Daymond John, the savvy investor and "Shark Tank" judge, knows a thing or two about rewriting the rules of entrepreneurship. While the business world often celebrates bold leaps of faith, John says success is less about jumping in headfirst and more about testing the waters.
According to the official FUBU website, the brand was cofounded in 1992 by four friends from Hollis, Queens: Daymond John, J. Alexander Martin, Keith Perrin and Carl Brown. They aimed to create a line of sportswear made by the people who wore it – embodying the “For Us, By Us” philosophy.
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Daymond John initiated the idea for FUBU and, with his mother’s support, began producing clothing items. He later recruited his friends Keith Perrin, J. Alexander Martin and Carl Brown to grow the business.
FUBU started humbly – right out of John's mother's house in Queens, New York – with a mere $40 gamble. "I didn't start with a leap," John told Truckload Authority. "I bought some material and made a bunch of hats. I went out on the street to see if I could sell them. That's not a leap – it was a small, affordable step."
That small step eventually turned into a multi-billion-dollar brand, but not without some serious hustle. According to John, his mother was instrumental in FUBU's growth, putting up $100,000 from her mortgage to help the brand expand.
Still, John didn't quit his day job. For five or six years, he worked as a server at Red Lobster while pouring every spare moment into his business. "Working at Red Lobster taught me about the ability to sell and the value of being very meticulous," John told Fortune.
"The job taught me how to treat people, how management works and how you can enter into a large organization. 95% of people don't care. And the 5% that care, they can move their way up the ladder."
FUBU's big break came when John's childhood friend and neighbor, LL Cool J, started wearing the brand in music videos and advertisements. The rapper's casual endorsements created a buzz that catapulted the brand into the spotlight.
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By 1998, FUBU had $350 million in annual sales, which shows the power of grassroots marketing.
Fast forward to today, and FUBU has racked up more than $6 billion in global sales, according to John's official website. However, for John, success isn't just about money. He's quick to debunk the age-old myth that "it takes money to make money."
"Literally nothing can be further from the truth," he said in an interview with Fortune. "Why would 65% of athletes and lotto winners go bankrupt three years after leaving the league or winning the lotto? Why are the top 1,000 wealthiest people in the world self-made men and women?"
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Instead, John points to creativity and community as the real keys to building something lasting. From his mom's belief in his vision to his team's relentless hustle and LL Cool J's organic support, John's journey has always been about collaboration.
The numbers agree. Research from LinkedIn shows that 80% of professional success is linked to networking. "If you needed money to make money, well then, we can call Kodak, Blockbuster, BlackBerry, Red Lobster and Fridays to see how that's working out for them," John quipped.
Currently, 20% of small businesses fail in their first year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For instance, establishments born in 2001 and 2008 – years marked by recessions – experienced some of the lowest 1-year survival rates. John's story is more than just a rags-to-riches tale; it's a blueprint for anyone looking to beat the odds.
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