding TOMS. | |
| Starting Campus Laundry Service EZ Laundry at SMU | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mycoskie recounts his college tennis injury and how it inspired his first business, EZ Laundry at SMU. | |
| Discovering Building Wallscapes and the Nashville Billboard Business | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Mycoskie describes seeing Sunset Boulevard wallscapes and calculating their economics. Raz asks clarifying questions about Mycoskie's research methods. | |
| Launching Outdoor Billboard Campaigns and Clear Channel Sale | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Raz presses Mycoskie on whether he was hustling landlords. Mycoskie reframes the pitch from presenting an 'idea' to offering an established business asset. | |
| Competing on The Amazing Race and Reality Central Idea | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Mycoskie details running on The Amazing Race and launching Reality Central. Raz playfully questions the ethics and utility of a 24-hour reality TV network. | |
| Innovating Driver Education with Online Modeling Instructors | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Mycoskie explains creating an online driver education program taught by aspiring models and actors. Raz clarifies the unconventional hiring strategy. | |
| Mid-Episode Break and TOMS Argentina Teaser | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Raz reintroduces the narrative transition to Argentina and Mycoskie meeting volunteers doing shoe drives in a wine bar. | |
| Distributing Used Shoes and Conceiving the One-for-One Model | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Mycoskie describes volunteering at a shoe drop, the lingering problem posed by his polo instructor, and journaling the one-for-one concept. | |
| Adapting Alpargata Shoes and Creating the TOMS Brand | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Mycoskie explains adapting local alpargata footwear for American consumers and shortening 'Tomorrow's Shoes' to TOMS. | |
| Introducing TOMS to Los Angeles and American Rag | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mycoskie explains returning to LA with 250 pairs and pitching American Rag by highlighting the social cause. | |
| The LA Times Article and the Rush for Production | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mycoskie details the explosion of demand after an LA Times article, hiring Craigslist interns, and rushing back to Argentina for emergency production. | |
| Vogue Recognition and Organic Celebrity Adoption | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mycoskie discusses Vogue coverage, organic celebrity interest, and meeting a dedicated customer at an airport check-in. | |
| AT&T Commercial Catalyst and Exponential Global Growth | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mycoskie details how a CNN interview prompted an AT&T commercial campaign that drove revenue past $450 million in seven years. | |
| Manufacturing Hurdles, Executive Burnout, and Rejuvenation | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mycoskie reflects on manufacturing deficits, corporate burnout, taking a sabbatical in Austin, and choosing to return to the company. | |
| Addressing Supply Chain Criticisms and Evolving the Giving Model | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | Raz directly challenges Mycoskie on economic criticisms regarding TOMS undermining local markets. Mycoskie concedes the point and details their pivot to local manufacturing. | |
| Entrepreneurial Reflections and Investing in Social Enterprises | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mycoskie discusses the broader impact of the one-for-one model, selling half the firm to Bain Capital, and funding social enterprises, followed by Dylan Hill's intro. | |
| Gamer's Gift Bone Marrow Drive and Life-Saving Match | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Raz narrates the resolution of the Gamer's Gift story, highlighting Chris's bone marrow drive and life-saving match before episode closing credits. |
Statements from this episode (18)
EZ Laundry made $80,000 in prepaid sales during SMU freshman orientation
“It saves them some time that they can use for other things, and we had a pretty good pitch, and within a series of like two or three days, we did like 80,000 dollars in prepaid laundry sales for the year.”
Sunset Boulevard billboard prices are driven by studio ego, not CPMs
“Because there's no way that could make sense. On a, you know, cost per thousand or an advertising metric. I mean, there's just not enough people that drive on sunset is what I was thinking. And so the reason that I basically came up with in my mind was it had …”
Pitch property owners an established business, never just an 'idea'
“The thing you don't ever want to do, especially when you're 22 years old, and you're trying to talk to, like, 50 and sixty-year-old people who own apartment complexes, you don't want to use the word idea. Because if it's just an idea, then it's like, you're no…”
Mycoskie raised $750K for Reality Central by pitching reality show winners
“And my idea was, is to go to all the winners of the reality shows of the last two years, and get them to invest.
Guy Raz: You said you guys should all invest, let's start a reality TV channel, because you guys won.
Blake Mycoskie: Yeah, and you got the money…”
Reality Central failed because major cable networks refused to grant distribution
“It was more about trying to get the distribution, which ultimately was the Achilles heel and why it didn't work. And because we had to go to like Comcast and Time Warner and Charter and these big organizations that are cable networks that host all the channels…”
Mycoskie exclusively hired part-time models and actors for online driver's ed
“And the best way I could figure out to do that was I hired only models and actors and actresses part time.”
A chance encounter at a Buenos Aires wine bar inspired TOMS
“And it was actually after about being down there for about three weeks when I met serendipitously a few women that were in a wine bar that were talking in English, which was nice, because most everyone was speaking Spanish, and I didn't understand most of what…”
Business models are more sustainable than relying on recurring charitable donations
“That's, once again, dependent on other people's donations, and what if they don't do it, and, you know, that doesn't seem like a very sustainable way to give these kids shoes, and then that led to, you know, well, what if there was a business, you know, instea…”
TOMS is short for 'Tomorrow's Shoes' because it fit the heel tag
“When it came time to put a tag on the shoe, we couldn't fit the word tomorrows onto the tag, because the tag was really small on the heel, so we shortened the word tomorrows to toms, and that's how the word toms came.”
TOMS sold 2,200 shoes in one day with only 80 in stock
“And the next Sunday, it was like on the cover of the calendar section of the LA Times, and that day we sold 2200 pairs on the website. But I only had like 80 pairs in my apartment.”
TOMS pioneered the one-for-one giving business model in the fashion industry
“No fashion company or shoe company had ever, like, given something away every time they sold it”
Early TOMS celebrity endorsements were entirely organic without any PR outreach
“Without any work on our own, we just started seeing celebrities wearing these shoes, and they started getting photographed by the paparazzi, and then it started showing up in things like People Magazine, and Us Weekly”
Mycoskie admits early TOMS shoes were poor quality; charity drove sales
“Yeah, I mean, in the early days, I think that's the primary driver of why people bought Toms. The shoes were, frankly, not that good a quality. They didn't last as long as we had hoped they would. I mean, you know, they were different, they were stylish, et ce…”
TOMS scaled revenue from $300K to $450M in its first seven years
“At that point, we were, I mean, we did the first year in business, I want to say we did about 300,000. In the second year, we did about three million. And the third year, we did Like, fifteen million, and the fourth year we went to, like, sixty million. Wow. I…”
TOMS manufactures over 40% of its donated shoes in recipient countries
“Back in 2000, I think it was, no, 12, actually, we made a pledge to manufacture as many shoes as we could in the countries that we give in, and today, we're manufacturing over 40% of our giving shoes in countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, India you know, lots of d…”
Blake Mycoskie committed half his wealth to investing in social entrepreneurs
“And so we made a real conscious decision to take half of it and commit it to investing in social entrepreneurs.”