Sara Blakely- Creator of Spanx

Sara Blakely was born on February 21, 1971, in Clearwater, Florida, U.S. Sara Blakely is an American inventor and entrepreneur who created Spanx, a brand of body-slimming women’s undergarments. The company, Spanx was founded in the year 2012 and the woman behind it became the world’s youngest female self-made billionaire.

Blakely got graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor’s degree in communications. She subsequently experienced various jobs before becoming first a salesperson and then a national sales trainer at the office-supply company Danka.

Blakely felt the requirement of undergarment that was undetectable beneath her clothing, comfortable, make her look slimmer, and could be worn with open-toed shoes, she cut the feet off a pair of pantyhose and made a new invention.

In 2000 Blakely invested $5,000 from her personal savings to market her invention. She devoted nights to researching fabric types, patents, and trademark designs. She chose a playfully endearing product name, “Spanx,” and logo, a young blonde woman modeled on her.

Oprah Winfrey promoted Spanx on her popular nationally syndicated television talk show. Thereafter, sales touched the sky, and the Blakely rapidly built an empire. Her salesmanship was accompanied by her barefaced showmanship.

She bring out increased attention to Spanx when she appeared as a contestant on the 2004–05 reality television program Rebel Billionaire. Blakely stood second but impressed Branson enough that the host rewarded her with $750,000; with this money, she established the Sara Blakely Foundation, a philanthropic organization providing scholarships and grants to aspiring female entrepreneurs.

Subsequent media appearances stimulated increased sales, and by the end of the decade's annual sales, Spanx had reached hundreds of millions of dollars. In early 2012 the company, Blakely was the sole owner, was valued at $1 billion.

3 years later she was counted among a group of investors who purchased the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association. In 2021 the investment firm Blackstone obtained a majority stake in Spanx. Being a part of the deal, which was valued at around $1.2 billion, Blakely became executive chairwoman.

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Sara Blakely- Creator of Spanx

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