Last Thursday, Startup Grind Washington DC in collaboration with DC Chamber of Commerce and DigitalDC had the extreme honor of hosting the legendary Daymond John, the creator of FUBU (For Us By Us) one of the key components to the highly successful show Shark Tank! Mr. John provided the crowd with plenty of insight, and a lot of cheeky humor for good measure.
Before becoming a world revered business man Mr. John was just a young lad finding his way around his hometown of Queens, NY. The product of a single mother John had an entrepreneurial spirit early on. In 1989 he came up with the concept to create a fashion line. Using the $100,000 mortgaged from his mother's house he turned his place into a makeshift clothing factory. Soon fellow Queens natives and musical luminaries such as MC Lyte and LL Cool J started wearing the apparel and before you know it FUBU became a phenomenon and made Daymond John as force to be reckoned with in the fashion world with $6 billion in global sales. After over a decade in business Mr. John joined the show Shark Tank where he gives advice as well as financial assistance to budding business owners trying to make their voice as well as their brand known.
During the chat with DC native and former navy seal officer Harry Wingo (CEO of DC Chamber of Commerce), Daymond spoke about his beginning as a fashion maven and ending up as what could be considered a renaissance man.
Daymond began saying, "my first piece of advice is that success is not money" and emphasized that before anybody starts a business, they need to take inventory of themselves by knowing who you are and what you are good at. He knew that he didn't want to start something new, he just wanted to "create another way of doing something well". In fact, Daymond's original dream was to get a little boutique for FUBU. But soon after realized he needed more capital to grow his burgeoning enterprise and mortgaged his home with his mother. He grew the brand to spectacular heights where it pervaded even his own neighborhood. He reminiscently said, "I was simply proud to just see someone wearing something I made walking down the street...but I quickly realized then I didn’t just sell tshirts, I sold a movement!"
Also, one part that stood out for the audience was what he called "The Cupcake Theory". Daymond gave a scenario of someone getting a huge loan, opening a cupcake eatery, and failing not long after as oppose to someone selling cupcakes from their kitchen and thriving. He explained to the audience that it is best to start with a grassroots approach for success rather than from the top. He warned to not take too much money early, but instead learn how to cold brand and grow organically. Also he added, "a big reason why people fail is due to overfunding and always look to scale your business." He stressed that your assets feed you and your liabilities eat you, as he learned when starting a music label that burned $5 million in sunken costs and almost bankrupt him. He said, "if you're not making a lot of mistakes, you're not making a lot of moves, but learn to make your mistakes small."
He also gave insightful nuggets on topics such as mentorship and pitching a brand. For those who want to pitch on Shark Tank, he said the best pitch is always answering 'what's in it for me?'".
Intelligent, fearless, and extremely gracious it's no wonder Daymond John has lasted over 20 years in business. He is definitely a person to admire and inspire to be for years to come!!!
WRITTEN BY TIMEKA COBB (GUEST CONTRIBUTOR)