Entrepreneurship by Daymond John
Daymond John Gets It Done
By: Crystal Russo, Copy Editor
Daymond John is a busy man with roles in consulting, speaking, and business investments. The founder of FUBU, John is a savvy business investor on ABC’s “Shark Tank”, has authored two books on branding and loyalty-based relationships, and is now Babson College’s “Entrepreneur in Residence.” He is a highly sought after branding expert, business investment consultant, and motivational speaker.
So how does a young man in Queens, New York, start up a fashion line of ten shirts overnight, grow it to a $4 million empire in ten years, and later become a consultant, speaker, and a professor at a leading business college without a college degree of his own? The answer may lie in his sense of perspective. In an introduction of Daymond John, Raghu Tadepalli, Dean of Babson College’s MBA program, stressed the importance of being able to maintain a broader mindset in business administration. The Babson College Masters of Business Administration program in entrepreneurship, with Daymond Johns as the program’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence, aims to teach groups to work together, to embrace diversity, and to realize a business outlook which regards the health of the company rather than simply marketing and finance.
In his speech at the Babson College Diversity Day event, Daymond John asserted, “All entrepreneurs are the same.” He spoke about the influence of his parents in making him aware of the doors that education can open, and the lessons that he learned the hard way without a formal business education. He stated that no one starts out to build an empire, saying, “Number one is just trying to make it to the point where you can be self sufficient.”
With the emergence of hip hop in Queens, and musical talents like Run DMC, LL Cool J, and others, Daymond John was able to recognize a market in the movement, and wanted to be able to provide people with a brand, “For Us, By Us”- FUBU. He was able to utilize the entrepreneurial network in Queens, and convinced LL Cool J to represent FUBU by wearing their hat in a now famous Gap campaign. FUBU’s relationships with hip hop artists allowed them to gain valuable exposure, insinuate their brand with the hip hip culture, and allowed FUBU to expand quickly.
To Daymond John, the importance of entrepreneurs “pulling each other up the ladder,” and the ability to earn and retain loyalty in business relationships cannot be overstated. To enter into a business relationship with a partner, to gauge that they will be able to energize each other, support each other’s decisions, and act as checks and balances, is no light matter. Daymond does this every Friday night on ABC’s Shark Tank, when he enters into business partnerships with entrepreneurs seeking investments.
His business and branding experience make him an incredible resource within Babson’s MBA program, and it is clear that he also benefits from the position. Graduate students can enter into his Management Consulting Field Experience (MCFE) team, which provides real world entrepreneurial experience by acting as Daymond’s product launch team for one of his Shark Tank businesses. Several of his MCFE team members spoke about the impact of this opportunity on their education at Babson, and each regarded the launch team as a valuable and useful way of applying knowledge and gaining insights.
Daymond John’s experience, success, and psychological understanding of business relationships make him a valuable resource at Babson, at FUBU, and where ever else his path may take him.
More information on Daymond John can be found at his website: daymondjohn.com
