How founder of TOMS Shoes makes a difference

Blake Mycoskie of TOMS Shoes

Yeah, just try walking a mile in Blake Mycoskie’s shoes. He’s created five businesses since college, placed third with his sister Paige in season No. 2 of The Amazing Race and has been featured in People magazine’s “Heroes Among Us” section.

He’s  founder and president of TOMS Shoes, which gives a pair of new shoes to a child in need every time someone purchases a pair of TOMS shoes. He speaks at Chapman tonight (details below).

Mycoskie started TOMS Shoes after meeting kids during a visit to Argentina  in 2006. He realized they had no shoes to protect their feet. He returned to Argentina later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by purchases from TOMS customers. Since then,  TOMS has given more than  400,000 pairs of shoes to children.

Mycoskie, whose first start-up was a national campus laundry service, speaks Monday (Feb. 8)  about “New Rules for Tomorrow’s Business: A Student’s Guide to Making A Difference in the World” at  7 p.m. in Memorial Hall. A reception and shoe signing are planned after the talk in AF 209.
The event, sponsored by the Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics and Associated Students, is free, but tickets are required. (Tickets can be picked up at AF 302 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. or  contact P. K. Shukla, Ph.D., vice chancellor for entrepreneurship, at shukla@chapman.edu or x6817.)

Dawn Bonker

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