Going Over The List: Sara Blakely
Sara Blakely is an entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist, the founder of Spanx and for redefining the shapewear industry through direct consumer insight, persistence, and unconventional marketing.
In 2021, she sold a majority stake in Spanx to Blackstone in a deal valuing the company at $1.2 billion, while remaining Executive Chair. She celebrated by surprising every employee with first-class plane tickets and $10,000 spending money—an example of the playful, people-first leadership style she's become known for. In this post, we're going over Sara Blakely's List using interviews and public talks to see how her life fits into the Home, Work, and Self framework.
Sources
How I Built This with Guy Raz (NPR Podcast)
The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett – Sara Blakely
MasterClass: Self-Made Entrepreneurship
Various interviews with CNBC, Forbes, and Spanx
Home
House
Real Estate – Sara Blakely is publicly reported to be based in Atlanta, Georgia, with connections to the Buckhead/Historic Brookhaven area. But her home details are kept private.
Design – Her Atlanta home has a bright, spacious, family-oriented design with large windows and a strong connection to nature and greenery. She often speaks about creating spaces that encourage creativity, laughter, and family connection.
Maintain – No public information
Partner
Quality Time -Sara Blakely married entrepreneur Jesse Itzler in 2008. The couple have four children and have spoken publicly about balancing their demanding careers with family life. They prioritize spending time together as a family, traveling, and creating memorable experiences for their children.
Shared Responsibilities - Both Sara and Jesse have spoken openly about dividing parenting responsibilities and encouraging independence in their children while balancing demanding professional lives.
Conversation - Sara regularly credits Jesse for encouraging her to dream bigger while also maintaining individual identities “My husband Jesse Itzler is such a good example of this. He has (not kidding) about 100 really close friends. His entire life is about the relationships he has built.”
Family
Parents - Sara was born in Clearwater, Florida, to Ellen, an artist, and John Blakely, a trial attorney. She frequently credits her father with teaching resilience by celebrating failures and asking his children what they had failed at each week.
Siblings - She has one brother, Ford Blakely, and has described growing up in a supportive, middle-class household where creativity and perseverance were encouraged.
Kids - Sara and Jesse have four children. She has said becoming a mother shifted her priorities while strengthening her desire to build businesses that create long-term impact.
Work
Make
Time - Before founding Spanx, Sara sold fax machines door-to-door for seven years. She worked on Spanx during evenings and weekends while saving money and refining the product herself.
Space - Spanx began from her apartment in Atlanta. Early product development happened through constant trial and error, working directly with hosiery mills willing to take a chance on an unknown inventor.
Supplies - Her first prototype came from literally cutting the feet off a pair of pantyhose before attending a party—an everyday frustration that became a billion-dollar idea.
Show
In Real Life - Sara is a sought-after keynote speaker, frequently sharing lessons on entrepreneurship, resilience, and innovation with founders and business leaders around the world.
Print - She has been featured extensively by Forbes, Fortune, Inc., Fast Company, and Time, and has appeared on numerous magazine covers highlighting female entrepreneurship.
Online - Through interviews, social media, and MasterClass, she regularly teaches entrepreneurship by emphasizing mindset, persistence, and solving genuine customer problems rather than chasing trends.
Sell
Products - Spanx expanded from a single shapewear product into bras, leggings, denim, activewear, menswear, and apparel sold globally.
Services - Rather than licensing herself broadly, Sara has focused on building trusted consumer brands while investing in and mentoring other entrepreneurs.
Events - Following Blackstone's investment in 2021, Sara famously surprised every Spanx employee with two first-class airline tickets anywhere in the world plus $10,000 spending money to celebrate the company's success.
Self
Wellbeing
Mind - Sara intentionally reframes failure as progress. She has often said that her father's dinner-table conversations about failure taught her that trying and failing was more valuable than avoiding risk.
Body - She has spoken about maintaining an active lifestyle through regular exercise while avoiding perfectionism around health and productivity.
Soul - Philanthropy plays a central role in her life. Through the Sara Blakely Foundation and the Giving Pledge, she's committed significant resources toward supporting women, education, and entrepreneurship.
Admin
Time - Sara blocks uninterrupted thinking time and credits quiet reflection with helping her identify business opportunities that others overlook.
Paperwork - One of her defining business decisions was keeping ownership of Spanx by avoiding outside investment during the company's early growth, allowing her to retain control for over two decades.
Money - Forbes has consistently ranked Sara among America's richest self-made women. The 2021 Blackstone transaction significantly increased her personal wealth while allowing her to remain involved in the company's future.
Social
Friends - Sara maintains close relationships with fellow entrepreneurs and has invested in founders through organizations supporting women-led businesses.
Communities - She actively supports female entrepreneurs through grants, mentorship, and investments, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic, when she launched initiatives aimed at helping women-owned businesses survive.
One-on-One - Sara is known for deeply personal leadership gestures—from handwritten notes to surprise celebrations—reflecting her belief that recognition builds stronger organizations than fear ever can.
Key Takeaways
Sara Blakely built Spanx without outside investment, proving that customer insight and persistence can outperform traditional startup playbooks.
Her father's habit of celebrating failure fundamentally shaped her resilience and willingness to take risks.
She remained majority owner of Spanx for more than twenty years before partnering with Blackstone, an unusually long period of founder control.
Her leadership style combines humor, generosity, and optimism, highlighted by rewarding employees following the company's major sale.
Rather than simply building wealth, she's increasingly focused on empowering women entrepreneurs through philanthropy, mentorship, and investing.