Ryan Blair

Ryan Blair
Born July 14, 1977 (1977-07-14) (age 39)
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 co-founder and chief executive officer of the multi-level marketing company ViSalus Sciences,[2] a subsidiary of the publicly traded company Blyth, Inc.[3][4] In 2011 he wrote a book titled Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: How I Went from Gang Member to Multimillionaire Entrepreneur which reached The New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover business books.[1][4][5][6][7] Ernst & Young named Blair as Entrepreneur of the Year in 2012.[8]

Early life

Blair was raised in Southern California.[9] As an adolescent, Blair suffered from Attention Deficit Disorder and struggled with his father’s violent behavior and addiction to methamphetamines.[1][10] 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][11] 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][10][12] 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 at Logix Development, a computer technical support provider.[7][10][12] At age 21, after serving as vice president of Logix Development he founded the technical-support firm 24/7 Tech.[10][12]

Business and writing

In 2005 Blair became the CEO of the multi-level marketing company ViSalus Sciences.[13][14] In 2008, ViSalus was in debt and facing bankruptcy.[10] That year the company was acquired by Blyth Inc., with Blair remaining as CEO. Within 16 months the company went from $6 million in debt to $150 million in revenue.[10][15] As of 2012, ViSalus was valued at $600 million.[16] Revenue subsequently declined and the company operated at a loss for 2013 and the first two quarters of 2014.[17]

In 2011, Blair released an autobiography, Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: How I Went from Gang Member to Multimillionaire Entrepreneur.[9] The book was ranked 3rd in The New York Times Best Seller list for August 2011 and was a number one New York Times Hardcover Business Book bestseller in September of that year.[5][6] In 2012 and 2013, Blair contributed several articles to Forbes Magazine's website.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Duff McDonald (30 November 2012). "Business Lessons From a Former Gang Member". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  2. "RYAN BLAIR CO-FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER". Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  3. "40 Under 40 -- Ryan Blair". Crain's Detroit Business. 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  4. 1 2 Issie Lapowsky (28 June 2012). "'Why I Carry This Reminder'". Inc. Magazine. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Best Sellers August 21, 2011". New York Times. August 21, 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Hardcover Business Books Best Sellers September 2011". New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  7. 1 2 Scott Fummer (1 December 2011). "Road Warrior: Ryan Blair". CNN Money. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  8. "MNWO 2012 Award Winners" (PDF). EY.com. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 7, 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  9. 1 2 Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: How I Went from Gang Member to Multimillionaire Entrepreneur. Google Books. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vivian Giang (14 August 2012). "How This Guy Went From Gang Member To Multimillionaire Entrepreneur". Business Insider. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  11. Andrew Keen (15 August 2011). "Keen On… Why Gang Members Make Wicked Entrepreneurs". Techcrunch. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  12. 1 2 3 Laurent Belsie (5 February 2012). "The job-shifters: people who reinvent themselves mid-career". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  13. "Blyth, Inc. Completes Third Closing of ViSalus Acquisition". Reuters. 16 January 2012. Archived from the original on February 10, 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  14. "Blyth delays completion of ViSalus purchase to 2014". Reuters. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  15. Dan Schawbel (8 August 2011). "Entrepreneurship: Nothing to Lose and Everything to Gain". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  16. Janean Chun (2 March 2012). "Ryan Blair, ViSalus: My First Million". Huffington Post. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
  17. Walsh, Dustin (14 September 2014). "ViSalus co-founders buy back stake, launch new product line". Crain's Detroit Business. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  18. "Contributor: Ryan Blair". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
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