Early life

John grew up in the Queens neighborhood of Hollis. An only child, John was raised by his mother and grandfather. He attended Bayside High School. In high school, he participated in a program that allowed him to work a full-time job and attend school on an alternating weekly basis, which he credits with instilling an entrepreneurial spirit. After graduating high school, he started a commuter van service.

Career

FUBU

Wool hats with their tops off and tied with fishing line were popular, and John noticed them being sold for $20, which he considered overpriced. He went home and sewed around 90 hats with his next-door neighbor. They sold their homemade hats for $10 each in front of the New York Coliseum, and made $800 in a single day.

Sensing potential, Daymond and his mother mortgaged their house for $100,000 to generate start-up capital. In addition to Brown, he recruited longtime friends J. Alexander Martin and Keith Perrin into the business, and began sewing the FUBU logo onto hockey jerseys, sweatshirts, and T-shirts. To make ends meet, John held a full-time job at Red Lobster, working on the FUBU business in between shifts. In 1993, he convinced LL Cool J, an old neighborhood friend, to wear a FUBU T-shirt for a promotional campaign. Later, while filming a 30-second advertising spot for The Gap, LL Cool J wore a FUBU hat in the commercial and incorporated the line "for us, by us" in his rapping.

In 1992, Daymond received $300,000 in orders and also an offer for participating in Macy’s (M) at a Las Vegas fashion trade show. Today, the brand is reportedly worth $6 billion.

Shark Tank

In 2009, John joined the cast of Shark Tank, a show in which John and four other business executives listen to business pitches from everyday people, and decide whether or not to invest money in their projects.

Assuming every on-camera deal was followed through, John has invested $7,667,000 dollars in Shark Tank projects as of August 6, 2015.

Consulting and speaking

John has become a public speaker. He works with brands and celebrities to create additional revenue streams and brand extensions; some of his clients include Pitbull and the Miss Universe Organization. John is also a brand ambassador for the e-commerce company Shopify. In 2012, John became an investor and influencer for online shopping and fashion company Resultly. He regularly features his favorite fashion and clothing items on his Daymond John profile page.

As a motivational and business speaker, John speaks about marketing, negotiations, and entrepreneurship. Some of his recent speaking engagements include California First Lady Maria Shriver’s Women’s Conference, AT&T’s History Makers Tour, Babson College School of Entrepreneurship and the Creative LIAisons program at the annual London International Awards.

Awards and reception

John has received numerous awards, including Brandweek Marketer of the Year, the NAACP Entrepreneurs of the Year Award (which he won twice), the Advertising Age Marketing 1000 Award for Outstanding Ad Campaign, the Essence Award, Crain’s Business of New York Forty Under Forty Award, Ernst & Young’s New York Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Brandeis University International Business School’s Asper Award for Excellence in Global Entrepreneurship, Details 50 Most Influential Men, and the Congressional Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship (which he won twice).

FUBU has received attention from the sports and entertainment industry, and has been worn or endorsed by LL Cool J, Janet Jackson, Will Smith, Mary J. Blige, Busta Rhymes, Magic Johnson, Lennox Lewis, and Whitney Houston.

Books

John has written three books, Display of Power, The Brand Within, and The Power of Broke. Display of Power is an autobiography that details John's life and early business career. The Power of Broke is business motivation book that features stories from 15 entrepreneurs. The "The Power of Broke" features stories from successful entrepreneurs like Steve Aoki, Rob Dyrdek, Kevin Plank, and Loren Ridinger.

Personal life

John is dyslexic. Two of his favorite books are Think and Grow Rich and Rich Dad, Poor Dad. His father is from Trinidad and Tobago.

Filmography

• The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005) as Proud Foot Joe
• Shark Tank (2009-present) as himself
• The Game (2013) as himself
• The Real (2013) as himself, episode 3
• Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014) as himself

[ Source: Wikipedia ]