But for this self-made man it was a lesson he learned when he was at the absolute rock bottom, with a product prototype so great and not a penny to his name, which has helped drive him through any obstacle.
After launching Under Armour in 1996 with his $16,000 in life savings after he with his friend Kip Fulks, Plank soon found himself with $3,500 to his name and twice the amount of bills that needed to be paid. In what seemed like a good idea at the time, he took all but $100 out of the bank and left to Atlantic City to gamble. He lost every cent, that he couldn’t pay $2 at the Delaware Bridge toll booth on the way back home.A day after he lost his life savings, he dropped by his mother’s house for food as he no longer could afford it himself. At that time, he was thinking he made the biggest mistake of his realise, least did he know that this was the biggest lesson life was teaching him. But in the midst of all mishappenings Plank received $7,500 from the athletic director of Georgia Institute of Technology that they owed in payment, just in time so that he could cover his bills. He considered this to be the final call for himself to take charge of his business and lead it to the success it has amassed today.
Two fundamental life lessons Plank learned that day he continues to pass to new entrepreneurs are “Don't blame forces outside of your control for misfortune, and tough it out in the early days rather than taking on investments and giving away equity.”
“You need to put your hands around the throat of your business, and you need to run it. There’s no other way.” - Kevin Plank
Success is the final product of one's constant battle with themselves, the more you believe in your ideas and trust in your abilities to achieve it, you are bound to reach that ultimate goal.
