Assertion Not checkable as stated
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.”
Insight
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…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
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.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
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.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
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.”
What-if
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.”
Insight
Blakely: Cold calling is one of life's greatest training experiences
“I believe that cold calling is one of life's greatest trainings.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
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.”
Insight
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 …”
Insight
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”
Insight
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.”
Disclosure
Sara Blakely Confirms She Still Owns 100 Percent of Spanx
“Yes.”
Insight
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 …”
Insight
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…”
Assertion Contradicted
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.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
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…”
Insight
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,”
Insight
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.”
Assertion Supported
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.”
Assertion Supported
Blakely: Sold 8,000 pairs of Spanx during first five minutes on QVC
“And they gave me five minutes of air time, And I sold 8000 pair of Spanx in five minutes.”
Assertion Supported
Oprah named Spanx a favorite product weeks after Blakely quit her job
“I quit my job on October 16th, and Oprah called me in the beginning of November. And chose Spanx as her favorite product of the year.”
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
The first Spanx homepage was a scanned color copy for 18 months
“I actually took a color copy of the packaging I'd created on my friend's computer and scanned it, and that was the home page of my website for a year and a half.”
Insight
Blakely Found a Market Gap Between Thongs and Thick Girdles
“Regular underwear left a panty line, The thong wasn't a great solution. It also left marks that you could see, and then the shapewear was so, it was like the girdles were so thick and overdone, and I saw an opportunity for something right in the middle that wo…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Blakely Started Spanx With $5,000 Saved From Selling Fax Machines
“I had set aside 5000 dollars in savings from selling fax machines door to door, and that's what I started Spanx with.”
Sara Blakely