Daymond John gives lecture at
University of Toledo
Would you take the deal? It’s a dream that many have: the
opportunity to be invested in by Shark Tank’s finest.
Investing in others is one way that Daymond John gives back.
The University of Toledo welcomed entrepreneur John to speak
on Tuesday night as part of the Jesup Scott Honors College
Distinguished Lecture Series. John’s lecture seemed more like
a show with his DJ in the back playing music and John’s jokes
kept the audience laughing and engaged.
John addressed the crowd by first explaining what an
entrepreuner is: “when everyone says ‘no,’ an entrepreuner
says ‘yes.’”
John’s lecture was aimed at inspiring and encouraging others
to think outside the box. Trent Peterson, a first-year prebusiness major, attended the event for inspiration.
“I admire his work ethic,” Peterson said. “I hope to gain
knowledge on how he started his business because that is one
of my goals, to start my own clothing line.”
John is the founder and CEO of the $6 billion clothing company
FUBU (For Us By Us), which he started in his mother’s
basement. He is also a co-star on the ABC show Shark Tank, a
best-selling author and a motivational speaker.
John also mentors and works with entrepreneurs with poor
prospects.
According to John’s biography on his website, he has also been
tapped to work with President Barack Obama on his ‘My
Brother’s Keeper’ program, which will help to create
opportunities for men of color via mentorship and education
who normally do not have access to those programs.
“Daymond John is a highly successful entrepreneur, but also a
remarkable person who constantly challenges himself to learn
more and do more, much like our honors students,” said Dr.
Heidi Appel, dean of the UT honors college.
Along with the success of his clothing company, John has also
received over 35 awards, including Brandweek Marketer of the
Year and Ernst and Young’s New York Entrepreneur of the Year
award.
“What’s interesting is that FUBU is not all
the US anymore, but I was living in Korea
hadn’t heard the word FUBU since I was a
school,” said Julian Branch, a UT admissions
that popular in
and obviously I
junior in high
counselor. “Then
I saw FUBU in all the malls in South Korea. So it’s still a
living, breathing company overseas, which is interesting.”
Much of John’s lecture was aimed at the millennial generation
and their future impact.
“Millennials have overthrown governments using Twitter,” John
said. “I think millennials are going to leave us in some very
good hands.”
John also expressed the importance of setting goals. He
explained that without setting his goals, he would not have
achieved his success.
“If you don’t set your own goals, you let somebody set them
for you,” John said. “They say ‘you can’t get that job, that
girl, that guy.’ We become what we think about most of the
time. I had to set a goal that I was going to prosper in the
world of hip-hop.”
During the lecture, John also warned that he was not shy about
bragging. That bragging includes his failures though. John
spoke about being turned down by 27 banks and losing track of
his personal life. However, he says his failures are a part of
the process of learning.
Another point John said was important to success was love and
how it is important to love what you do. It’s not about the
money, he explained. John joked that you can have a
Lamborghini, but that just means you have to drive up to your
problems in a Lamborghini.
“I loved what I was doing,” John said. “I would have done it
for free. I would have dressed people for free for the rest of
my life. It’s amour.”
The next speaker for the lecture series will be Alex Sheen,
founder of ‘because I said I would,’ on Feb. 16.