Tom's Shoes/Success

The one-for-one business model is remarkable in that, unlike a straight charity, it’s sustainable.

The feet swell badly, almost like an elephantiasis of the feet, and it cripples people—not just physically, but mentally, because they’re seen as lepers and ostracized.”

So he was sitting on that Argentinean polo farm one day “and that’s where the epiphany happened,” he says.

He was young, motivated, overflowing with entrepreneurial spirit… and without an idea.

“Giving has been incorporated into our business model from the start, so the cost per shoe is fi xed,” he says.

Still, he’s finally found his inspiration: an iconic product and a business that provides sustainable giving to those who need it most.

“A long time ago, Ethiopia had volcanic activity, which left a silicone in the soil that actually goes into your foot skin and causes the lymphatic system to break down.

He was young, motivated, overflowing with entrepreneurial spirit… and without an idea.

The other half is spent in desolate countries handing out shoes to smiling kids—the aforementioned “shoe-drops.”

The charitable business model has attracted famous business partners as well (there are now limited-edition Dave Matthews Band shoes, for example).

TOMS also capitalizes on intangible benefits from its business model.

TOMS also capitalizes on intangible benefits from its business model.

For example, an accounting firm can help a nonprofit establish their own accounting system.

He was young, motivated, overflowing with entrepreneurial spirit… and without an idea.

Half his time is spent on the business, meeting with style mavens and fashionistas, working on fresh designs, and getting the word on the street through personal appearances and projects like his ubiquitous AT&T commercial.

Mycoskie is young (still just 33), media-savvy and ambitious, but his double-life—much of it spent on airplanes—is exhausting.

TOMS Shoes—and high-profile “philanthropic capitalism”— was born.

“I’ve been lucky enough to attract passionate, dedicated people who will do anything to make an impact on the world.

As the fashion industry and consumers have embraced the many styles of TOMS Shoes, “shoe drops” organized by the company in Argentina, Ethiopia and South Africa have distributed 140,000 pairs of shoes to needy kids.

But in the backcountry, he saw other things: many poor children, shoeless, and some of the locals wearing simple yet incredibly comfortable farming shoes.

“Their shareholders sure wouldn’t handle it.”

“Ultimately, I’m trying to create something that’s going to be here long after I’m gone,” he says.

TOMS Shoes—and high-profile “philanthropic capitalism”— was born.

“I’ll motion that I want to play, and next thing I know, I’m either shirts or skins and playing soccer with some of the most passionate players in the world.

And therein lies the deep chasm that keeps many companies from doing more to give back, especially when times are as brutal as they’ve been for all businesses: The giving isn’t priced in.

“Giving has been incorporated into our business model from the start, so the cost per shoe is fi xed,” he says.

TOMS’ charitable business model has also proven so far to be recession-proof: While most businesses have hacked people and expenses, TOMS is hiring.

Business has thrived.

It just means businesses need to become more creative, Mycoskie says.

“I’ve been lucky enough to attract passionate, dedicated people who will do anything to make an impact on the world.

The other half is spent in desolate countries handing out shoes to smiling kids—the aforementioned “shoe-drops.”

His muse finally arrived in Argentina, of all places.

Mycoskie is young (still just 33), media-savvy and ambitious, but his double-life—much of it spent on airplanes—is exhausting.

Still, he’s finally found his inspiration: an iconic product and a business that provides sustainable giving to those who need it most.

As the fashion industry and consumers have embraced the many styles of TOMS Shoes, “shoe drops” organized by the company in Argentina, Ethiopia and South Africa have distributed 140,000 pairs of shoes to needy kids.

As the fashion industry and consumers have embraced the many styles of TOMS Shoes, “shoe drops” organized by the company in Argentina, Ethiopia and South Africa have distributed 140,000 pairs of shoes to needy kids.

So there’s never a temptation to cut things.”

“There are hundreds of thousands of people subject to a significant foot disease called podoconiosis, or ‘podo,’ ” he explains.

Also, the bigger a company gets, whether it’s a shoe company or any other corporation, your margins get very small because you have the gigantic overhead.

Mycoskie cites two big reasons for this: “First, consumers are now conscious about where they put their dollars.

“I started TOMS with about a half a million dollars of my own capital,” he says.