Ryan Blair
Ryan Blair | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 14, 1977 (age 47) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | CEO of ViSalus Sciences |
| Known for | Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: How I Went from Gang Member to Multimillionaire Entrepreneur |
Ryan Blair (born July 14, 1977) is an American entrepreneur and author.[1] He is the chief executive officer of ViSalus Sciences, a subsidiary of the publicly traded company Blyth, Inc.[2][3] He published a New York Times and Amazon.com bestselling book titled Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: How I Went from Gang Member to Multimillionaire Entrepreneur in 2011.[1][3][4][5][6] Popular media outlets have characterized Blair’s transition from gang member to entrepreneur as an inspiring “rebranding” story.[1][2][6][7][8] Ernst & Young named Blair as Entrepreneur of the Year in 2012.[9]
Early life
As an adolescent, Blair suffered from Attention Deficit Disorder and struggled with his father’s violent behavior and addiction to methamphetamines.[1][7] He dropped out of high school in the 9th grade, left home, and became a gang member in his home-town of Los Angeles.[1][8] He lived in a toolshed for a year and was arrested 10 times by the time he was sixteen, facing a four-year jail sentence for his last arrest.[1][7][10] When he was 18, Blair’s mother began dating a successful real-estate entrepreneur who became Blair’s mentor and gave him his first job.[6][7][10] At 21, after serving as Logix Development Corp’s vice president, he founded his first company.[7][10]
Business and writing
Blair became the CEO of the multi-level marketing company ViSalus Sciences in 2005 and sold the company to Blyth Inc. in 2008.[11][12] Shortly after the acquisition, ViSalus was in debt and facing bankruptcy.[7] Blair was responsible for bringing the company from $6 million in debt to $150,000,000 in revenue.[7][13] As of 2012, ViSalus is valued at $600,000,000.[14]
In 2011, Blair released his autobiography Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: How I Went from Gang Member to Multimillionaire Entrepreneur, which was published by The Penguin Group.[15] The book was ranked 3rd in the New York Times bestseller list for August 2011 and was a #1 New York Times Hardcover Business Book bestseller in September of that year.[4][5]
Blair is a contributing editor for Forbes Magazine.[16]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Duff McDonald (30 November 2012). "Business Lessons From a Former Gang Member". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ a b "40 Under 40 -- Ryan Blair". Crain's Detroit Business. 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ a b Issie Lapowsky (28 June 2012). "'Why I Carry This Reminder'". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ a b "Best Sellers August 21, 2011". New York Times. August 21, 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ a b "Hardcover Business Books Best Sellers September 2011". New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ a b c Scott Fummer (1 December 2011). "Road Warrior: Ryan Blair". CNN Money. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g Vivian Giang (14 August 2012). "How This Guy Went From Gang Member To Multimillionaire Entrepreneur". Business Insider. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ a b Andrew Keen (15 August 2011). "Keen On… Why Gang Members Make Wicked Entrepreneurs". Techcrunch. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ "MNWO 2012 Award Winners" (PDF). EY.com. 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ a b c Laurent Belsie (5 February 2012). "The job-shifters: people who reinvent themselves mid-career". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ "Blyth, Inc. Completes Third Closing of ViSalus Acquisition". Reuters. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ "Blyth delays completion of ViSalus purchase to 2014". Reuters. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ Dan Schawbel (8 August 2011). "Entrepreneurship: Nothing to Lose and Everything to Gain". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ Janean Chun (2 March 2012). "Ryan Blair, ViSalus: My First Million". Huffington Post. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: How I Went from Gang Member to Multimillionaire Entrepreneur. Google Books. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
- ^ "Ryan Blair, contributing editor". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved 25 February 2013.