The importance of Nike in the business world, based on sports, is enormous. It built itself into one of the biggest companies in the world, and today the Swoosh is synonymous with greatness. This he recognized Bill Gates with a compliment to Phil Knight, the founder of the house of sneakers.
Born in Portland, Oregon (1938), Phil Knight attended the University of Oregon, where he was a member of the track team. After graduation, he attended Stanford Business School, where he had the idea of importing sneakers from Japan. In 1964, Knight founded Blue Ribbon Sports with his former track coach, Bill Bowerman.
The Beaverton, Oregon-based company changed its name to Nike in 1971 and became one of the most recognized brands in the world, with Michael Jordan as its main figure.
Knight retired as Nike’s president in 2004, but remains the company’s majority shareholder. Also, he is a philanthropist, donating millions of dollars to educational and sports causes.
In 2016, Phil Knight wrote Shoe Dog, memoirs on how he created Nike. In Spanish it is titled Never stop. Bill Gates wrote a review of the book on his Gates Notes blog, leaving high praise for the founder of the Swoosh company.
Bill Gates’ words about Phil Knight, the founder of Nike
For Bill Gates, Phil Knight is an example of honesty. He did not hide anything about the difficulties and mistakes on the way of Nike.
“Shoe Dog, Phil Knight’s memoir of the founding of Nike, is a refreshingly honest reminder of what the road to business success is really like,” says Bill Gates. “It’s a messy, dangerous and chaotic journey riddled with mistakes, endless fights and sacrifices. In fact, the only thing that seems inevitable from page after page of Knight’s story is that his company will end in failure.”
Today Nike is one of the most successful companies in the world, not only in the area of sneakers.
Bill Gates continues: “Knight opens up in a way few CEOs are willing to. He is incredibly hard on himself and his faults. He doesn’t fit the mold of the bold and handsome entrepreneur. He is shy, introverted and often insecure.
As Microsoft founder, Bill Gates identified with something special about the Phil Knight story: “Like Knight, we brought together a group of people with strange abilities. They were problem solvers and people who shared a common passion. for making the company a success. We all worked hard, but it was also really, really fun.”
About the book, and specifically about Phil Knight, Bill Gates says: “It tells his story as honestly as you can. It is an incredible tale. It is real. And you’ll understand in the final pages why, despite all the hardships he’s experienced along the way, Knight says ‘God, how I wish I could relive it all.’