She was 27. Selling fax machines door-to-door. Frustrated.

And then she grabbed a pair of scissors… and cut the feet off her pantyhose.

That tiny, impulsive act in 1998 would change everything.

This is Sara Blakely’s story.

Florida, 1998.

Sara spent her days knocking on office doors, pitching fax machines to people who didn’t want them. Rejection was her constant companion—but she learned how to keep going when most people would have stopped.

One night, getting ready for a party, she faced a problem millions of women know: cream-colored pants. Open-toed shoes. Pantyhose that didn’t fit.

So she improvised.

She cut the feet off her control-top pantyhose.

It worked. Perfectly.

And in that apartment, a thought struck her: other women need this too.

She had $5,000 in savings. No investors. No fashion experience. No business background. Just an idea—and relentless determination.

For two years, she taught herself everything: fabric science, manufacturing, patents, marketing. She wrote her own patent application to save money. She built prototypes. Tested them on herself and friends. She called every hosiery mill in the U.S.—every single one said no.

Some laughed. Some dismissed her outright. A woman with no experience calling about footless pantyhose? Impossible.

But she didn’t stop.

After more than 100 rejections, a mill in North Carolina agreed to meet. She demonstrated her product. He said no.

But that night, he mentioned it to his daughters. Their reaction? Instant clarity. “This is brilliant. You have to help her.”

The next day, the mill called back. And Spanx was born.

The name was intentional. Sharp letters like X and K are memorable. She merged “spank” with “anks” and made it Spanx.

From the beginning, Sara did everything herself.

CEO. Marketer. Model. Demonstrator. Storyteller.

She cold-called Neiman Marcus, and instead of pitching, she took buyers to the bathroom to show the product. They ordered on the spot.

Spanx didn’t just hide flaws—it gave confidence. Comfort. Enhancement. Sara changed the way women saw themselves.

Then came Oprah.

In 2000, Oprah Winfrey named Spanx one of her “Favorite Things.” Overnight, the world wanted them.

Sara grew Spanx into a billion-dollar brand, sole owner, no venture capital, no dilution. In 2012, she became the youngest self-made female billionaire in America.

But she didn’t stop there.

Through the Sara Blakely Foundation, she funded women’s education and entrepreneurship worldwide. And in 2021, when she sold a majority stake in Spanx for $1.2 billion, she did something extraordinary:

She gave every employee $10,000 for each year they worked at the company—plus first-class plane tickets anywhere in the world. Some became millionaires overnight.

Sara’s story is about more than success. It’s about persistence, creativity, intuition, and generosity.

From a pair of scissors in a tiny apartment to empowering women around the globe, Sara Blakely proves: sometimes, the smallest act can spark the biggest empire.