Blake Mycoskie is the Founder and Chief Shoe Giver of TOMS, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Start Something That Matters, and a world renowned philanthropist. TOMS has given over 10 million pairs of new shoes to children in need since it began in 2006 through it's One for One program, where for every shoe sold they donate an additional shoe to children in need. Through the success of his company, they recently expanded its unique business model to include TOMS Eyewear. In 2009, Blake and TOMS received the Secretary of State’s 2009 Award of Corporate Excellence (ACE). At the Clinton Global Initiative University plenary session, former President Clinton introduced Blake to the audience as “one of the most interesting entrepreneurs (I’ve) ever met.”
In 2011, Blake was named on Fortune Magazine’s “40 Under 40” list, recognizing him as one of the top young businessmen in the world. In the following interview, he talks about the art of philanthropy, how he created TOMS, how they've used social networks effectively, why your company should be based off your passion and the impact he's seen on children he's helped.
Blake Mycoskie: Philanthropy is the foundation of TOMS and why we do what we do. We wouldn’t be able to exist without it. We created a model that would allow us to sustainably provide to those in need, whether it’s through a new pair of shoes or sight restoration.
Schawbel: How did you come up with the idea for your company and what were your original struggles with building it?
Mycoskie: While I was on vacation in Argentina in 2006, I met volunteer workers helping children get shoes by going around collecting donations. It was very obvious to me that these children needed shoes to go to school and to protect their feet, but I wanted to make sure the kids were going to get another pair of shoes when those shoes wore out, when they grew out of them. And so, I thought, if I can start a business that can sustain the giving, then I can feel comfortable that these kids will get the shoes that they need, over and over again. That really was the ah-ha moment for me. Most people look at problems in the third world and one word comes to mind: charity. But for me the word entrepreneurship came to mind. And that’s why I started TOMS as a for-profit business with our One for One model. I knew if we could get people to buy our shoes, and continue to buy our shoes, that we could sustain the giving and that would solve the issue that I saw in Argentina.
Some of the struggles I had to deal with in the beginning was people thinking I was crazy and that my business model wasn’t going to work. It didn’t help that I didn’t know much about the fashion, shoe, philanthropy industries but in a way it allowed me to think outside the box to get the most basic things done.
Schawbel: How have you, and Toms, used social networks to generate awareness and grow sales?
Mycoskie: Social media has become one of the biggest vehicles we use to communicate with our community. Through various channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter we have an audience of about 5.5M who we are able to communicate with on a daily basis. Whether it’s to share new product, photos from the most field, or what we’re up to HQ – we are constantly connected to our fans.
Schawbel: When starting a company, should it be based off of your passion or something that you don't like but will make money?
Mycoskie: I believe that it should be based off your passion – it proves to be a different type of motivation when you actually care about what you are doing vs. just doing it for the bottom line.
Schawbel: In what ways do you see the impact of giving free shoes to children?
Mycoskie: We constantly receive updates, photos, and stories from our 60 Giving Partners from around the world. We’ve seen children be able to go to school because they have the required black shoes for their uniform or other children kept safe from acquiring diseases by having shoes instead of going barefoot.
Dan Schawbel is a workplace speaker and the New York Times best-selling author of Promote Yourself. Subscribe to his free monthly newsletter for more career tips.
