A recap with Sara Blakely, Founder, SPANX and Kathy Elsesser, Global Chair of...
Founder & CEO of SPANX
Atlanta, GA, USA
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Sara Blakely BiographySara Blakely wanted footless body-shaping pantyhose to wear with her cream-colored pants and open-toed shoes, but she couldn't find them anywhere. As a frustrated consumer turned entrepreneur, Blakely took $5,000 in savings and began her adventure in the $2 billion male-dominated hosiery industry.
Two years later, with her first pair of patented footless pantyhose in hand, Blakely cold-called and landed the top retail stores across the country. Selling over 50,000 pair in its first three months from the back of her apartment, Blakelys SPANX revitalized an industry in a ten-year slump. Her SPANX footless pantyhose even captured the attention of Oprah and landed on The Oprah Winfrey Shows Favorite Things list.
Concerned with creating comfortable, slimming garments that minimize figure flaws, Blakely reinvented shape wear with innovative designs and smart features which won the hearts of fashion-loving women from Oprah Winfrey to Gwyneth Paltrow. SPANX has developed and launched more than 60 styleswith names like Bra-llelujah, Two Timin Tights, Power Panties, and Slim-Cognitoall designed to be innovative, comfortable, slimming, and stylish.
Blakely appeared on Foxsetting daring world-records, meeting Nelson Mandela, and leading successful business challengesas a cast member on The Rebel Billionaire: Bransons Quest for the Best. As the first runner-up, she received a $750,000 check from Richard Branson to pursue her dream to start a foundation to empower women, The Sara Blakely Foundation.
Remaining self-funded and profitable ever since Blakely started the company, SPANX continues to show increasing profits, celebrating more than $100 million in retail sales in 2006. SPANX are sold in Americas finest upscale stores and boutiques in the US, including Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, and Parisian, as well as upscale boutiques and retailers in Canada and the UK. In 2012, Forbes announced that Sara Blakely is the youngest self-made female billionaire.
As the leader of the shape wear revolution, Blakely wanted to find a way to share her slimming secrets with even more women. With the launch of ASSETS by Sara Blakely, a new brand exclusive to Target, the shape wear revolution will reach new heights, giving better underwear options to women everywhereand giving back. A portion of each ASSETS purchase will go to The Sara Blakely Foundation, dedicated to supporting and empowering women around the world. In 2007, Blakely donated $1 million to The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation.
Sara Blakelys story and SPANX products have been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, Forbes, E!, and Glamourto Vogue, People, InStyle, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, WWD, and USA Today. Sara has been named Ernst & Youngs Southeast Regional Entrepreneur of the Year and Georgias Woman of the Year.
Sara Blakely, Founder and CEO, Spanx
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Founder & CEO of SPANX
Sara Blakely wanted footless body-shaping pantyhose to wear with her cream-colored pants and open-toed shoes, but she couldn't find them anywhere. As a frustrated consumer turned entrepreneur, Blakely took $5,000 in savings and began her adventure in the $2 billion male-dominated hosiery industry.
Two years later, with her first pair of patented footless pantyhose in hand, Blakely cold-called and landed the top retail stores across the country. Selling over 50,000 pair in its first three months from the back of her apartment, Blakelys SPANX revitalized an industry in a ten-year slump. Her SPANX footless pantyhose even captured the attention of Oprah and landed on The Oprah Winfrey Shows Favorite Things list.
Concerned with creating comfortable, slimming garments that minimize figure flaws, Blakely reinvented shape wear with innovative designs and smart features which won the hearts of fashion-loving women from Oprah Winfrey to Gwyneth Paltrow. SPANX has developed and launched more than 60 styleswith names like Bra-llelujah, Two Timin Tights, Power Panties, and Slim-Cognitoall designed to be innovative, comfortable, slimming, and stylish.
Blakely appeared on Foxsetting daring world-records, meeting Nelson Mandela, and leading successful business challengesas a cast member on The Rebel Billionaire: Bransons Quest for the Best. As the first runner-up, she received a $750,000 check from Richard Branson to pursue her dream to start a foundation to empower women, The Sara Blakely Foundation.
Remaining self-funded and profitable ever since Blakely started the company, SPANX continues to show increasing profits, celebrating more than $100 million in retail sales in 2006. SPANX are sold in Americas finest upscale stores and boutiques in the US, including Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, and Parisian, as well as upscale boutiques and retailers in Canada and the UK. In 2012, Forbes announced that Sara Blakely is the youngest self-made female billionaire.
As the leader of the shape wear revolution, Blakely wanted to find a way to share her slimming secrets with even more women. With the launch of ASSETS by Sara Blakely, a new brand exclusive to Target, the shape wear revolution will reach new heights, giving better underwear options to women everywhereand giving back. A portion of each ASSETS purchase will go to The Sara Blakely Foundation, dedicated to supporting and empowering women around the world. In 2007, Blakely donated $1 million to The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation.
Sara Blakelys story and SPANX products have been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, Forbes, E!, and Glamourto Vogue, People, InStyle, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, WWD, and USA Today. Sara has been named Ernst & Youngs Southeast Regional Entrepreneur of the Year and Georgias Woman of the Year.
Sara Blakely is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics . The estimated speaking fee range to book Sara Blakely for your event is $100,000 - $200,000. Sara Blakely generally travels from Atlanta, GA, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Barbara Corcoran, Randi Zuckerberg, Tory Burch, Kathy Ireland and Sheryl Sandberg. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Sara Blakely for an upcoming event.
Anna Phillips founded The Lash Lounge in Texas in 2006. After working in IT, Anna worked at Google as a massage therapist. It was here that she realized both ...
More billionaires showing their benevolence is a business trend we can get behind. Nine new wealthy donors and their families signed on to the Giving Pledge ...
Watch the full interview on "Fareed Zakaria GPS," this Sunday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET on CNN If you think the American dream is dead, just meet Sara Blakely.
Sara Blakely, founder of shapewear brand Spanx, has become the first female billionaire to join the Giving Pledge. She has vowed to give half her wealth to ...
Sara Blakely made history in 2012, becoming the youngest self-made woman to join Forbes' Billionaire's List. Now, she scores another "first": she's joined Bill ...
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This website is a resource for event professionals and strives to provide the most comprehensive catalog of thought leaders and industry experts to consider for speaking engagements. A listing or profile on this website does not imply an agency affiliation or endorsement by the talent.
All American Entertainment (AAE) exclusively represents the interests of talent buyers, and does not claim to be the agency or management for any speaker or artist on this site. AAE is a talent booking agency for paid events only. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information.
If you are the talent, and wish to request removal from this catalog or report an issue with your profile, please click here.
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