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Back to #418 Phil Knight: Founder of Nike, with David Senra.

What Happened to the $8,000 Loan When Nike Went Public?

David Senra says Phil Knight converted an $8,000 loan from an employee's parents into Nike stock worth $1.6 million. Senra thinks the conversion came six years later, when Nike went public.

About 10 years into the company, cash was so tight that an early employee, Woodall, came into the office and said he and his parents wanted to loan Knight $5,000. They would not take no, would not accept interest, and would not put the loan on paper. Woodall, a former runner working for Phil Knight, had been paralyzed in a freak accident and used a wheelchair. Knight knew the parents were not well off and that medical bills left them struggling more than he was. The $5,000 was their life savings. He was wrong about one part: they had a little more and asked if he needed that too. He said yes. They gave him their last $3,000 and drained their savings to zero.

Knight wished he could leave the check in a desk drawer. He cashed it anyway. On the way out he asked why they were doing it. Woodall's mother said that if you cannot trust the company your son is working for, then who can you trust?

Grokipedia·David Senra·Phil Knight

Transcript

#418 Phil Knight: Founder of Nike ·

Founders

More from this episode

  1. Why Did Phil Knight Ignore His Father's Advice?David Senra says Phil Knight ignored his father's advice to stop selling shoes, and Senra calls that one of the most important decisions Knight ever made.
  2. How Did Phil Knight Start Nike?David Senra says Nike started when one Japanese company sent Phil Knight 12 pairs of running shoes to sell in Oregon. About a year later, the shoes arrived.
  3. 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…
  4. How Did Bill Bowerman's Jogging Book Grow Nike?David Senra says Bill Bowerman's book Jogging sold millions of copies and grew the market for Nike by celebrating running, at a time when people did not go…
  5. What Was the First Nike Store Like?David Senra says the first Nike store was a sanctuary for runners.
  6. Why Did Phil Knight Teach at Portland State?David Senra says Phil Knight taught at Portland State because Blue Ribbon could not pay its co-founder a salary.
  7. What Happened When Onitsuka Found Out About Nike?David Senra reads Phil Knight's account of the day Onitsuka found out about Nike and cut the company off earlier than he was ready.
  8. Why Did Phil Knight Feel Guilty as a Father?David Senra says Phil Knight felt the guilt was palpable, because every minute spent on Nike came at the cost of his family.
  9. Should I Settle for a Career in My Mid-20s?David Senra, reading the close of Phil Knight's Shoe Dog, says men and women in their mid-20s should not settle for a job, a profession, or even a career.

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