Daymond John sat with Wake Forest students on Nov. 1. to share his experience rising up in the entrepreneurial world at the second Face to Face speaker forum of the academic year.
The entrepreneur, “shark” on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” New York Times best-selling author, motivational speaker and founder and CEO of the sportswear company FUBU spoke with moderators Emma Chang (‘25) and Delaney Anderson (‘24) during the student-led event in Wait Chapel prior to the forum later that night, also held in Wait Chapel.
John spoke extensively about his journey to success as an entrepreneur. He began with $40 and built the $6 million fashion business FUBU at 23 years old. John built FUBU into a successful company after years of perseverance and created a multi-million dollar business that opened up doors to expand his career.
“Bottom line is… in 1989, I was standing on the corner selling a bunch of hats that I made the night before. I sold $800 worth of hats. By 1998, I was doing $350 million of business a year,” John said.
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John explained that, growing up, he did not see many Black people in the media that he could look up to.
“Now, at that time — you know being African American — we didn’t get to see any heroes,” John said. “We didn’t see anybody that was African American on TV, but it wasn’t that those African Americans didn’t exist, or it wasn’t that those heroes didn’t exist. They were just waking up at 6 a.m., getting their kids ready for school, going to their place of business or they were students. They weren’t in the streets hanging out.”
The student moderators also asked for advice — not just in the business world but for life in general. In response, John shared lessons from his past experiences.
The true entrepreneurs that I find are successful are extremely vulnerable, and they show their vulnerability. The more that I became vulnerable in my life, the more that I found help, and I found success.
— Daymond John
“Anything that I’ve ever done for money — just purely for money — I didn’t make it,” John said. “I grew up with a lot of people who did things purely for money, and they ended up in the wrong place — they’re no longer here. And even when I did things purely for money, and I did make it, I didn’t find any joy.”
John continued: “I think another thing that my mother said to me [is] ‘Anything in this world started with one person that had one idea that had one action.’ And she said, ‘Why couldn’t it be you?’”
He also emphasized that success stems from honesty and vulnerability in business.
“The true entrepreneurs that I find are successful are extremely vulnerable, and they show their vulnerability,” John said. “The more that I became vulnerable in my life, the more that I found help, and I found success.”
John’s advice inspired many listening students. Freshman Bella Cespedes said she benefited from attending, even though she isn’t planning to become an entrepreneur.
“My intended major is in STEM, so it is not related to money at all, but I believe knowing how money works and knowing the importance of the functioning of capitalism in the present is very important for our everyday lives,” Cespedes said. “I think his insight was very valuable for my future.”
Freshman Efrem Rosenberg, who plans to major in finance, expressed similar sentiments to Cespedes and emphasized that John’s advice and casual demeanor during the event made for an impactful experience.
“I want to major in finance, and he is one of the biggest entrepreneurs in the world,” Rosenberg said. “Getting to hear his advice about how to start a business and how to run it and his various mistakes along the way was super inspirational.”
He continued: “A lot of us grew up watching him on ‘Shark Tank,’ and he is an inspirational figure for us. To get to hear him tell us jokes and be right in front of him was just a really great experience.”