On Pantyhose, Taxi Cabs, and Billions
Don't Beat the Competition—Make It Obsolete
In 1993, a young woman in Florida was selling fax machines door-to-door. She had to wear pantyhose—a dress code her employer enforced.
She didn’t like the panty lines or the seam that showed through her open-toed shoes. In the heat and humidity of Florida, she tried to find pantyhose that did not have seamed toes, and that did not roll up the leg after she cut them.
She failed but saw it as an opportunity. She moved to Atlanta and invested her $5000 life savings to create the first prototype of what would later become Spanx. It made the woman, Sara Blakely, a self-made billionaire.
Spanx is a privately owned company, but in 2021, Blackstone bought a majority stake in Spanx, valuing it at $1.2 bln.
Love your problems — they might spark businesses, disruptive strategies, or, at the very least, blues songs.
Sara Blakely created a new market niche, but not a new market. The difference is that a new market is harder to build but easier to protect.
Magic Nine
Nine cha…