What they do:
Footless pantyhose and body slimming undergarments.
Inspiration:
Sara Blakely was getting ready for a party, put on some white pants, and didn’t have the shapely smooth lines she wanted. Rather than switch to black – she grabbed control top pantyhose and cut off the feet. She loved it, and knew others would too.
About the business:
Blakely called it SPANX She researched and wrote a patent for her footless pantyhose and with $5,000 in savings, she rode around begging mill owners to make her product. Only one said yes to her crazy idea, but it only takes one. By 2001, SPANX moved out of Blakely’s apartment and into a real office in Decatur, GA. By 2008, sales were an estimated $350 million.
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