On Track

Phil did …

Phil loved to run and the thrill of victory. In college, he ran for the track and field team where his coach was a widely regarded innovator, who’d experiment with new ideas to give his runners a competitive edge. But now, having graduated, Phil was at a crossroads. What to do next? Maybe he could turn his love of running into a full-time business? So he started to sell running shoes out of the trunk of his car at numerous track and field meets. The shoes came from a manufacturer in Japan and they were a hit. But Phil kept thinking … maybe he could do better … so, together with his former college coach, who was now his partner, they started experimenting with their own designs for running shoes. And pretty soon they made the switch from selling other people’s shoes to making their own … and they never looked back.

Today, over 50 years later, the company Phil started by selling running shoes out of the trunk of his car, is the world's largest seller of athletic footwear and apparel … with annual sales of almost $40 billion annually … not bad for business named after the Greek Goddess of victory … Nike.

Nike is a Great Idea because running a great business often comes down to just taking that first step.

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