Sara Blakely
Born 1971 · Age 54
American businesswoman and philanthropist. Founder of Spanx, minority owner of the Atlanta Hawks, and philanthropist through the Sara Blakely Foundation.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Clearwater, Florida
Sara Treleaven Blakely born to Ellen (née Ford) and John Blakely in Clearwater, Florida.
Graduated Clearwater High School (approx.)
Attended and graduated from Clearwater High School (year estimated based on birth year).
Graduated Florida State University
Earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Florida State University; member of Delta Delta Delta sorority.
Short stint at Walt Disney World
Worked for three months at Walt Disney World after abandoning law-school plans (due to LSAT results); also performed occasional stand-up comedy at the time.
Joined Danka, selling fax machines door-to-door
Accepted a job with office-supply company Danka, selling fax machines door-to-door — the start of her sales career.
Promoted to National Sales Trainer at Danka
Promoted at age 25 to national sales trainer at Danka, reflecting early sales success.
Relocated to Atlanta and began Spanx R&D
At age 27 moved to Atlanta and began researching and developing her hosiery idea while still working at Danka.
Invested personal savings into concept
Spent approximately $5,000 of personal savings researching fabrics, patents and prototypes for footless control-top hosiery (Spanx concept).
Traveled to North Carolina hosiery mills; initial rejection
Drove to North Carolina hosiery mills to pitch her idea; initially turned away by multiple mills accustomed to established clients.
Found mill partner in Asheboro, NC
Two weeks after returning from North Carolina, a mill operator in Asheboro agreed to produce her concept after encouragement from his daughters.
Paid attorney $750 to finalize patent application
Hired a patent attorney who agreed to assist for $750 to finalize and submit her patent application to the USPTO.
Purchased 'Spanx' trademark
Purchased the 'Spanx' trademark via the USPTO website using her credit card for $150.
Placed Spanx alongside shoes in retail — marketing decision
Chose to merchandise Spanx alongside shoes in department stores rather than in traditional hosiery sections — early product positioning strategy.
Spanx placed in Neiman Marcus stores after bathroom demo
Secured sales placement in seven Neiman Marcus stores after personally demonstrating the product in a ladies' restroom to a buyer.
Oprah names Spanx a 'Favorite Thing'
Oprah Winfrey featured Spanx on her 'Favorite Things' list in November, massively increasing the brand's visibility and sales.
Signed contract with QVC
Signed a sales/promotion contract with home shopping channel QVC to expand reach.
First-year sales milestone: $4M
Spanx achieved approximately $4 million in sales in its first year after launch.
Second-year sales milestone: $10M
Spanx achieved approximately $10 million in sales in its second year.
Contestant on 'The Rebel Billionaire' (season 2004–05)
Competed on Richard Branson's reality series; she placed second and impressed Branson, further raising her profile.
Received $750,000 gift from Richard Branson
At the conclusion of 'The Rebel Billionaire', Richard Branson gave Blakely $750,000 to support philanthropic efforts and entrepreneurship.
Foundation-funded scholarships in South Africa
The Sara Blakely Foundation funded scholarships for young women at the Community and Individual Development Association City Campus in South Africa.
Launched the Sara Blakely Foundation
Founded the Sara Blakely Foundation to support education and entrepreneurial training for women; funded via Branson's gift and her own contributions.
Donated $1M to Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls
Appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2006 and donated $1 million to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.
Judge on ABC's 'American Inventor' (approx.)
Served as one of the judges on ABC's reality series 'American Inventor' alongside other notable figures (date approx. mid-2000s).
Married Jesse Itzler
Married entrepreneur Jesse Itzler, co-founder of Marquis Jet; the couple later had four children.
Spanx annual sales reach 'hundreds of millions' (end of decade)
By the end of the 2000s, Spanx's annual sales had grown to the 'hundreds of millions' range, marking major company scale-up.
Public discussions of business and innovation
Gave interviews and talks describing her product development process and the male-dominated hosiery manufacturing landscape (notable public profile growth).
Featured on Forbes cover as youngest self-made female billionaire
Appeared on the cover of Forbes as the youngest self-made female billionaire; Spanx valued at roughly $1 billion (company sole-owned by Blakely at that time per sources).
Named on Time's '100 Most Influential People'
Included in Time magazine's 'Time 100' list of most influential people in the world (2012).
Spanx reported as sole-owned and valued at ~$1B (public reporting)
Sources reported that in early 2012/2013 Spanx — sole-owned by Blakely — had reached a valuation around $1 billion, underpinning her billionaire status.
Public philanthropy and world-record anecdote noted
Reported as a Guinness World Record holder for climbing the side of a hot air balloon and having tea on top (reported on biographical sites; date not specified in sources).
Publicly stated ambition to design comfortable high-heel shoe
Expressed personal ambition to design 'the world's most comfortable high-heel shoe' prior to retirement (October 2013 interview/coverage).
Joined the Giving Pledge
Became the first female billionaire to sign the Giving Pledge, committing to donate at least half her wealth.
Listed #93 on Forbes' Most Powerful Women
Ranked 93rd most powerful woman in the world by Forbes in 2014.
Spanx CEO steps down (company leadership change reported)
Reports indicate a Spanx CEO stepped down in February 2014; signals company leadership transition (Blakely remained founder/owner).
Listed among most powerful women (Forbes)
Re-iteration: In 2014 Forbes listed her as the 93rd most powerful woman globally (corroborates earlier award entry).
Purchased minority stake in Atlanta Hawks
Sara Blakely and husband Jesse Itzler were part of a group led by Tony Ressler that purchased the Atlanta Hawks NBA franchise for $850 million; Blakely is a minority owner.
Guest investor on Shark Tank (seasons 9–10)
Appeared as a guest investor on several episodes across seasons 9 and 10 of Shark Tank.
Cameo on Billions (Season 3, Episode 12)
Made a brief cameo appearance as herself in the TV series Billions, episode 'Elmsley Count'.
Active public profile and speaking engagements
Continued to appear at conferences and summits (e.g., Forbes events) sharing lessons from scaling Spanx and philanthropy (ongoing through 2019–2021).
Purchased Olivia Newton-John's Grease pants at auction
Paid $162,500 at auction for Olivia Newton-John's black pants from Grease; proceeds benefited Newton-John's cancer treatment center.
Pledged $5M to female-run small businesses (COVID-19 relief)
Pledged $5 million to support female-run small businesses negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Forbes estimates post-deal net worth ~$1.3B
Forbes estimated Sara Blakely's net worth at approximately $1.3 billion following the Blackstone majority-stake transaction.
Employee gifts following Blackstone transaction
To celebrate the Blackstone deal, Blakely gave each of her roughly 750 employees $10,000 in cash and permitted them to buy two first-class plane tickets to any destination.
Blackstone buys majority stake in Spanx; company valued $1.2B
Private equity firm The Blackstone Group acquired a majority stake in Spanx, valuing the company at approximately $1.2 billion; Blakely retained executive chairwoman role.
Retained role: Executive Chairwoman of Spanx
Following the private-equity transaction, Blakely retained an executive leadership role as Executive Chairwoman of Spanx.
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