Sara Blakely was selling fax machines door to door when she put $5,000 of her savings into Spanx; 21 years later, Blackstone bought a majority stake in the company at a $1.2 billion valuation

• Despite having no formal business education, Blakely developed her first product from her apartmentIn 2000, Sara Blakely was working as a door-to-door fax machine salesperson when she decided to start her own business with $5,000 from her savings.
• Her idea was to develop a new type of women's undergarment that would offer greater comfort and support.
• However, she had no formal business training, had never attended a business class and had no outside investors.