Daymond John

Daymond John is an American entrepreneur, investor, television personality, author, and motivational speaker. John is known as the founder of the apparel company FUBU and served as its chief executive officer and president. Additionally, John is well known for his role on ABC's reality television show Shark Tank.

In 1992, John founded the hip-hop-inspired apparel company FUBU, with childhood friends J. Alexander Martin, Keith Perrin, and Carlton Brown. FUBU started with a $40 budget that was later bolstered with $100,000 in seed money that John raised by mortgaging his mother's home. Over time, FUBU grew into a global brand that has done over $6 billion in retail sales.

In 2009, John joined ABC's reality television show Shark Tank, on which he has invested in over sixty companies across one hundred episodes. The following are John's most notable Shark Tank investments:

• $500,000 in Hells Bells Helmets (in which John acquired a 50 percent stake)
• $500,000 in TINTIN, a fitness apparel company (in which John acquired a 20 percent stake)
• $500,000 in One Sole, a footwear company (in which John acquired a 35 percent stake)
• $500,000 in Spikeball, a sport and sporting goods company (in which John acquired a 10 percent stake)
• $200,000 in Bombas, an apparel company which posted $200 million in sales in 2021 (in which John acquired a 17.5 percent stake)
• $300,000 in Bubba's Q, a food company which grew from $154,000 to $16 million in annual sales (in which John acquired a 15 percent stake)
• $50,000 in Mission Belt, an apparel company which grew to $1.5 million in annual sales (in which John acquired a 37.5 percent stake)
• $200,000 in VPcabs, a pinball machine company which grew from $400,000 in lifetime sales to $1 million in annual sales (in which John acquired a 25 percent stake)
• $300,000 in Sun-Staches, a sunglass company which grew from $2.8 million to $4.1 million in sales (in which John acquired a 20 percent stake)

In 2005, John founded the Shark Group, a marketing consulting and branding service firm based in New York.

In 2015, John founded Daymond John's Success Formula, a business centered around coaching, training, and branding for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Daymond John's Success Formula was rebranded in 2018 as Next Level Success and shortly thereafter as Daymond on Demand.

John is the author of five books, all of which are centered on entrepreneurship, investing, and branding, including The Brand Within (2010), Display of Power (with Daniel Paisner) (2015), The Power of Broke (with Daniel Paisner) (2016), Rise and Grind (2018) (with Daniel Paisner), and Powershift (2020).

The Power of Broke and Rise and Grind were both Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestsellers.

Over his career, John has received numerous honors and honors:

• NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work (Instructional) (2019)
• Ernst & Young Master Entrepreneur of the Year
• Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship

In 2018, John married Heather Taras in a private ceremony. The couple share a daughter, named Minka Jagger John. From a previous relationship, John is the father of daughters Yasmeen John and Destiny John.

In 2017, John was diagnosed with Stage II thyroid cancer, which was treated with surgery. Soon thereafter, John reported he was cancer free.

John has struggled with dyslexia since he was a child.