Blake Mycoskie went to Argentina, saw kids without shoes, and came back to start a company. That's the TOMS origin story and yeah it really is that simple. The model was one-for-one: buy a pair of shoes and the company donates a pair to a kid in need. It sounds almost too idealistic to work, but it worked.
He founded TOMS in 2006 and the concept took off in a way that nobody expected. The slip-on shoes became a cultural thing, almost like a statement. By the time the numbers were tallied, TOMS had donated over 100 million pairs of shoes to kids in more than 70 countries. Mycoskie essentially proved that you could build a real, profitable business around a social mission. A lot of companies have tried to copy that model since.
Before TOMS, he was already an entrepreneur. He'd started multiple businesses and actually appeared on The Amazing Race, so the guy was never sitting still. But TOMS is what put him on the map. He wrote a book about it called "Start Something That Matters" which is a pretty good summary of his whole philosophy.
As a guest shark on Shark Tank, Blake brings a perspective that none of the other sharks really have. He's less focused on pure margins and more interested in whether a business can do something meaningful while still making money. If your company has a social impact angle, he's probably the one leaning forward in his chair.
Worth noting:
- Founded TOMS Shoes in 2006 with the one-for-one giving model
- TOMS has donated over 100 million pairs of shoes worldwide
- Author of "Start Something That Matters"
- Pioneered the buy-one-give-one business model that many companies now follow