Daymond Garfield John
(born February 23, 1969) is an American businessman, investor, and television personality. He is best known as the founder, president, and
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of
FUBU
FUBU (, ) is an American hip hop apparel company. FUBU stands for "For Us, By Us" and was created when the founders were brainstorming for a catchy four-letter word following other big brands such as Nike and Coke.Keith Perrin interviewed by Ian ...
, and appears as an
investor
An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future Return on capital, return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some specie ...
on the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
reality television series ''
Shark Tank
''Shark Tank'' is an American business reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on ABC.Hibberd, James (May 10, 201'Dancing,' 'Bachelor,' and a bigger 'Shark Tank' returning to ABCInsider TV. Retrieved June 24, 2012 The show i ...
''. Based in New York City, John is the founder of The Shark Group.
Early life
John was born February 22, 1969 in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York City,
but grew up in the
Hollis Hollis may refer to:
*Hollis (singer)
*Hollis (name)
Places
* Hollis, Alaska
* Hollis, Kansas
* Hollis, Maine
* Hollis, Missouri
* Hollis, New Hampshire
* Hollis, Oklahoma
* Hollis, Queens, neighborhood in New York
**Hollis (LIRR station), its Lon ...
neighborhood of
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
and attended
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
school for seven years.
He began working at the age of 10, when his parents divorced; one early job entailed handing out flyers for $2 ($7.42 today) an hour.
In high school, he participated in a program that allowed him to work a full-time job and attend school on an alternating weekly basis, which he credits with instilling an entrepreneurial spirit.
After graduating from high school, he started a commuter van service and waited tables at
Red Lobster
Red Lobster Hospitality LLC is an American casual dining restaurant chain headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company has operations across most of the United States (including Puerto Rico, Guam) and Canada, as well as in China, Ecuador, Hong ...
.
When John was 16, his mother had a boyfriend, an attorney, who he considered a stepfather and mentor.
Career
FUBU
John started FUBU
FUBU (, ) is an American hip hop apparel company. FUBU stands for "For Us, By Us" and was created when the founders were brainstorming for a catchy four-letter word following other big brands such as Nike and Coke.Keith Perrin interviewed by Ian ...
in his mother's house in Hollis, Queens. When John first had the idea for a clothing company for young men, his mother taught him how to sew and supported him by allowing her house to be taken over to grow the business.
Wool ski hats with their tops tied off with fishing line were popular at the time, and John noticed them being sold for $20, which he considered overpriced.[Kaufman, Leslie]
"Trying to Stay True to the Streets"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. March 14, 1999. He went home and sewed about 90 hats with his next-door neighbor.["Daymond John: Streets Ahead of the Rest"](_blank)
''The Independent''. July 18, 2002. They sold their homemade hats for $10 each on the corner of Jamaica Avenue and made $800 in a single day in 1992. After the hats, they began selling screen-print
Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh ...
ed T-shirt
A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...
s. To break into the market, they sold on consignment and at large events around the Northeast. To make ends meet, John held a full-time job at Red Lobster
Red Lobster Hospitality LLC is an American casual dining restaurant chain headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company has operations across most of the United States (including Puerto Rico, Guam) and Canada, as well as in China, Ecuador, Hong ...
, working on the FUBU business in between shifts.[Ferriss, Tim]
The Making of Fubu - An Interview with Daymond John
''The 4-Hour Workweek Blog''. April 7, 2011.
Sensing potential, John and his mother mortgaged their house for $100,000 to generate start-up capital. In addition to Brown, he recruited longtime friends J. Alexander Martin and Keith Perrin into the business, and began sewing the FUBU logo onto hockey jerseys, sweatshirts, and T-shirts. They loaned about 10 of the hockey jerseys out to rappers for their music videos for two years and got product placements in about 30 videos. They were perceived as a large clothing brand, despite being a relatively small company and stores started requesting their brand. In 1993, he convinced LL Cool J
James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...
, an old neighborhood friend, to wear a FUBU T-shirt for a promotional campaign.[Webster, Nancy Colton]
"FUBU: Daymond John"
''Advertising Age''. June 28, 1999. Later, while filming a 30-second advertising spot for The Gap The Gap may refer to:
Places Australia
* The Gap, New South Wales, a locality near Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
* The Gap, Northern Territory, a suburb of Alice Springs, Northern Territory
* The Gap, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
...
, LL Cool J
James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...
wore a FUBU hat in the commercial and incorporated the line "for us, by us" in his rapping.
In 1992, or 1994, John received $300,000 in orders and also an offer for participating in Macy's
Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
(M) at a Las Vegas fashion trade show, MAGIC
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
. They had to take out a second mortgage of his mother's house in order to fulfill the orders. After being turned down by 27 banks for a loan, his mother used the last of their money to take out an advertisement in the NY Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
. As a result of the ad, FUBU made a deal with Samsung Textiles, allowing them to complete their orders.
FUBU has earned over $6 billion in global sales.
FUBU is featured at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African-American History and Culture
The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in December 2003 and opened its permanent home in ...
.
''Shark Tank''
In 2009, John received a call from Mark Burnett asking him to join the cast of ABC's new reality business show ''Shark Tank
''Shark Tank'' is an American business reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on ABC.Hibberd, James (May 10, 201'Dancing,' 'Bachelor,' and a bigger 'Shark Tank' returning to ABCInsider TV. Retrieved June 24, 2012 The show i ...
'', which gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their businesses to investors, or "Sharks" in the hopes of receiving an investment. Shark Tank completed its 13th season in May 2022. John has invested $8,567,000 of his own money in ''Shark Tank'' companies as of May 12, 2017.[Daymond John](_blank)
Great Black Speakers. His favorite investments on record by 2015 were Al "Bubba" Baker's boneless ribs and Bombas
Bombas is an apparel brand. The company originally sold socks and began selling T-shirts in 2019. For every item purchased, a clothing item is donated to a homeless shelter or homelessness-related charity.
History
Bombas launched in 2013, after ...
socks. In 2016, ''Shark Tank'' won an Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
, and won Outstanding Reality Program from 2012-2014.
John invested in Bubba's-Q Boneless Ribs on Season 5 of ''Shark Tank'' and has helped grow the company from $154,000 in sales to $16 million in 3 years.[Daymond John, Shark Tank host, FUBU founder](_blank)
Sharkalytics. In 2017, Bubba's-Q Boneless Ribs partnered up with Carl's Jr.
Carl's Jr. Restaurants LLC is an American fast food restaurant chain operated by CKE Restaurant Holdings, Inc., with franchisees in North & South America, Asia, Oceania, Europe and Africa.
In 2016, ''Entrepreneur'' listed Carl's Jr. as No. 54 ...
to create the limited-edition Baby Back Rib Burger.
On Season 5 of ''Shark Tank'', John made a unique deal with 15-year-old Moziah "Mo" Bridges, who is the owner of Mo's Bows. John decided not to invest in Mo's Bows but instead to mentor the young entrepreneur. Recently, Mo's Bows agreed to a seven-figure licensing partnership with the NBA to create bow ties that use the teams' logos. During an update on the show, Mo's Bows were being sold at Neiman Marcus
Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. is an American integrated luxury retailer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, which owns Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Horchow, and Last Call. Since September 2021, NMG has been owned by a group of investment compani ...
.
After investing in Bombas Socks on Season 6 of ''Shark Tank,'' total sales for the company increased from $450,000 in the first nine months to $12 million. For every pair of socks sold, Bombas donates a pair to someone in need.
John invested in Sun-Staches on Season 6 of ''Shark Tank'' and they have done over $4.2 million in sales.
''Shark Tank'' has won 4 Emmy Awards and has been nominated 9 times.
The Shark Group
John is the CEO and founder of The Shark Group, a brand management and consulting firm. The Shark Group office is located in Manhattan, New York.
Consulting and speaking
John has become a public speaker.[Klara, Robert]
Daymond John: Swimming With a Shark (Q&A)
''AdWeek''. April 4, 2011. He is also a brand ambassador for the e-commerce company Shopify
Shopify Inc. is a Canadian multinational e-commerce company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. Shopify is the name of its proprietary e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. The Shopify platform offers online ret ...
.
In 2021, he signed a deal with Audible.
Next Level Success
In 2015, John co-founded Daymond John's Success Formula, a program designed to teach business owners and entrepreneurs how to start and grow their business.
In September 2019, Daymond John's Success Formula rebranded to Next Level Success.
One of the organizations the program works with is the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.
The program offers a $1,500 scholarship to two students a year. This scholarship is given in hopes to inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs.
Other appearances
In 2022, John competed in season eight of ''The Masked Singer
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' as "Fortune Teller" who rode in a fortune teller machine
A fortune teller machine (also known as a genie machine or mechanical genie) is a type of amusement automaton, which upon receiving credit gives out a card with a prediction of the reader's future. This is typically given by an automaton. They ...
-type vehicle. He was eliminated on "TV Theme Night" alongside Christopher Knight Christopher or Chris Knight may refer to:
Film and television
*Christopher Knight (actor) (born 1957), American actor
* Christopher Knight (filmmaker), blogger and filmmaker
* Chris Knight (''Neighbours''), fictional character in the soap opera '' ...
, Mike Lookinland
Michael Paul Lookinland (born December 19, 1960) is an American actor and cameraman. He is best known for his role as the youngest brother, Bobby Brady, on the ABC sitcom ''The Brady Bunch'' from 1969 to 1974, and its many sequels and spinoffs. ...
, and Barry Williams as "Mummies".
John was a guest narrator at Disney's Candlelight Processional
Disney's Candlelight Processional is an annual event held at Disneyland in California and Epcot at Walt Disney World in Florida. The processional is currently performed for two nights only at Disneyland, and throughout the month of December at E ...
Dec 7-9, 2022.
Publications
John has released five books: ''Display of Power'', ''The Brand Within'', ''The Power of Broke'', ''Rise and Grind'' and 'Powershift'.
* ''Display of Power'' is written by Daymond John with New York Times best-selling collaborator, Daniel Paisner
Daniel Paisner (born December 12, 1959) is an American journalist, author, and podcaster. He is best known for his work as a ghostwriter and collaborator. He has published more than sixty books, including fourteen New York Times best-sellers. He ...
. ''Display of Power'' tells how four ordinary guys from Queens, New York, rose from street corners to corner offices and became the greatest trendsetters of their generation.
* ''The Brand Within: The Power of Branding from Birth to the Boardroom (2010),'' examines the loyalty relationships companies and celebrities seek to establish with their customers and fans, along with the identifying marks consumers carry when they buy into a brand or lifestyle.
* ''The Power of Broke: How Empty Pockets, a Tight Budget, and a Hunger for Success Can Become Your Greatest Competitive Advantage'' was written by John in 2016. John features various success stories from entrepreneurs such as Kevin Plank, Steve Aoki, Gigi Butler and Mo Bridges. ''The Power of Broke'' appeared on the ''Wall Street Journal'' and ''New York Times'' bestseller lists, and received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Instructional Literary Work.
* ''Rise and Grind: Outperform, Outwork, and Outhustle Your Way to a More Successful and Rewarding Life'' was released in January 2018. ''Rise and Grind'' became a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller.
Awards and recognition
John is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author.
John has received numerous awards, including Brandweek
''Brandweek'' is a three-day brand marketing symposium and a part of Adweek, LLC. It was also previously a weekly American marketing trade publication that was published between 1986 and April 2011.
Profile
Brandweek is a part of Adweek, coverin ...
Marketer of the Year, the NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
Entrepreneurs of the Year Award (which he won twice), the Advertising Age
''Ad Age'' (known as ''Advertising Age'' until 2017) is a global media brand that publishes news, analysis, and data on marketing and media. Its namesake magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930. ''Ad Age'' appears in mul ...
Marketing 1000 Award for Outstanding Ad Campaign, the Essence Award, Crain's New York Business
Crain Communications Inc is an American multi-industry publishing conglomerate based in Detroit, Michigan, United States, with 13 non-US subsidiaries.
History
Gustavus Dedman (G.D.) Crain, Jr. ( Gustavus Demetrious Crain, Jr.; 1885–1973), pre ...
Forty Under Forty Award, Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...
's New York Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
International Business School's Asper Award for Excellence in Global Entrepreneurship, Details Detail(s) or The Detail(s) may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Details'' (film), a 2003 Swedish film
* ''The Details'' (film), a 2011 American film
* ''The Detail'', a Canadian television series
* "The Detail" (''The Wire''), a television epis ...
50 Most Influential Men, and the Congressional Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship (which he won twice).[Nance-Nash, Sheryl]
FUBU Founder Daymond John Stages His Next Act
''Daily Finance''. July 24, 2010.
In 2015, President Obama appointed John as an ambassador to promote underserved entrepreneurs.
Bibliography
* ''Display of Power: How Fubu Changed a World of Fashion, Branding and Lifestyle'' (Naked Ink, 2007)
* ''The Brand Within: The Power of Branding from Birth to the Boardroom'' (Display of Power Publishing, 2010)
* ''The Power of Broke: How Empty Pockets, a Tight Budget, and a Hunger for Success Can Become Your Greatest Competitive Advantage'', with Daniel Paisne (Crown Business, 2016)
* ''Rise and Grind: Outperform, Outwork, and Outhustle Your Way to a More Successful and Rewarding Life'', with Daniel Paisne (Currency, 2018)
Personal life
John is dyslexic
Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...
. Two of his favorite books are ''Think and Grow Rich
''Think and Grow Rich'' is a book written by Napoleon Hill in 1937 and promoted as a personal development and self-improvement book. He claimed to be inspired by a suggestion from business magnate and later-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.
First ...
'' and ''Rich Dad Poor Dad
''Rich Dad Poor Dad'' is a 1997 book written by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. It advocates the importance of financial literacy (financial education), financial independence and building wealth through investing in assets, real estate i ...
''.[
In April 2017, John was diagnosed with stage II ]thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. C ...
. John successfully underwent surgery to remove the cancerous nodule.
In 2018 John married Heather Taras, his second wife, with whom he has a daughter named Minka Jagger. He has two daughters from his first marriage, named Destiny and Yasmeen.
John is Christian.
Philanthropy
John is on the Board of Overseers and volunteer as a host or judge at NFTE events. NFTE is a global organization with chapters in 12 countries that teaches the value of entrepreneurship and core competencies to students in low income areas.
Louis Farrakhan comments
After attending the funeral for DMX, John posted a message to Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
praising Louis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan (; born Louis Eugene Walcott, May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader, black supremacist, anti-white and antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and former singer who heads the Nation of Islam (NOI). Prior to joining the NOI, h ...
:
"What a powerful speech from Minister Louis Farrakhan...His deep understanding of the Bible and respect for other people's religions was truly inspiring".
John garnered instant backlash as people brought up Farrakhan's history of anti-Semitism and John immediately apologized and tweeted:
"In regards to my tweet regarding DMXs funeral, my comments on Minister Farrakhan were only related to what I just witnessed tonight, unbeknownst to his prior stances...As someone who was fortunate enough to have a step dad of the Jewish faith, I do not condone and never would condone any anti Semitic, prejudice or any remarks of hatred. The prior tweet will be removed to avoid further pain and confusion to anyone who has felt hurt in the past by any negative comments of his."
He deleted his previous tweet.
Filmography
* '' The Crow: Wicked Prayer'' (2005) as Proud Foot Joe [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1369247/]
* ''Shark Tank
''Shark Tank'' is an American business reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on ABC.Hibberd, James (May 10, 201'Dancing,' 'Bachelor,' and a bigger 'Shark Tank' returning to ABCInsider TV. Retrieved June 24, 2012 The show i ...
'' (2009–present) as himself
* '' The Game'' (2013) as himself
* ''The Real
In continental philosophy, the Real refers to the remainder of reality that cannot be expressed, and which surpasses reasoning. In Lacanianism, it is an "impossible" category because of its opposition to expression and inconceivability.
In ...
'' (2013) as himself, episode 3
* '' What Would You Do?'' (2014) as himself, Season 9
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
episode 1
* '' Sharknado 2: The Second One'' (2014) as himself
* '' To Tell the Truth'' (2016) as himself
* ''The $100,000 Pyramid
''Pyramid'' is the collective name of a series of American television game shows that has aired several versions domestically and internationally. The original series, ''The $10,000 Pyramid'', debuted on March 26, 1973, and spawned seven subsequ ...
'' (2016) as himself
* ''Dr. Ken
''Dr. Ken'' is an American multi-camera sitcom that aired on ABC from October 2, 2015, to March 31, 2017. The series was created, written, and co-executive produced by its lead actor, Ken Jeong, who based the concept on his experience as a physic ...
'' (2016) as himself
* ''All About the Washingtons
''All About the Washingtons'' is an American comedy streaming television series created by Jeremy Bronson that premiered on August 10, 2018, on Netflix. The series is executive produced by Bronson alongside showrunner Andrew Reich and stars Joseph ...
'' (2018) as himself
* '' Billions'' (2020) as himself, Season 5 episode 4
* ''The Masked Singer
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' as himself / Fortune Teller, Season 8
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In tempera ...
episode 3
References
External links
The Shark Group
official website.
*
*
FUBU: Daymond John
(How I Built This
''How I Built This'' is an American podcast about "innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists, and the stories behind the movements they built" produced by NPR.
History
''How I Built This'' began on September 12, 2016, as a podcast where the host, ...
audio interview)
{{DEFAULTSORT:John, Daymond
1969 births
Living people
African-American businesspeople
African-American fashion designers
American fashion designers
African-American investors
American investors
African-American non-fiction writers
African-American television personalities
American business writers
American chief executives of fashion industry companies
American fashion businesspeople
American motivational speakers
American motivational writers
American retail chief executives
American transportation businesspeople
Businesspeople from Queens, New York
Participants in American reality television series
People from Hollis, Queens
People with dyslexia
Writers from Brooklyn
African-American Catholics
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people