the Informer

Appearing slightly unkempt in faded blue jeans and an old black and grey button down shirt, Blake Mycoskie, the 32-year-old entrepreneur and “chief shoe giver” behind TOMS Shoes, discussed his business philosophy of sustainability and a focus on giving to students and faculty.

In an event on Tuesday, April 6 at the university’s Lincoln Theater, Mycoskie told the story of how TOMS Shoes came to life. One area of sustainability he saw was in the way his customers were inspired by his shoes and the fact that when they bought one pair of TOMS shoes, one pair was given to a child who needed them.

He realized this after running into a girl in JFK Airport in New York who was so inspired by Mycoskie’s one-for-one business model that she knew his entire story and the history of TOMS Shoes.

Mycoskie saw that word of mouth and his customer’s enthusiasm for the product did more to sell the shoes than any ad campaign would.

“She may have talked to friends, or family, created a Facebook page, or tweeted about it,” he said. By carrying on the story of TOMS Shoes Mycoskie realized that his customers were the reason that he was selling so many pairs of shoes.

By incorporating giving into your business model, Mycoskie said you attract the most amazing employees.

Some of his current employees have come from major corporations such as Asics, Nike, Nordstroms, Martha Stewart and also from financial institutions such as Goldman & Sacks.

People want to be part of something, “not just a nine-to-five job, but a movement or a cause,” Mykoskie said.

What really took the fashion industry by storm for this fashion outsider was Mycoskie’s focus on giving.

His model for a one-for-one business was something completely new when he started the company in 2006.

After selling shoes to his friends and family, Mykoskie set out to sell his first 260 pairs of shoes with some help of a Los Angeles store manager who liked the shoes and his story.

Once the L.A. Times picked up on this new mix of charitable entrepreneurship, Mykoskie received so many orders through e-mail that his BlackBerry would not stop vibrating until the battery ran out.

“It just kept buzzing around the table,” he said. “By lunch time we had received 2,200 orders.”

After this he was featured in magazines such as Vogue, People and Time magazine.

Mykoskie has been dubbed a social entrepreneur as he has worked to bring new shoes to children in poor countries around the world. But it all started when he took a month long break in Argentina after establishing a business that taught online driver’s education.

“We were working 80 to 90 hours a week, all weekend trying to get our software working, and when it was running I needed a break,” he said.

During his stay in Argentina Mykoskie wanted to immerse himself in the culture and learned he was not good at dancing the Tango or the sport of Polo, but he did excel at one of the country’s other past-times: drinking wine.

After he met two English-speaking charity workers, Mykoskie had an idea. The workers were there handing out shoes to children and after accompanying them for two days Mykoskie felt he could use his knowledge of entrepreneurship to provide shoes for more children. This idea brought passion and excitement to his entrepreneurial spirit as he worked to establish contacts in Argentina.

The shoes that he started making are based on an Argentinean shoe design and are manufactured by Argentinean craftsmen and women. “We added a rubber sole and an insole that could make the arch proper,” he said.

After taking an extended stay in the country Mykoskie returned to the United States with a new venture in hand and was determined to provide shoes to people and, in turn, bring shoes back to the children of Argentina.

After a slow start in 2006 that included three interns, a duffel bag of shoes and an apartment that doubled as an office space, Mykoskie has now sold 600,000 pairs of shoes and expects to reach the one million mark in the next few months.

After his speech, Mykoskie gave advice to any entrepreneurs in the audience who wish to also make a difference. He told them to look for areas of cause and effect in their business.

“Look for areas where you can create a cause and effect,” he said.

Mykoskie’s speech was part of the Barney School’s Ellsworth Lecture program that promotes an awareness of and appreciation for the American business system on “Emerging Issues in Free Enterprise.”

For more information on TOMS Shoes go to www.toms.com.