

Still, the company's billion-dollar valuation is a fraction of the market value of competitors like Nike and Lululemon: roughly $166 billion and $44 billion respectively, as of Friday morning. Francis reportedly still owns 70% of the business. That year, he sold a 21% stake in Gymshark to private equity firm General Atlantic for $300 million - a deal that valued the company at $1.45 billion, according to Forbes. He spent the next four years in supporting leadership roles within Gymshark - including chief product officer and chief marketing officer - to learn more about the ins and outs of the business, before returning as CEO in 2021.

"Just because I'd started a business that had grown very quickly didn't mean I was the most competent chief exec." "CEO was not the right role for me when I was in my early 20s," Francis told CNBC Make It. Some of those influencers went on to wear the apparel on their channels, launching Gymshark's sales to $45,000 per day, up from just $450, according to Forbes.Ī couple months later, Francis dropped out of college to run the company full-time - but vacated the CEO role in 2017, passing his title to former Reebok director Steve Hewitt. and be with Gymshark at this event.' I didn't really think that much into it." "So it was just a case of, 'Oh, it would be so cool if our heroes would come to the U.K.
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On a whim, "about 10 minutes into the event," they decided to give popular fitness YouTubers free products, Francis said. The pair brought Gymshark to a bodybuilding expo in 2013, but didn't have any money to spend on advertising.

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He and Morgan used their savings to buy a sewing machine and a screen printer, and his mom sent him videos to teach him how to sew, he added. But after getting fed up with his ill-fitting weightlifting clothes, Francis suggested pivoting the company. Originally, Francis and co-founder Lewis Morgan launched Gymshark as a website selling fitness supplements, he told CNBC Make It in 2021. He's in rare company: The list's average age is 65 years old. Francis, 30, who has a reported net worth of $1.3 billion, joined Forbes' billionaires list for the first time on Wednesday. Eleven years later, his adolescent tactics literally paid off.
