Spanx billionaire founder kept the brand a secret—even from family—for a year. If she hadn’t, she says she’d probably still be selling fax machines

Sara Blakely (Credit: Katie Jones/WWD via Getty Images)

• Spanx founder Sara Blakely turned her $5,000 savings from selling fax machines into a shapewear empire. By keeping her idea secret early on, hustling inside department stores, and never taking outside investors, she built the brand entirely on her own terms. Her scrappy, rule-breaking tactics ultimately paid off—culminating in a $1.2 billion payout when she sold the company in 2021.

Building the next-big-thing requires entrepreneurs to make a lot of bets—on their idea, starting team, and even business name. But for Spanx founder Sara Blakely, the ultimate bet came from betting on herself.