logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2018
40m 16s

How to find your big idea, w/Spanx's Sar...

Waitwhat
About this episode
How to find your big idea? Look for it. And look for it. And be ready to act. Spanx founder Sara Blakely was actively seeking a business idea when she thought of Spanx (she shares a never-fail technique). Then she moved fast, found help in the right places, and went all-in. The result: A billion-dollar company and women's wardrobes transformed.. With cameos ... Show More
Up next
Aug 25
Ford's Jim Farley on beating China, and the storm nobody sees coming
With the ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz and fuel prices still elevated, few auto executives are feeling the pressure more acutely than Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley. He joins Rapid Response to give a candid account of what the turmoil means for the auto industry, ... Show More
28m 23s
Aug 20
How Barnes & Noble made a comeback, with CEO James Daunt
CEO James Daunt has now rescued two iconic bookstore chains: Barnes & Noble and Waterstones. He joins host Jeff Berman to discuss the turnarounds, plus how bookstores are preparing for an onslaught of AI-written content, his BookTok strategy, and why local control is the key to m ... Show More
32m 54s
Aug 18
What the jobs report isn't telling you about AI & the workforce, with Upwork’s Hayden Brown
Few leaders have a better real-time read on how AI is actually reshaping the workforce than Hayden Brown. As CEO of Upwork, the platform where 18 million freelancers meet the businesses that need them, she sees what the monthly jobs report can't: which skills are surging, which j ... Show More
30m 3s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2024
From Fax Machines to Fortune: Sarah Blakely's Billion-Dollar Spanx Revolution | Sarah Blakely EP 705
tail spinning
8m 41s
Sep 2016
Spanx: Sara Blakely
At 27, Sara Blakely was selling fax machines and desperate to reinvent her life. So she came up with Spanx — hosiery that eliminates panty lines — and set to work building her business. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19 ... Show More
26m 1s
Jul 2017
Spanx: Sara Blakely (2017)
We're hard at work planning our upcoming live shows, so we bring you this favorite from the last year: Spanx. At 27, Sara Blakely was selling fax machines and desperate to reinvent her life. So she came up with Spanx — hosiery that eliminates panty lines — and set to work buildin ... Show More
29m 28s
Feb 2024
How to take your good idea to the next level
You have a fantastic idea, but you're going to need help with execution. Thankfully, that’s what your network is for. In this week’s episode, a listener who developed her own pilates equipment business comes to Anne and Frances for advice on how to turn a successful product into ... Show More
31 m
Mar 2025
Spanx vs Skims | Not Your Grandmother’s Girdle | 1
In 1998, a young office equipment sales rep named Sara Blakely can’t find anything to wear under a pair of tight fitting white pants. Everything she tries on makes her feel unattractive. In a moment of inspiration, she cuts off the feet of a pair of pantyhose, saving the outfit a ... Show More
41m 34s
Mar 2025
Spanx vs Skims | Not Your Grandmother’s Girdle | 1
In 1998, a young office equipment sales rep named Sara Blakely can’t find anything to wear under a pair of tight fitting white pants. Everything she tries on makes her feel unattractive. In a moment of inspiration, she cuts off the feet of a pair of pantyhose, saving the outfit a ... Show More
41m 34s
Oct 2020
7 Tips for Building a 7-Figure Business
<p>In this episode, you'll learn from an entrepreneur who built her business from a personal need by creating stylish blue light glasses that merge fashion with function. Klassy Network since expanded to clothing and accessories. </p><p>For more on Klassy Network and show notes: ... Show More
52m 47s
Dec 2019
Live From The HIBT Summit: Sara Blakely Of Spanx
Our first episode from the 2019 <em>How I Built This </em>Summit features Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx. In front of a live audience, she tells Guy how she stayed confident in the earliest days of building the business, and why one day she still wound up sobbing on the floor of ... Show More
19m 53s
Mar 2025
Women in Business
tail spinning
53m 1s