BLAKE MYCOSKIE  

Submi'ed  by  Sonali  Dhasmana,  MUM13MD35  

1   Background

•  Born: August 26, 1976, Arlington, Texas •  Parents: Mike Mycoskie, an orthopedic surgeon, and Pam

Mycoskie, an author. •  High school: St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Austin in 1994.

Initially a tennis player since the age of 10, attended Southern Methodist University on a partial tennis scholarship in 1995, and elected a dual major in philosophy and business. After an Achilles tendon injury he sustained as a sophomore ended his tennis career whereupon he turned into a serial entrepreneur.

TOMS

1995

2001

2005

2006

2008

2010

2013

2011

EZ Laundry, 1995

Mycoskie Media, 2001

Amazing race 2, 2002

Reality Central, 2003

DriversEd Direct, 2005

TOMS, Jan 2006

Ralph Lauren, 2008

Store American Rag displays shoes, 2006 Article in Los Angeles Times, 2006

10,000 shoe sold, Sept 2006 - VOGUE

AT&T Advertisement, 2008

Water for people, 2013

Seva, 2011

Start Something That Matters, 2011

ODWS – one day without shoes

25 mil shoes

The Product

The shoe was a local design called alpargata made of thick canvas, comfortable, simple to create and was already being used by local farmers. After many experimentations the first design of the shoe was created as the TOMS shoe.

1995 – After an Achilles tendon injury Mycoskie left SMU and launched his first business, 1EZ Laundry generating close to $1 million in sales. Mycoskie sold the company to his partner in 1999. 2001 – Founded 2Mycoskie Media an outdoor billboard company focusing on country music. Sold to Clear Channel nine months after its launch.

2002 – Took part in reality show Amazing race 2. Came in third.

2003 – started a reality channel by the name of 3Reality Central but was outbid by FOX reality channel for advertising and programming. Closed down in 2005. 2005 – In collaboration with TrafficSchool.com created 4DriversEd Direct, a technological solution to teach teenagers how to drive. For its promotion created 5Closer Marketing Group.

Early Years

2   Introduction to venture

Jan 2006 – On vacation in Argentina where as a part of his volunteer work met a woman who was a part of an organization which was providing shoes to children. Inspired, he returned to US. Sold DriversEd and went back to Argentina and created 6TOMS. According to Blake “ (due to) the driver-education business, I didn’t have a great deal of time to devote to hawking shoes”

In 2006 Blake was on holiday in Argentina when he saw small children with no shoes. He wanted to help them. He had an Argentinian friend by the name of Alejo, his polo teacher with whom he started search for a shoemaker. Most of whom booted them out. They had already started to work out of Alejo’s Barn. Then with $5000, the first 250 pairs were created. These shoes he took to America and told the story to his group of friends in a get-together who loved the story and TOMS shoe was born.

“decided to test the durability of the outsole material we were using. I would put on our prototypes and drag my feet along the concrete streets of Buenos Aires with Alejo walking beside me.” Excerpt From: Mycoskie, Blake. “Start Something That Matters.”

Based on One for One business model, Tomorrows shoes or TOMS is a for-profit business wherein when one person purchases a pair of shoes, the company donates one pair to under-privileged children. Ensures constant flow of shoes.

•  Vogue

American Rag the first store which displayed TOMS shoes based on just its story.

Early 2006 •  Booth Moore, the fashion writer for the Los Angeles

Times heard the story, interviewed Blake and wrote an article about the story.

On the day the article was published, 2,200 orders for the shoes had been placed. Sudden high demand but no Merchandise. Emergency interns were hired who called the customers individually for any cancellations. Result: no. of cancellations - 1

September 2006 – 10,000 shoes (out of a studio apartment) milestone had crossed when Vogue approached Blake for a spread in their magazine.

Ralph Lauren in spring 2008 created a line of limited edition TOMS featuring special prints and patterns. (one MATCH RUGBY shirt, one pair of TOMS shoes , and one FEED bag)

“…Nordstrom, Whole Foods, and Urban Outfitters. Soon, celebrities like Keira Knightley, Scarlett Johansson, and Tobey Maguire were spotted around town wearing TOMS.” Excerpt From: Mycoskie, Blake. “Start Something That Matters.”

Keira Knightley in TOMS shoes

2008 – Blake Mycoskie shot a television interview for LXTV which was picked up by AT&T (telecom company), who approached TOMS and an advertisement was created in Argentina. 2010 - Created another advertisement with Blake Mycoskie on one millionth pair shoe drop.

2011 •  Released book Start Something That Matters by Blake

Mycoskie. •  ODWS – One Day Without shoes, encourage people to

feel what children of Argentina, Ethiopia and Africa are feeling everyday.

•  Taking customers on Shoe Drops – Fifty trips with around 200 people.

3   Financial assistance

The first investment of $5000 was provided by Blake himself. However within few months the design became self sustainable because of its profit based setup. In part this was also helped by the ‘word of mouth’ advertisement that the company followed.

4   Product Diversification

Today TOMS is active in over 70 countries with Shoe, Sight and Water Giving strategies Events: Anybody can host an event with TOMS as central theme. The Host can purchase blank shoes and give them to the guests to decorate and colour.

Gift of Sight

Seva Foundation, 2011 TOMS’ Sight Giving Partner (and other partners), restores sight of one person on purchase of one eyewear through ‘sight-saving surgery, prescription glasses, or medical treatment’.

Gift of Water

Water For People, 2013 In 5 countries where coffee is created. ‘With every bag of coffee you purchase, TOMS will provide one week of clean water to a person in need. One for One.®’

Selling 1 bag of coffee beans = 140 litres to a person in need.

Acquisition by Bain International

August 2014 - Blake Mycoskie sold 50% of shares to Bain International for further diversification in Products. Currently TOMS shoes is estimated at $625 mil value.

5   P2P Marketing

The organisation believes in person to person advertising. The shoes are advertised as conversation starters – because of their unusual design. The cost of advertising is almost none which is where the profit margin comes in. Sold for $50 a pair, one more shoe is made out of the rest of the money and then taken to the children and is put on their feet by hand. (Drop off)

6   Why it is still a Success story

1.  Recognised supporters (customers) as potential advertisers. People believe word of mouth easily as compared to blatant advertising.

2.  Retained original members. 3.  Un-created hierarchies. 4.  Concentration on online selling rather than store – no

rents or upkeep of the store. 5.  Responsible Capitalism. 6.  Simple product with cultural connotations.

References

Mycoskie, B. (2011). Start something that matters. New York: Spiegel & Grau. toms.com/stories/category/giving, as sited on 6 September, 2014 toms.com/gift-of-water, as sited on 6 September, 2014 seva.org/site/PageServer, as sited on 6 September, 2014 Chassany, Anne-Sylvaine (August 21, 2014) Bain buys half of ethical shoemaker TOMS (E-news), link: ft.com/cms/s/0/1c72aa86-2945-11e4-baec-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3CibWptPw, as sited on 7 September, 2014 toms.com/stories/giving/expanding-one-for-one-to-coffee, as sited on 7 September, 2014 toms.com/blakes-bioas sited on 7 September, 2014 toms.com/stories/giving/a-giving-department-whats-that, as sited on 7 September, 2014 contest-corner.com/att-toms-shoes/, as sited on 7 September, 2014