As a student at the age of 19, Ben Francis founded Gymshark, a business now valued at over a billion dollars and continuing to grow. Francis claims that his grandfather’s business played a significant role in inspiring him to start his own business. As a student, he explains that one of the IT classes he took sparked his passion for technology. He merged his passion for fitness and technology by making fitness websites for fun. In 2012, Gymshark acted as a middle man between buyers and sellers of fitness supplements. They used the money gained from this to buy a sewing machine to make his first gym wear. When asked what inspired him to go from drop shipping to making clothes, Francis admits that he did not have a well thought out plan. Instead, he explains that the thought process behind it was to make workout clothes he actually wanted to wear. After getting his clothing business off the ground, he used fitness youtubers to help market his products. Soon after Francis dropped out of college to focus on the business. Francis explains that this was a very big deal because he was the first in his family to go to university. But after he made his decision to quit college his parents were supportive and he was able to put all his attention into the new and growing business. This led to rapid growth.
In 2016, Francis stepped back as CEO of the business and worked on different roles in the business including chief technology officer, chief marketing, and chief product officer. He explains that at the time in his early 20s, being the CEO wasn’t the right position for him. Francis explains that while this decision was “heartbreaking,” it actually allowed him to develop the qualities he needed as a business leader. In August 2021, he returned to the role as CEO. His vision is to make Gymshark not only the UK’s brand, but a global brand.
While the brand started with Francis alone in his garage, he emphasizes the importance of having a team. He advices entrepreneurs to, “Build a great team. I’m extremely fortunate to be surrounded by an incredibly talented team. Each person is much more skilled at their specific area than I am. As soon as you can begin to build that team, you should start, as no great feat was achieved by an individual alone”.
Francis was blessed to be able to build such a great team. It is practically impossible to be an expert in every area of your business. When you have a team, you have different people who specialize in different areas. When working in conjunction, a team will produce much higher quality work than the individual.
To learn more about Ben Francis and his business, visit https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/24/how-ben-francis-built-1-billion-fitnesswear-brand-gymshark-in-his-20s.html
I was very intrigued when I was reading this post because I am always interested to learn how companies cant start out so small and than turn into an amazing, large, and successful company! I know many of my friends that have purchased from this company and they are always very happy with their purchase. This company has gone from being the middle man for other companies now they are the ones that are the big guys.
Wow, what an inspiring story. I loved learning that Francis’s parents were supportive when he wanted to drop out of college to pursue his business idea. They trusted him and knew that he would accomplish a great deal. I also really liked learning that Francis valued teamwork and how important that was for him. Great job for including the quote!
It’s cool to see how he dropped out of college and that he had no well thought out plan. He was able to take that situation and turn it into one of the most successful fitness clothing brands that exists. I also like how he acknowledged how valuable a good team is to creating a successful brand. Very inspiring story!