What To Do With Ideas That Everyone Laughs At

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Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS shoes, refers to himself as the “Chief Shoe Giver”. TOMS’ simple promise to give a pair of new shoes to children in need around the world with every pair sold is revolutionizing the way consumers shop.

As awesome and successful as TOMS shoes is, it wasn’t always this way. In the beginning, Blake was laughed at…repeatedly. After returning from a trip to Argentina, he was moved emotionally and intellectually to start a for-profit business that would help change the world. But when he would explain his “One for One” business model to others, he was ridiculed.

Laughter and ridicule didn’t stop Blake Mycoskie…

“Through TOMS, Mycoskie shows that entrepreneurs no longer have to choose between earning money and making a difference in the world. Profitability is achievable with a giving-based business. TOMS proves that conscious capitalism is a viable business model for innovators worldwide, and entrepreneurs can focus on being ambassadors of humanity.” – TOMSshoes.com

A few weeks ago Blake spoke at the University of Missouri – Columbia. Mark and Travis attended and shot the unofficial video below. You can hear at 13:00 minutes we were asked to turn it off. It was all good though. TOMS allowed us 13 awesome minutes in hopes that you’ll find it interesting and get the uber-produced DVD of the documentary film, For Tomorrow: The TOMS Shoes Story.

Blake is truly inspiring and a serial entrepreneur. He started and sold multiple businesses before starting TOMS, and was a contestant on the Amazing Race…losing the 1-million dollar prize by only 4 minutes. Ouch!!!

For the rest of the story, get the DVD: For Tomorrow: The TOMS Shoes Story

We had a chance to catch Blake after his talk. One of our favorite questions to ask successful entrepreneurs is: “What’s your favorite book?”. Blake’s answer – “Losing My Virginity” by Richard Branson.

Photo op:

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