Evan Carmichael breaks down five bold launches: Dana White's $10 million bet on The Ultimate Fighter, Phil Knight's $2.5 million Michael Jordan deal that Nike turned into Air Jordan despite an NBA ban, Gates and Allen pitching a programming language that didn't exist yet, Branson's publicity stunts like driving a tank into Times Square, and Barnum's theatrical promotions. The pattern: calculated risk, spectacle, and buzz.
Hi, I'm Evan Carmichael, and welcome to a special edition of Modeling the Masters. Today we're going to look at my favorite 5 gutsiest entrepreneur launches of all time. These are from entrepreneurs who knew how to get people talking as soon as their products came out. I hope you find the stories inspirational and can apply some of their lessons into your business. Here we go.
Gutsiest entrepreneur launch number 5: Dana White saves the UFC. Dana White is the current president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. White began managing MMA fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell before taking over the UFC. His current net worth is $150 million. After purchasing the UFC, Dana White and his partners accumulated over $30 million in losses trying to make the business viable. In a last-ditch effort to save the business, White launched a reality television show, The Ultimate Fighter, to feature up-and-coming fighters. He was unable to convince any network to air the show until Spike TV agreed with one major condition: the UFC would have to pay the entire $10 million production cost to create the show. White agreed and put his business on the line. The show became a huge success which ended with Forrest Griffin and Stephen Bonnar fighting for a 6-figure contract. White credits the show for saving the UFC and continued airing new seasons of The Ultimate Fighter to expand the awareness and popularity of his company. Gutsy Entrepreneur Launch #4: Philip Knight signs Michael Jordan. Philip Knight is the co-founder and chairman of Nike. As of 2010, Knight's stake in Nike gives him an estimated net worth of $12.7 billion, making him the 58th richest person in the world. In 1985, Knight launched a new shoe called Air Jordan after signing a young up-and-coming basketball player named Michael Jordan to a sponsorship deal. The initial deal was for $2.5 million over 5 years, an expensive deal at the time that changed the face of sports marketing. The Air Jordan was then banned by the NBA because its black and red colors didn't fit within NBA guidelines. Jordan continued wearing them and was fined $5,000 per game, which Nike paid. The Air Jordan became the most valuable footwear franchise in Nike's history. It was so popular that launch dates had to be postponed to weekends so kids wouldn't be tempted to skip school to get their hands on the latest Air Jordan. The move took Nike from being a running shoe company with no exposure to the basketball market to now owning as much as 85% of the basketball shoe market. Gutsiest Entrepreneur Launch #3: Bill Gates pitches a product that doesn't exist. Bill Gates is the chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people and was the wealthiest overall from 1995 to 2009, excluding 2008 where he was ranked third. His current net worth is $56 billion. Bill Gates and longtime friend Paul Allen turned their passion for programming into a business when they saw a picture of the Altair 8080 on the COVID of Popular Electronics. Gates called MITS, the company that was manufacturing the Altair, and told them that he and Allen had developed a programming language for the computer that was ready to launch. With not a single line of code written and no Altair to work on, Gates and Allen worked around the clock on Harvard computers to do what they said they already had done. 8 weeks later, Allen flew to MITS headquarters in New Mexico to present their code. Without even a test run, the program was a success, and MITS bought the rights, making it an industry standard. Within 1 year, Gates had dropped out of Harvard, and the 2 high school friends established Microsoft Corporation. Gutsiest entrepreneur launch number 2: Richard Branson drives a tank into Times Square. Sir Richard Branson is a British entrepreneur best known for his Virgin Group of over 400 companies. Richard Branson is the 212th richest person in the world according to Forbes 2010 list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of approximately $4 billion. To launch Virgin Cola, he rode into Times Square in New York City on top of a tank, promising a battle with Coke and Pepsi. To launch Virgin Mobile in Canada, he rappelled into the heart of Yonge-Dundas Square. Branson has also made several world record-breaking attempts, With Virgin Atlantic Challenger and Virgin Atlantic Challenger 2, he raced to have the fastest Atlantic Ocean crossing. In Virgin Atlantic Flyer, he created the world's largest hot air balloon and was the first to cross the Atlantic in a balloon. He then tried to become the first person to go around the world in a hot air balloon. Branson is always thinking of new ways to launch and promote his businesses. The more high-profile, the better. Even when his stunts don't work out, they garner so much attention for his business that it's all worth it to him. Gutsiest Entrepreneur Launch #1: P.T. Barnum Puts on a Show. P.T. Barnum was an American showman, businessman, and entertainer. He was the founder of the circus that became the Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey Circus. His show was called "The Greatest Show on Earth," and he is my top pick for this list of the gutsiest entrepreneur launches of all time. Even if you didn't have a ticket to his show, when Barnum's circus was in town, you would know it. He would sweep into the city with gusto. Elephants would be paraded through the streets, and clowns would be sent to local hospitals to visit with sick children. Barnum provided a pre-show to his circus that he hoped would get people talking and raise excitement about his show. He would give tours of his circus to anyone who wanted to see inside the big top and also put on multiple free contests in order to attract crowds to his shows. Barnum was always thinking of ways to promote both himself and his business. From making splashy entrances to using cross-promotion, Barnum did what it took to make sure people knew who he was.
Thank you for joining me for this special edition of Mahalo Nui Masters. I hope you enjoyed. If you liked the video, please give it a thumbs up. I'd also love to hear your thoughts and feedback if you want to leave a comment below, and stay tuned for the next episode.
