Sara Blakely originally intended to study law. She chose not to pursue a legal career, however, because she received a low score on the Law School Admission Test. After that, she spent three months working at Walt Disney World in Florida. Later, she went door-to-door for the supply firm Danka to sell fax machines. At the age of 25, she was given the position of national sales trainer. At the age of 27, she moved to Atlanta, Georgia. She kept working for Danka and accrued $5,000 in savings. At the time, she was doing research and creating her hosiery idea. She then took a car trip to North Carolina to tell hosiery factories about her proposal. Every business she went to rejected her. She received a call from a male mill owner in Asheboro, North Carolina, who backed Blakely’s plan.
She eventually produced the first prototype of the product. In order to complete her application before submitting it to the USPTO, she went back to a patent attorney later. The man agreed to help her in exchange for $750. She then began to work on the product’s packaging. She paid $150 for the “Spanx” trademark on the USPTO website using her credit card. Her product was offered in seven Neiman Marcus stores after she spoke with executives of the Neiman Marcus Group. She had changed into the invention in the women’s restroom to demonstrate its advantages. She also sent a basket of goods and a gift card explaining her development efforts to Oprah Winfrey’s television show. Sales of Spanx increased after Winfrey listed them as one of her “Favorite Things” in November 2000.
Blakely quit her job at Danka. $4 million in sales were made by Spanx in its first year. In the second year, $10 million was reached. In 2001, she secured a contract with QVC, a home shopping network. She wanted to create the most comfortable high-heel shoe in the entire globe. In 2005, she came in second place on The Rebel Billionaire, where she first met Richard Branson. She saw Richard as a mentor. She served as one of the judges on the reality competition show American Inventor on ABC. Throughout multiple episodes of Shark Tank’s seasons 9 and 10, she appeared as a guest investor. She made a fleeting guest appearance in a Billions episode from season three. In October 2021, she sold a majority share in Spanx to Blackstone. She gave her staff members $10,000 apiece to use for travel as part of the celebration.
