In a world where success stories often seem reserved for the privileged or the extraordinarily talented, Davie Fogarty stands as a shining example that anyone can achieve greatness through determination and hard work.
From humble beginnings, Davie embarked on an incredible journey that saw him transform $500 into half a billion dollars in just five years. His story is not only inspiring but a testament to the power of resilience and unwavering commitment.
"This is my story of how I went from being an insecure kid who was told he was stupid…To building my brands to $500M revenue — all before my 29th birthday. Grab a coffee — this is a long one. (But I promise it’s worth it)".
Early Struggles with Insecurity
From as early as Davie Fogarty can remember, he always struggled with insecurities. He was told he was stupid. He was always in trouble at school just to be cool and fit in. Things ended up getting pretty bad. He remembers getting grilled in a teacher-parent interview, and his parents told him that he either starts putting in more effort or they would pull him out and move him to a different school. It worked.
So he started to take his life seriously. He remembers watching these old Nike commercials, and they lit this belief inside of him that maybe he could be something great.
The Original Million-Dollar Plan
Davie got to work, and he created his genius plan to get rich:
- Get better grades
- Go to university
- Land a high-paying engineering job
Well, it didn't work out — he hated it and quit University within his first year.
But luckily at this time, he was also running Instagram accounts making some good money. It started off small but slowly started to grow. He remembers he would be on a night out with friends, and they would all cheer when he sold a $5 shout-out because it meant he could afford another drink.
First MAJOR Win (Making 6 Figures)
This was back in the glory days of Instagram. Davie Fogarty managed a portfolio of pages, each boasting over 1 million followers, resulting in a substantial six-figure income.
During this time, his parents began to suspect he might be a drug dealer due to his possession of six burner phones for managing the accounts. Simultaneously, he was deep into fitness training, establishing and running his own personal training venture.
His days were relentless, extending to 14-hour work marathons, yet he felt an invincible energy propelling him forward.
Instagram was proving more lucrative for him than his potential earnings as a mining engineer.
He achieved peak physical condition, an embodiment of his success, and proudly amassed his initial savings of $100 000. However, a surge of overconfidence took hold, and he soon faced a rapid downturn.
Getting Scammed for $40 000
Davie Fogarty had sunk a ton of money into launching a Vietnamese roll restaurant. He grinded for hours every day — coming home stinking of pork, and had zero time for family and friends.
To make things even worse, he got scammed $40 000 trying to buy an Instagram account. It was everything he had left.
He says that he remembers sitting in his bathroom feeling like an absolute failure. This was definitely the darkest moment of his life. But through the help of his family, he kept pushing. He shut down his Vietnamese restaurant business and moved to Melbourne to find a job.
Davie got a ton of marketing experience by getting a job at the 5th Watches, which gave him the skills to successfully launch Calming Blankets.
Started Calming Blankets with His Last $500
Between losing money from investing in the Vietnamese restaurant, $40 000 and always traveling back and forth from Melbourne to Adelaide Davie says that he was down to his last $500 when he launched Calming Blankets. He had no idea if it was actually going to work. But in the first month, Calming Blankets brought in $1 000 - $2 000 in profit, and it scaled incredibly fast from there. By the end of their first year, they had cleared $1.5M in profit.
Davie says that he was in shock and finally felt like his hard work had paid off. He decided to splurge a little and bought his dream car. He couldn’t stop smiling for about a week.
Then, he bought his girlfriend her dream car and bought his dream house in cash. Nothing beats those first significant wins.
From Millions to 100’s of Millions
Davie Fogarty took everything he learned from scaling Calming blankets and put it into the Oodie. And it also took off. Now, the Oodie is in 6 countries working with some of the most significant licenses in the world. Combined with his other businesses, they have done over $500M in revenue in the last 5 years. And he’s been able to build something he is extremely proud of.
"We have done over $500M in revenue in the last 5 years. And I’ve been able to build something I am extremely proud of. I feel lucky to have built amazing relationships with employees and people in the industry.", Davie says
Davie’s Advice:
Davie says that he’s incredibly grateful for everything he has achieved. But he’s not unique, anyone can do this.
"If a skinny dorky kid from Adelaide thought he was stupid can do $500M in revenue in under 5 years. Then so can you. Just do it."
Conclusion
The incredible journey of Davie Fogarty, from a young boy wrestling with insecurities to a visionary entrepreneur who generated over half a billion dollars in revenue, is an extraordinary tale of the human spirit's boundless potential.
His story encourages everyone to dare to dream, work relentlessly, and conquer challenges with unwavering determination. As we reflect on Davie's remarkable journey, may we all find the motivation to pursue our own aspirations, armed with the knowledge that greatness is attainable for those who are willing to believe in themselves and persist.
