Ryan Blair

Ryan Blair
Born July 14, 1977 (1977-07-14) (age 38)
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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