Blake Mycoskie started Toms Shoes with a simple idea: sell a pair, give a pair. It began as a fun little side hustle out of his apartment but ballooned into a half-a-billion-dollar-a-year company that has donated tens of millions of shoes to children in need.
More recently, he co-founded a company called Madefor. It’s a subscription model where users get a kit in the mail every 30 days with literature and tools that help them adopt healthy habits of body and mind.
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Early on in his entrepreneurial career, Blake learned a critical business lesson. “If you do good, if you really empower your customers to feel like they’re part of something, they will do the marketing for you; and that’s way more cost-effective than any paid advertising you can do. And I think that’s why Toms grew so fast and we made so much money,” he told Ed Mylett in an interview.
Growing up, Blake described himself as a very driven, highly-competitive tennis player. He started playing at age 10. By 15, he was one of the best players in the country. He actually moved away from his family to live and train at a tennis academy. He went to college on a tennis scholarship. Sophomore year, he had a bad injury to his achilles tendon. Unable to carry his laundry down to the facility because of a full leg cast and crutches, he was inspired to start a mobile laundry service. Boom. Blake’s business journey had started. He dropped out of college and never played tennis again.
Nevertheless, his sports background laid the foundation for future business success. One example: despite being a poor public speaker, Blake would travel from city to city talking to anyone who would listen about the mission of Toms Shoes. He was relentless. Obnoxiously consistent. And of course, with repetition came mastery. This is why Blake tends to hire former athletes and ex-military. He knows their focus, discipline, and self-reliance is on another level.
After selling 50% of Toms Shoes to Bain Capital, Blake got a $350 million dollar wire transfer. This man had it all. Wealth, freedom, purpose, a wife and two kids. Yet, somehow, after all this, Blake finds himself depressed. Unable to get out of bed. The shame of feeling sorry for himself, knowing people would kill to have his life, was almost too much to bear.
Eventually he meets a former Navy SEAL, Pat Dossett, whose passion it was to help people live their best life. Pat suggested Blake meet with scientists to figure out why, despite seemingly having it all, he was still so unhappy. This led to two years of research and learning about how things like your hydration level, sleep quality, gratitude rituals, and more, all contribute to your overall well-being. Naturally, after Blake lifted himself out of his funk with this newfound knowledge, he partnered with Pat to bring it to the masses. And that’s how Madefor was born.
Regarding Blake Mycoskie’s net worth
Today, Blake Mycoskie has a net worth that is approximately $300 million dollars. This, according to Celebrity Net Worth. For more on his money situation, plus spine tingling stories from the early days of Toms Shoes, the video that follows is must-see.
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