TOMS Means One for Me, One for You

Blake Mycoskie is in his little sailboat in Marina Del Rey, CA, which he now refers to as home. He’s there packing up a month’s worth of basics for a monthlong trip to Africa. The Venice apartment that he lived in until last spring, and started TOMS from, is now home to over a dozen interns who are the lifeblood of the brand.

What’s he doing on a small boat in LA? The 31-year-old entrepreneur made a New Year’s resolution to watch more sunsets, as a way of finding a better balance between work and life. “I moved on the boat to be able to get away with loved ones. It forced me to downsize everything, and it’s comforting to know how little you need,” explains Mycoskie. “Living here has kept me sane through the crazy growth TOMS has seen this year.”

And growth is right, Mycoskie’s brand TOMS, which stands for “Shoes for Tomorrow,” launched 18 months ago. TOMS are Argentinean-inspired slip-ons made in a variety of fabrics and colors. The company was started in Mycoskie’s apartment with two interns whom he met on Craig’s List. The goal was to sell 250 pairs of shoes. But that figure was blown out of the water, as 10,000 pairs of TOMS sold in the first three months.

A Rare Blend of Philanthropy with Entrepreneurship
While traveling in the South American country two years ago, Mycoskie noticed a couple of things. First, the easy, basic style of footwear local farmers wore. And second, that many of the children in the North had no shoes on and were suffering from foot infections as a result. It was then that it came to him.

“The idea for TOMS, right down to the name, came to me in the village, and it was exactly the way it is today—I had the whole vision at once, but no idea that it would grow this big, this fast,” explains Mycoskie.

He wasn’t looking to get into fashion, footwear, philanthropy, or any type of business when he thought of TOMS, especially not while on vacation. But he decided that if he were to make and market a new product, he’d also do good by intrinsically linking it with a charitable arm.

TOMS isn’t Mycoskie’s first business venture, but he says it could be his last. “I think that TOMS is my calling. As an entrepreneur or creative person, you are always looking for the next thing, but I can’t imagine anything that could make me happier. When you find your calling, your perspective changes.”

Mycoskie dropped out of college after starting a laundry business for students that began, much like TOMS, as a small idea and turned into something much larger. From there, he was a founding part of an outdoor advertising firm, an all-reality cable channel called Reality Central, and most recently started up an online driver’s ed course for teens.

Simple Math
The very vision Mycoskie saw in Argentina two years ago brings us back to the sailboat today where he is packing a few belongings for a second trip to donate shoes. But, Mycoskie isn’t traveling lightly—he’s heading to South Africa with not only 50,000 pairs of TOMS shoes but also 50 fans, customers, and employees who will help distribute shoes directly to recipients.

Working with Food for Africa, a nonprofit that feeds 16,000 children a day in South African villages, the team is targeting precisely those people who are most in need.

“There’s a simplicity to TOMS,” explains Mycoskie, when asked why he thinks the idea took off so fast. “You buy one pair, we give one pair. There are no complicated formulas. Then after purchasing a pair, people are able to experience the results of their purchase directly by watching the You Tube and My Space videos of our shoe-giving trips.”

Office Space
Courtney Rotolo, the Shoe Buyer for American Rag Cie, was the first one to pick up TOMS. Mycoskie had dropped off a tiny look book, and Amy called right away for an appointment. “It appealed to me because it is a really cool shoe. I knew nothing about the brand at first and neither did customers,” says Rotolo. “But at this point, customers come in, they know the story, and are looking to give back.”

Online orders and high-end retail presence took off, with TOMS ending up on shelves in Fred Segal, Milk, Ron Herman, and all the American Rag stores. The growing variety of prints, fabrics, and artist-collaboration pieces saw TOMS quickly outgrow its grassroots start. Last May the offices shifted from Mycoskie’s Venice apartment to a Santa Monica warehouse.

“I’m sure that Argentinean farmers are laughing at me right now for making a fashion trend out of a basic item they’ve been wearing for a century,” Mycoskie says with a shake of the head.

Going into the warehouse, there is a feeling of a community, rather than of just one person, despite the founder’s strong presence in every facet of the business. They credit this in part to the fact that one-third of the group’s senior management were all interns for TOMS at one time.

While Mycoskie has seen more sunsets this year, it hasn’t come at the expense of his vision. In fact, living on the boat has provided more inspiration. TOMS now uses color blocking on a few styles, which mimics the look of the sails that Mycoskie sees in the harbor he calls home.

“I can’t think of anyone in the world who has a better job than I do,” Mycoskie states. “My whole life is TOMS, and I’m happy that way.”

For more info, hoof it on over to tomsshoes.com.