Spanx

Sara Blakely

Five thousand dollars, no investors, and she wrote her own patent to save the legal fees.

A useful corrective to the belief that you need permission, a network or funding to start.

1. You can start with very little.

   Five thousand dollars of savings and no outside investment. The barrier is usually smaller than the story about the barrier.

2. Learn the specialist thing yourself.

   She researched and drafted the patent herself because a lawyer was unaffordable. Expertise is often purchasable with time instead of money.

3. Cold contact works if you are specific.

   She called hosiery mills until one said yes. Most said no. The yes only needed to happen once.

4. Sell it in person at the start.

   She demonstrated the product to buyers directly. Nobody sells a new category from behind an email.

5. Being outside the industry helps.

   No background in fashion or manufacturing meant no inherited assumptions about what was impossible.

6. Name it so people remember it.

   She thought carefully about the name and the packaging standing out on a shelf. Distinctiveness is a decision.

7. Keep control while you can.

   Bootstrapping for years meant the choices stayed hers. Optionality is worth more than acceleration early on.

8. Reframe failure as attempts.

   She has spoken about being raised to treat not-trying as the failure. It is a practical stance, not a slogan.

9. Solve a problem you have personally.

   The product came from her own wardrobe frustration. First-hand irritation is a reliable source of ideas.

10. Under-capitalised is not under-equipped.

    No investors meant slower growth and complete ownership. That is a trade, and it is often the right one.