# TOMS: Blake Mycoskie

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2017-05-29
- Length: 53m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-29-toms-blake-mycoskie

## Summary

Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS, recounts his journey from four prior startups—including Easy Laundry and a Nashville outdoor advertising company—to creating the 'One for One' shoe model after a 2006 trip to Argentina. He details the chaotic early scaling of TOMS, from selling 250 prototype alpargatas to managing a viral surge that required hiring interns and shipping cargo from Buenos Aires. Mycoskie explains how media coverage, including an LA Times feature and a Vogue spread, combined with a high-impact AT&T commercial to transform TOMS into a global brand, while also addressing criticisms regarding the sustainability of the giving model and his eventual sale of the company.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-29-toms-blake-mycoskie#t=0) Introduction: Blake Mycoskie and the History of TOMS
- [2:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-29-toms-blake-mycoskie#t=156) Early Ventures: Easy Laundry and Nashville Outdoor Advertising
- [14:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-29-toms-blake-mycoskie#t=852) Failed Experiments: Reality Central and Online Driver's Ed
- [22:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-29-toms-blake-mycoskie#t=1373) The Argentina Trip and the Birth of the One for One Model
- [28:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-29-toms-blake-mycoskie#t=1708) Prototyping and Launch: From 250 Pairs to Viral Demand
- [33:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-29-toms-blake-mycoskie#t=2033) Scaling Operations: Shipping from Argentina and Early Fulfillment
- [38:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-29-toms-blake-mycoskie#t=2298) Mainstream Breakthrough: LA Times, Vogue, and the AT&T Commercial
- [41:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-29-toms-blake-mycoskie#t=2465) Growth Challenges, Criticism, and Manufacturing Shifts
- [46:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2017-05-29-toms-blake-mycoskie#t=2797) Legacy, Sale, and Social Entrepreneurship

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies, companies scaling up, established companies

## Mentioned

- TOMS (product)
- Easy Laundry (company)
- Van Wagner (company)
- Clear Channel (company)
- Reality Central (company)
- AT&T (company)
- Vogue (other)
- LA Times (other)
- American Rag (company)
- Juan Torres (other)

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