How Long Did Phil Knight Keep His Day Job?

David Senra says it takes like seven years for underfunded Blue Ribbon to afford Phil Knight quitting his day job, and he thinks Knight spent like 14 hours a month in the Army Reserves. Knight flew free on military transports to hire another salesman, maybe two, all the way down in California, because he could not afford airfare.

Knight did not have a lot of money. He kept a full-time job and was Blue Ribbon's part-time employee number one. The shoes sold so well he was on a roll, with a partner, a legitimate bank, and a product selling itself. Every other weekend he loaded a duffel bag with Tigers, the running shoes he sold, put on his Army uniform, and headed to the local airbase. Military police saw the uniform and waved him onto the next military transport to San Francisco or Los Angeles, no questions asked.

The California trips were how he hired Jeff Johnson, Blue Ribbon's part-time employee number two, one of the most important early hires.