Book Sara Blakely

Sara Blakely is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded the shapewear company Spanx in Atlanta and turned a simple idea into a global brand. Her path started far from fashion. After deciding against law school, she worked briefly at Walt Disney World in Orlando and tried stand-up comedy, then sold fax machines door to door for office supply company Danka, rising to national sales trainer by age twenty-five. Frustrated by the look of pantyhose under open-toed shoes, she cut the feet off a pair and found the control-top effect she wanted, then spent two years researching and developing the concept on her own savings while still working at Danka. That experiment became Spanx, which grew into a line of intimate apparel, pants and leggings. In 2024 she launched the footwear brand Sneex. Blakely was named to the Time 100 list of the world's most influential people in 2012 and placed on Forbes' 2014 list of the world's most powerful women. She has appeared on The Rebel Billionaire: Branson's Quest for the Best and American Inventor. As a speaker she shares an energetic, funny and practical story of persistence, invention and self-made success.