Daymond Johns advice for todays entrepreneurs

You know, I talked to someone who's a parent of a dyslexic child about how so many of the most successful entrepreneurs are dyslexic. I don't know if you've connected with other people on that. I think Barbara Corcoran is actually in that category to or she has dyslexia this also like you this entrepreneurial Titan 8 of 12 sharks are just like I've been on the show dyslexic Kevin is dyslexic Barbers dyslexic. I'm dyslexic Branson's dyslexic. I believe rohan's dyslexic. So since you'd live this, what do you attribute that incredible correlation to?

Having two thirds of sharks being dyslexic is staggering. I think that well, I know that I can attribute my dyslexia to it is that whenever I would read something I would have to read it many times because I was not certain that I absorb the information the right way. And even after that like I read Think and Grow Rich every every other year and buffered ology and various other books, but after that I also used to go out and try to practice the things that I thought that

I read because I still wasn't certain that. I absorbed information the right way. So going out to practice things would would really help me. Perfect, whatever I was doing.

On today's episode of Yang speaks Daymond John the CEO of FUBU investor businessman Titan and recurring shark on the hit show Shark Tank joins the conversation with Andrew Yang and I will say this for you.

Then Andrew did this episode just hours after passing a kidney stone. So thoughts and prayers for Andrew. He is recovering, but he's also a psychopath who powered through this thing. It's pretty cool. So Andrew, you're crazy and badass and Daymond John's also badass you guys going to love this episode. So tune in Daymond John joining Yang speaks right now.

It is my pleasure and privilege to welcome to Yang speaks my friend fellow presidential ambassador of global entrepreneurship and the Obama Administration legendary entrepreneur. You probably know him from Shark Tank or from Booboo, which freaking helped shape the culture I grew up in Daymond John. What's up, man? It's so great to see you. And this has been such like a crazy time.

I'm you know, last time you and I saw each other in person. So people would never believe this but the office of my presidential campaign wasn't the same office as your co-working space Empire. So I would just bump into you in the elevator and just keep running into each other. Yeah, and then the world changed obviously in Marge. How's the have you been like this? Last number of months? I listen. I've been great man. Thank God. My whole family is healthy and safe and we did lose a lot of people, you know.

Know whether employees families and friends, you know, probably, you know, because New York was hit so hard so probably about you know, I heard, you know, probably about 40 people we lost in the earlier and the later, excuse me in the early part of last year, but overall, you know blessed healthy and and still around to fight another day.

Yeah, it's been so brutal Damon. I know so many people lost friends family members and loved ones as past number of months. I mean my parents frankly left the country because we thought that was the safest thing for them to do was for them to lie and that it's here. It turns out that was probably right and then I got covid myself a couple months ago, which was an ordeal and you know, I don't think I was ever in any real danger, but it sucked for sure.

Sure. So, yeah, the the fact that you lost people you knew man, that's so hard. I'm sorry. Yeah, I think it is brought awareness to a lot of people and the value of life and then and how we can't take things for granted and we just need to to you know, rebuild and also all aspects of life, you know, so we'll move on from there. And do you know I hope nobody else has to face this type of stuff. Well, you're an incredibly positive person one of the most part like productive people I've ever had the privilege of knowing and

I do want to talk to you a little bit about like the Yankees cap. You've got on like the like your New York Roots because when I refer to a FUBU, I remember the first time I got exposed to a FUBU was during that Gap commercial with LL Cool J where he was just like for us by us. And then I was so confused even and that day because I was like, wait a minute did that guy just like advertise another clothing brand while he was in a video for The Gap.

There were a lot of people that were extremely confused when that happened, you know, so The Story Goes that LL, you know did put He Wore baseball cap and he put for us by us on the low and the Gap ad and because he was frustrated. He felt the Gap wasn't really taking, you know, they didn't they didn't respect hip-hop didn't respect him. They just wanted to hire him to do this commercial and you know, I think this reflects kind of what we're seeing going on where we talk about diversity and inclusion because the gap

End up spending Thirty million dollars airing that ad and I remember us in the office looking at this going at first. I mean my mouth just dropped the first week the second week. My mouth was still dropped but by the three and a half weeks and I was like

These idiots don't know what they did that was happening because they didn't have anybody to represent the culture whether of color or whether I'll music orientation in the company. So if you look at it you look at sometimes how diversity inclusion probably probably smart, you know to have a little bit of other opinions because think about it they spent Thirty million dollars are in FUBU ads now. I do have to give it up to the Gap. You know, what they did after that. They did their analytics right and they realize it the target hit Market they were trying to hit.

Increased 300% because the kids thought they can get FUBU at the Gap. They go out and rerun the ad and I got to tell you they will brilliant for doing that and I'm super happy that they did that as well. That's an incredible story. So that was in the early 90s when you guys were still coming up and one of the stories that you told me and that I got from your book was your first business was driving a van across Queens. I think it was where you would just

just stop and people would get on and how much money would they give you to get on the van $1 Dale Jaso in New York that we call them. You can either call them Gypsy cabs or when they call them dollar dollar Vans and they're they're heavily in Brooklyn and Queens where we go up and down the bus route and people hop on and hop off and give you a dollar and you know, it was it was my business for a long period of time but I work for about four years doing that and then I was just drained because

Meanwhile making 300 a day. I was I was grossing 300 day. I'll probably netting $15 a day by the time I pay for all my my beat up band pay for the gas. And by the way, it's not legal if you don't have taxi and limousine commission issue plates. So I get one ticket from the Department of Transportation for picking up in a bus stop that was $2,500. So that was that was a lesson. I learned about the difference of grossing and netting and and how

you should have all the right things in place to run a business because if you don't you can you can really hurt yourself.

So you went from driving back and forth and during that time. I think you were starting to dabble and tire. Is that right? Like what ski hats were some of your first products. Yeah. It was, you know, it was my my couple of hats that I sold on, you know, you know on the corner and then I would go and buy shirts and stuff would just characters on and then I filled my van filled with could I take the seats out of the van and then I fill it filled with Super Soakers and during the Greek Fest or picnic I go down a job.

Beach and sell the Super Soakers all the kids. So I was always trying to find a way to make a couple of bucks.

Well FUBU ended up being this incredible leap of faith for your family your mom. I think she mortgage the house to get you the startup Capital after she saw that the business had potential what a freaking family, you know, love loyalty story. That is because I feel like a lot of others would rightly know wouldn't have had that kind of belief or confidence.

Yeah, Mom have faith man. You know, she knew that I was working on the house as well. I was I was I was paying a lot of the bills at some time, you know her, you know, she worked her jobs I did and we collect we put together. She wouldn't necessarily give me the money just out of, you know, leave a faith, but I had $300,000 in orders and I came home and I got turned down by 27 Banks now, I rightfully so got turned down by 27 Banks because I was not using the house as collateral and I didn't know how I didn't have Financial intelligence.

I wasn't really filling out a loan application the way that it should be filled out. But she did say this is all we have this house. So let's mortgage the house. And then when you you know, get the goods out you put the money back in as soon as you make the money he put the money back in and she went out and she got $100,000 loan on our house and I have no idea because the house is worth 75. So to till today I have an ass. That was what she did for the rest of the money, but I got to tell you, you know, shout out to moms moms are the ultimate entrepreneurs they figure it out. Well,

Oh shoot man. I'm not sure those Banks were right not giving you that loan if you had 300,000 at orders and and that's something I would love to see change frankly. Like if there is an entrepreneur like you coming up and you have traction and are starting to get my man. I mean someone has to believe in your growth I think and you know, you see all these frankly like TV commercials where the banks are all like we're going to be a partner in your growth you'd like to see that that play out.

a real

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So this was around the time we're talking about where food. We really took off right? I started pool 189. I close it three times from 89 to 90 to then I started again in 92 with my buddies. I would start getting public recognition around 95 and 96 97 is when I started I got it. I got obviously my my bigger manufacturing and distribution deal and I got food. What's the market and that's when it started to really hit around 97 98. Well, that's incredible, man. And so how big do

Operation get and when did you for example transition out of your home to like an office to a manufacturing facility and all the rest of because that must have been an incredible time. You must have been still over your skis in a lot of ways like figuring out like, you know, I think it was the year 96 I had moved three times I cuz my house I turned my house into a factory. I then I got my deal and I was no I was now stationed in the

Empire State Building, you know, the word was out the food was making money. So I was always fearful for my life, you know at in back in the neighborhood so I couldn't return back to that house and then I moved I moved my my wife who was my girlfriend the time. We just had a baby. I moved her to one place. I moved I moved to Manhattan just for four months so I can be right there at the office. And then we finally we moved like two more time. We finally got our house in Long Island Sound.

Point right around 98 I was in Asia. I was in Europe and traveling most of the time in factories and stuff like that. My life was just a whirlwind and we were right around 98. I think we started to we started do around 350 350 million dollars annual sales and it was it was a lot going on, you know, and you know in the apparel business, that's a great number but it's not the biggest number. I mean you can think, you know people like Nike you're doing 30 billion a year, you know and Ralph Lauren probably three.

Million a year, but 350 million was was was was a lot for me. You know, I was I told you I was working a van. I was netting $15 a day. So 350 million was was quite a quite over my skis well, so you built this household name brand and then I think a lot of these retailers are trying to get a piece of the action in different ways Boo Boo is now featured in the smithsonian's national museum of African-American.

I can history and culture which must be feeling a real point of Pride. It's like what the heck clothing brand makes it into the Smithsonian and over time. I mean that 250 million peak mean you earned over six billion in global sales over all the years that FUBU was an operation, but I do have the sense that you know, like you were learning as you were going like what are like the giant lessons you took from that the big takeaways were that there are good and bad people, you know, I came from the streets and I

I love this this to make apparel for this new genre music and I was trying to escape the clutches of drug dealers and various of the things I felt in the streets, but the reality is it when you have a lot of money flowing through systems is a lot of bad people too. They just don't come with a gun. They come with a pen, you know, so be careful. It also lessons were trust your gut because there may be a lot of things that look good on paper or person that looks good in person, but if you got tell you something and you can't necessarily

Sara Lee articulate why you don't think you should do the deal or why it's not in the best interest don't do it, you know and I you know, it always ends up, you know, you need to trust your gut. I think Cockiness also comes into play when you are on top have a healthy paranoia and the customers first don't get too cocky the own doughnut don't think that you know it all and are you you can solve everything with money, you know, so, you know that came with

It also to understand the diversity in your company that iversity of gender and age and color and Creed and beliefs and and to make sure there are experts in there. I didn't know this but I didn't realize that every for every 50 people you probably need an HR person. So I became a shrink at the end of the day in my company because I wanted people to feel like there was an open-door policy and you can speak to me at any time, but I can't be an expert in everything. I can't be an expert in the way to communicate with other adults and different genders and different ideas.

And you need people there because your team is your is your bread and butter man. That's your that's your bloodline. And you made you need to make sure that you are working just as hard and listening to these people that work just as hard for you to make them feel comfortable because then if you do that they will they will they will bust their butt for you. That's beautiful and profound. It's very human Damon. I'm going to project I'm going to share a story from the my presidential campaign because I sense that you might have had a similar experience with boo-boo.

We're so no one really thought my running for president was a great idea initially and then as we gathered momentum, we raised maybe 10 million dollars in like a three-month period which ended up making National headlines and then all of a sudden all of these political consultants and firms came out of the woodwork where they showed up and were like hey, you need our advice on this you need to do this like this is the way that

You grow and your it's your first time doing it. So you're like, okay, like these people have been through versions of this. So like I need to hear them out, but then some of them are full of shit, but but it but it takes you a while to figure out which is which because some of them actually are sharing very valuable hard-won experience and you know, their guidance is invaluable and others are just there like to be parasitic industry can latch onto you and try and siphon off as much money as they can during the time they have

yeah hundred percent and I you know, listen, I believe that that is a big that is a big aspect of anybody success, you know, not only the the great times that you succeeded in the people around you the great people but getting screwed or seeing the bad side of it, you know, and especially in any industry. I'm sure there's no difference in politics right by the time I was you know, by the time, you know, boo boo, sorry to slow down and I acquired my other companies. I already know who to deal with or not because I've been screwed by everybody right? So I knew I knew who the crooks.

And I knew what a good people were and I think in any industry people people people start to get that and that's what comes with age and experience and wisdom and and and and trying you know and and and and trials and tribulations.

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So you were running a whole series of businesses and then you wound up hitting the public eye in a huge way, maybe 2009 2010 when Shark Tank starts hitting the scene and I remember seeing the BIOS and being like Oh my gosh, like freaking Damon the founder of food booze like out the show brought me back to my childhood. Honestly, like, you know, like all of like the the the cool factor that you know, you brought to me.

Hoods all around the country and on Shark Tank, you've now invested it seems like 10 million of your own money and how many businesses like I'm in the Enterprise you involved with now and then we're at 88 that's incredible. And a lot of people who are fans of Shark Tank actually, you know know those businesses well because they watch that episode and they saw you decide to commit to bomba or the the barbecues boneless ribs are like

of the other places that that you've invested in I got to say man. Like I see you on the show and I imagine these 88 entrepreneurs and I'm just like you must feel like this head of the psych extended household my dozens of entrepreneurs who are all over the country trying to make things happen and you're like the Godfather, you know, I'm really curious about what that's like because you know, I know you well enough to know that you're like a High character stand up.

Where you're going to like, you know, what the best for these people and actually like genuinely Mentor them, but at the same time like I was like man like, you know some of these businesses, I'm sure could use Damon all the time. I try to guide them through the hurdles, you know, I gotta tell you I'm very transparent. I'm very open with all little people that I invest in but you know, I'm a minority stakeholder in any and all their companies and some of them truly value what I say and some of them couldn't care less because

You know Andrew you've seen startups for years and you know, if you look at my 88 or Investments or whatever they are. So this is really the way it works. Right 30% of them 1/3. Probably not doing well and covid is only shorten their life span because they probably weren't able to transition. They they they weren't somebody who was educating themselves or understanding where the digital world is going in gotta pry close those businesses down another third of them like mambas.

They don't call me because if I say something I'll screw them up. They're so brilliant. You know, when you have a great founder or a great founding team, they'll call you. They'll ask you 10 things. You'll give them ten answers and the maybe use one because they're sorting out all the things that work for them. So I don't even want to bother them. It's the third it's the 1/3 in the middle that is on the fence and they need some they need some nurturing. They don't whatever the case is, but often, you know, the theory on Shark Tank is a lot of people believe that we just roll up and give you the money. I learned that

First year when I was out of seven hundred fifty thousand dollars by not asking for what are your use of you know, the use of proceeds. You know, how are you going to use the money? So now sometime my entrepreneurs aren't really big fan they go. Alrighty. Well, you know, if you give us, you know, all the money we'll know. I'm going to give you 25% of the money and you need to get the business to here and then that'll activate the other 25. So but at the end of the day, they respect me. I hope they do I respect all them for allowing me to be part of their dream, but I wouldn't call myself The Godfather. I don't call myself the

the weird cousin and the family, you know, they'll be like, I don't know if we should talk to Damon about it, but it is just an opportunity a great opportunity for me to be part of the ones who are successful and the ones that fail I'm really happy that they allowed me to be part of their dream and maybe they and I never mentioned the ones who fail because I don't want to mess up who they are because you know, someone who failed in this business and maybe their third they're going to hit they're going to hit they're going to hit the gold mine on their fifth business, right? They just they just learn to start over a little more wisely.

Well, I'm very open about the fact that my first company was a total failure. I joke all the time and I was like a mini rise and maximum fall and it felt like the end of the world at the time. I was in my mid-20s. I lost investors six figures and investment in seem like all the money in the world at the time and then you pick yourself up and you learn from it and you know get back at it and you know, you certainly embody that better than just about anyone. I actually love the

Relation of you as the weird Cousin It Be it in part because what you said about the fact that when founders really have their fingers on the pulse of their business, they really do know it best and and one of the toughest things about being an entrepreneur which I alluded to earlier is figuring out what to block out really like you get subject to so many sources of advice and input that's actually true in politics.

To you can get like a lot of people have an opinion about whatever you're doing. And and so I think one of like the biggest things you have to do is develop your own judgment your own confidence and say okay like that. This is my vision and this is what I think I should be doing and you sense entrepreneurs developing that judgment over time. Like when you start out your much more susceptible to other people's opinions particularly, the people that have done more than you which is you know,

At that point like a lot of people you feel like oh well, like this person knows better than me. But if the business is going to work, you have to know the business better than anyone else.

A hundred percent. I mean it's your vision is scared baby is going to be the way that you executed should you take in as much information as possible? Yes, but you got to sit through it and see what works for you again going back to trusting your gut on some things taking failing fast, but taking many many steps to realize what your what the Clutter is. You got to get out of the way that you tried or you know, whatever the case is. But yeah, I mean you're going to have to execute your business your own way. I mean because I can sit there all day and give you advice on how to run our apparel business so that

I mean you're running a FUBU you can be running a lady's business. You can be running a sportswear brand or you can be running a you know, a high-end Runway brand. Well, if you take my advice on running a high-end Runway brand you're in trouble. What are you talking about? You scream high-fashion David. I'm kidding. You know, what putting a big F be in a big ol V 1 jerseys that it's not that difficult and I got to share that with you was all it was more. We wore a marketing company than anything else.

If you really think about that, I've seen how good you look in person Damon. I think you got a very very keen fashion sense. Maybe got developed a little bit later because by the time you and I met it was like at the White House, wait, wait, wait, wait, we were you're right and when you say it, you got to be able to be, you know, have your own vision and be able to execute on the vision that you have as you take in information, but do not drown an opportunity when it comes to information one of my favorite things about you over this, but past number of years is it's clear.

That you're trying to teach others and not just through Shark Tank, you know, you've written a series of books. I haven't read all your books, but I did read the power of broke which I enjoyed a great deal and found it to be really inspiring. Well, thank you. And even now you have like a which I love the name of this. It's like Damon on demand where but I could sense that you're genuinely just trying to edify people who are coming up on some of the lessons that you learned.

The hard way and it's really beautiful man. It's very wholesome. I think it's one reason why you and I connected because I'm I tried to do a lot of the same things, but I think you hit on ways to do it at scale and a way that I frankly did not know I appreciate I we listen I just think that you know, that's how we met and you know what you were doing. We'll all those great companies coming up and I just think there's too much crap on the world, you know, everybody showing kind of like this Sizzle reel of their life and how

You supposed to have shortcuts in this and now when it's just not it's but it's not what it's also not that difficult, you know, if you can see, you know guys like you and me and and and people make it just you know, we just need to show some of the challenges in it and okay anything you do has challenges, but if you see a little kid like me who's dyslexic and person of color that God left back didn't go to High didn't go to college scuse me, and my father left when I was 10 years old.

I didn't have anyone. If you see that I can make it then you can make it to you know long as a long as we educate you on on on affordable ways to to invest in yourself and and hopefully go out there and accomplish what you want to accomplish. That's beautiful Damon, you know, I talked to someone who's a parent of a dyslexic child about how so many of the most successful entrepreneurs are dyslexic. I don't know if you've connected with other people on that. I think Barbara Corcoran is actually in that category to or she has dyslexia this also like you this entrepreneurial

8 of 12 sharks are just like I've been on the show. Dyslexic. Kevin is dyslexic Barbara's dyslexic. I'm dyslexic Branson's dyslexic. I believe rohan's just like sick. So since you live this, what do you attribute that incredible correlation to because having two thirds of sharks being dyslexic is staggering. I think that well, I know what I can attribute my dyslexia to it is that whenever I would read something I would have to read it many times because I was not certain that I

Absorb the information the right way and even after that like I read Think and Grow Rich every every other year and Buffett ology and various other books, but after that I also used to go out and try to practice the things that I thought that I read because I still wasn't certain that. I absorbed the information the right way. So going out to practice things would would really help me perfect. Whatever I was doing. Also. I went to work to make money often because

Are in school they all put a co-op program where you can work one week and then go to school the next and get a credit and that was my cheat to get out of school. I went to work and it started it started helping me understand and I was actually working at first Boston Venture Capital firm as a messenger and I started to hear these guys, you know in the lunch rooms always these big big Brokers and you know hedge fund guys talking and I think that I found a Fascination for investing, you know, when I was 16 years old just sitting listening.

Turning to these people so it ended up coming back to me in my life right around my my beginning my 30s. So this was a co-op during high school because that's awesome. Is that right? Yeah. There's Co-op during High School my spend my my 10th 11th and 12th grade in Coop. Well, that's early and I love that. I think we should do that for more young people the stuff. I've heard and read about why dyslexic entrepreneurs are so common. Is that one you're not

It's cool. So you're looking around being like okay, what else can I do because I you know, I was gonna be over like if readings difficult that like teachers will probably think that you're not not that smart even though you're like, wait a minute. I don't think that's the problem maybe won't be one thing. But the other thing is that apparently dislikes the young people find other ways to try and accomplish things and often those other ways involve other people. So one of the things I've read is that if let's say you're not going to be good at

At producing the paper you look around and be like well who wouldn't be good at producing this paper? Then you're like, yeah, maybe maybe we could like get together and maybe I'm good at something. You're not so good at yeah, you know, I think then you bring up some good points, but I do want to do I do want to share that because so like so seven presidents were dyslexic. I think I think it's something like forty eight percent of entrepreneurs are dyslexic a large percentage of chefs are dyslexic, but also Einstein was dyslexic, but you know, there's a large a large amount of people and cars.

Ready dyslexic to because the same thing happens, you know, if you're in school and you're not, you know, because if you have ADD ADHD, there are drugs that can help those things. So that's in the drug companies getting paid. They can put out more information to educate you on ADD ADHD, but the only way to cure or not cure to address. Dyslexia is to learn more actually so when a kid is in school and they don't want to go huh and the third grade or whatever because they feel embarrassed and because kids are going to call them.

Stupid stuff A lot of times they don't have the right resources around them. People will say hey, I don't think you're dumb at all. Why don't you stand on this corner? I'm going to show you how to make some money. Right? So I do want to make sure that as we talked about this a parents think that there's any challenge that kids are having what the weather lack of hearing or ADHD, of course, but of course with dyslexia to go get it checked out because it's not your kid looking for attention and you know, they don't have a pill to get rid of it. You have to study even harder so but I think it's something that is important that that is so real.

And I don't know if you know this but one of my boys is autistic and we got the diagnosis when he was four and felt so grateful because up to that time we were struggling but I agree with you if you have a child or if there's a young person the hearing this you definitely should try and figure out what's going on and not just say like well, this is just the way it is. So you have your fingers on the pulse of many businesses and many Industries some of them retail Southern consumer-facing. What are you seeing right now?

Now in terms of the covid economy and the potential recovery because it seems like there is a lot of pent-up energy. Obviously, you've got this money from the federal government that we're starting to see Trickle and but like do you are you seeing opportunities early on that people might not have noticed yet?

I'm not saying anything specific I'm seeing you know, of course people who were reaching out directly to their customers. I'm seeing that that is working. I'm seeing people are extremely getting extremely creative and doing a lot of collaborations to try to bring more value to their customers and borrow other people's audiences, you know, I am seeing that people are trying to find ways you they're more rebellious and they're more sensitive to matters. Meaning that they want you or your

A company to reflect the people you serve and if not, they are going to go someplace else or fight you for not doing that. I also see that people want you to be more of a great corporate citizen. So if they're going to be able to purchase they can purchase from anybody but they want to know what did you do lately for somebody so unlike when I was coming up and I would give it the end of the year. They don't do that any longer they say they say that that consumer is on Zoom or at the dining room table saying I gave 30 times its here you go.

So, how do you 30 time this year you I mean you don't you only make you know, you work at a pizza shop. Well, every time I bought this I'll help clean up the ocean every time I bought this I tried to stop human trafficking and every time I bought this, you know, I saved the furry friend of ours from being euthanized. So there's a lot of things going on like that and and the biggest thing I'm seeing is people hating the system. They hate they hate when they feel the system is against them. So whether they're Marching In the Streets with black lives matter signs of people of all colors or whether they're saying the American dream is if I have two pennies to rub together.

I can get into the stock market or by one and you should not be able to hold me back and I'm going to pull back the curtain on The Wizard of Oz and show you that I can do this too. And if you don't let me in I'm calling all my friends and we're going to we're going to trash this place, you know, so, you know, these are all the things I'm seeing and I think that we're headed for you know, I think that we're going to have a little bit of a tough time with whatever is going on with these viruses and variance whatever the case is, but I do think that we are going like, you know, and everybody else is saying it. We're heading for the Roaring Twenties again.