Sara Blakely invested $5,000 in Spanx while selling fax machines; 21 years later, it is worth $1.2bn

Despite having no formal business education, Blakely developed her first product from her apartment In 2000, Sara Blakely was working as a door-to-door fax machine salesperson when she decided to start her own business with $5,000 from her savings. Her idea was to develop a new type of women's undergarment that would offer greater comfort and support. However, she had no formal business training, had never attended a business class and had no outside investors. Nonetheless, she went on to establish Spanx, a company that would eventually become a major name in women's clothing.Twenty-one years later, in October 2021, global investment firm Blackstone announced an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the company at a valuation of $1.2 billion. The deal marked a major change for a business that Blakely had built without raising outside investment.According to Blackstone, Blakely would retain a significant ownership stake and continue working with the company's existing management team. She would also become Executive Chairwoman of Spanx.Alongside Blackstone, several prominent women, including Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Whitney Wolfe Herd, joined as investors. Their invol...