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A gang member turned door to door encyclopedia salesman gets fired from corporate life.

He goes on to launch 2 world renowned brands.

The best part?

He started the first one with $700.

This is the wild story ๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿฝ๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿฝ๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿฝ
1/ John Paul DeJoria was born into a poor family in downtown LA.

His mother scrimped and saved to keep him and his brother fed.

Wanting to help out, by 11 he had a paper route.

But his desire to push the limits got him in trouble...
2/ He joined a street gang.

After a violent encounter, he wanted out.

JP put his head down and graduated early at 17.

But now what?

He was smart but way too poor for college...
3/ The Navy was his answer.

It gave him discipline to combine with smarts.

After a few jobs, he fell in love with something most people hate: selling encyclopedias!

"The average life of an encyclopedia salesman was 3 days, but I did it for 3 years!...
4/ If it existed today I would make every one of my kids do it."

Knowing he was a great salesperson, he looked for a fast growing industry.

He went to a growth industry at that time...
5/ Beauty supplies.

Within 2 years, he was national manager for 2 divisions of a fast growing beauty company.

People told him he'd never be a VP though without a college degree

After his best year ever, he entered the CEO's office. Expecting the VP spot, he was instead FIRED.
6/ His divisions were doing great, but "he didn't fit the company culture."

He left and went to train a competitors sales force.

They grew by 50% in under a year, but again he got fired for not fitting the culture.

The third time, it was because of his uncapped commission...
7/ JP realized that if he was going to make it big, it would have to be on his own.

He became a consultant, but the clients were too small to pay well.

He needed a product business, but didn't have any skills to make one...
8/ Around 1980, his friend Paul Mitchell was struggling to launch his new hair product line... It flopped.

John Paul convinced Paul to start a professional line with JP leading sales.

They would each own 30% of John Paul Mitchell systems, and their investor would own the rest.
9/ Just before the deal closed, the investor pulled out.

Between them, John Paul and Paul Mitchell had $700 for the business.

JP had just divorced, and gave his ex-wife everything. He was sleeping in his car.

But he was undeterred...
10/ John Paul went door to door selling Paul Mitchell to salons.

It took 2 years until they stopped living check to check.

By 1983, they did $1M in sales. JP was elated, but far from doneโ€ฆ
11/ In 1986, the company had 100xd to o over $100M in sales.

Remember, this was pre internet and with no outside capital ๐Ÿคฏ

Paul Mitchell had become the #1 with pro hair stylists.

In 1989, JP was on cloud 9 from a recent Vogue feature when he got the WORST call imaginableโ€ฆ
12/

Paul Mitchell was dead.

JP was Devastated.

Over the next year, he couldnโ€™t stand to run the business without his friend.

He stepped back from the day to day.

After a few months, he threw himself into a new venture...
13/ Ultra Premium Tequila.

Patrรณn debuted in 1990, but Clint Eastwood made it a household name in 1993.

They were just getting started...
14/ John Paul was determined to make the Patrรณn the biggest and best tequila in the world.

It was a slow burn at first, by 2000 they only sold 100K cases a year.

By 2012, it was at over 2MM cases/year. Still $39/bottle, but no longer the only tequila at that price.
15/ Doubling down on his sales skills, John Paul put Patrรณn everywhere in Hollywood.

They got featured in 100s of songs, TV shows, and movies.

It's was salesmanship at scale - influencer deals before we called celebrities influencers.
16/ Starting many more businesses over the years, he's maintained a powerful work ethic.

His number one tip:

"Successful people do all the things unsuccessful people don't want to do.

Always do the best you can, not the least you can get away with."
17/ Broke, homeless, with just a case of product - a relentless salesman built 2 amazing brands

He sold his 70% stake in Patrรณn at a $5.1B valuation in 2018

JP still holds onto the $900MM+ John Paul Mitchell Systems, now led by his daughter and Paul's son

How inspiring.
19/ Why I love this story, itโ€™s a reminder that:

1) Hard work DOES matter
2) Sales cures everything
3) Product + Sales = Unstoppable
4) Do things others don't want to
5) Billionaires can be kind
bonus) the initials JP are awesome :P

And that anyone can do itโ€ฆ
20/ If you enjoyed this thread, follow me @jspujji

I've bootstrapped multiple 8 figure businesses, grew Ampush to $400,000,000+/yr in FB spend, and run a venture studio launching a profitable company every quarter.

I tweet Bootstrapped Giants stories and entrepreneurial lessons
Fun Fact: John Paul is one of the wealthiest "sharks" to appear on Shark Tank!

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Nicolas Cole @Nicolascole77 ยท Jan 28, 2022
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