Entrepreneurs
Co-founder of Nike and the Swoosh empire
Phil Knight transformed a simple idea for better running shoes into Nike, a global icon of sport and culture.
“Just do it.”
10 Courses · 60 Lessons · 8 Hours
Biography
Growing up in Portland, he ran middle-distance track at the University of Oregon under coach Bill Bowerman, then studied at Stanford, where he wrote a paper on the idea that low-cost Japanese shoes could outperform German ones, just as Japanese cameras had eclipsed European brands.
In 1962, he traveled to Japan, introduced himself to Onitsuka Tiger as a representative of a non-existent company—«Blue Ribbon Sports»—and secured distribution rights for the United States. He sold the first shoes from the trunk of his car at track meets.
In 1971, a fallout with the Japanese forced him to start his own production: Nike was born, featuring the “swoosh” logo paid $35 to a design student and the waffle sole invented by Bowerman using his wife's waffle iron. Contracts with Steve Prefontaine, Michael Jordan in 1984, and the “Just Do It” campaign of 1988 transformed it into the world's largest sports brand.
He spent years on the brink of bankruptcy due to a lack of liquidity, managed with debt and steely nerves. His core idea: don't sell shoes, sell identity and belonging; delegate to competent people and empower them.
He chronicles it all in “Shoe Dog,” one of the most honest entrepreneurial memoirs ever written, and donates billions to universities and cancer research.
His library
10 Courses · 60 Lessons · 8 Hours. Select a course to see every lesson inside it.
New to Phil? Start here
Understand how Knight's initial vision laid the groundwork for Nike's dominance.
Beginner
6 lessons
The Oregon Track Dream: A Genesis Story
8 min readOnitsuka Tiger: The Imperative of Early Partnerships
8 min readSelling Out of the Trunk: Early Distribution & Market Validation
8 min readBill Bowerman's Waffles: Innovating from the Ground Up
8 min readThe Original Blue Ribbon Team: Cultivating Early Talent
8 min readSecuring Early Capital: Funding the First Steps
8 min readTiptico courses are independent educational analyses based on publicly available information, writings, interviews, speeches and documented decisions. The individuals featured are not instructors, employees, partners, sponsors or endorsers of Tiptico unless explicitly stated.
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