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Making a do-gooder’s business model work
Blake Mycoskie, a former contestant on The Amazing Race, explains how he can give away a pair of shoes for every pair his company sells
The Entrepreneur: Blake Mycoskie, 32
Background: A self-described serial entrepreneur and inveterate traveler, Mycoskie’s ventures have ranged from a laundry service for college students to a reality-TV network. In 2001 he was a contestant on the CBS (CBS) television show The Amazing Race (he finished third). In January 2006, Mycoskie traveled to Argentina to learn how to play polo, practice tango, and do some community service work. While there, he was struck by the country’s health and poverty problems and discovered that numerous children did not have proper footwear. Soon after, he came up with the idea to create a shoe for the U.S. market based on the traditional Argentine alpargata—a slip-on in lightweight fabrics and vibrant colors and prints. He envisioned a company that operated in a way that helped others while offering something unique for the consumer. …read more at BusinessWeek. Photo credit: TomsShoes.com