Ryan Blair | |
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Born | July 14, 1977 48) | (age
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Entrepreneur |
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 former co-founder and chief executive officer of the multi-level marketing company ViSalus Sciences, a subsidiary of the publicly traded company Blyth, Inc. [2] [3]
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. [4] [5] Ernst & Young named Blair as Entrepreneur of the Year for Michigan & Northwest Ohio in 2012. [6]
Blair was raised in Southern California. A product of a broken family, at the early age of 13, "he was already heavily 'involved in stuff' after his father succumbed to drug addiction," Blair told Business Insider in an interview. [7] He dropped out of high school in the 9th grade, left home, and became a gang[ specify ] member in his home-town of Los Angeles. [1] [7]
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. [5] [7] [8] At age 21, after serving as vice president of Logix Development he founded the technical-support firm 24/7 Tech. [7] [8]
In 2005, Blair became the CEO of the multi-level marketing company ViSalus Sciences. [9] [10] In 2008, ViSalus was in debt and facing bankruptcy. [7] That year, Blyth Inc. began a multi-stage takeover, paying the three owners $105.7 million and stock valued at $143.2 million for an 80 percent share of the company. [11] Blair remained as CEO.[ how? ][ why? ] In 2010, Blair won the DSN Global Turn Around Award "when he actually turned the company around from a $6 million debt in early 2008 to $150 million in revenue 16 months later." [7] [12]
In 2011, Blair released an autobiography, Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: How I Went from Gang Member to Multimillionaire Entrepreneur. 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. [4] As of 2012, ViSalus was valued at $600 million. [13] Revenue subsequently declined and the company operated at a loss for 2013 and the first two-quarters of 2014. Blair and his fellow co-founders re-acquired 90 percent of the company that year, eliminating Blyth's obligation to pay for the stock acquired in 2008. [11]
In 2016, Blair released his second book, titled Rock Bottom To Rock Star. [14] The book focuses on teaching individuals how they can become rock-star entrepreneurs, by redefining what rock-star means. [14] "It isn't the celebrations that make you a rock star, it is the hard work" says Blair.[ citation needed ] In 2018, Kasi Head, a former beauty queen and longtime girlfriend to Blair, filed a restraining order against Blair and alleged the entrepreneur broke her nose and knocked out her teeth. [15]