Nike cofounder Phil Knight once taught accounting classes at Portland State University

Nike only paid $35 for the swoosh—and cofounder Phil Knight didn’t like it at first

A student Nike cofounder Phil Knight met while teaching at Portland State designed the logo for the “Nike” football shoe (the company was still Blue Ribbon Sports at the time). When Phil Knight saw it, he said, “Well, I don’t love it, but it will grow on me.”

Nike's Phil Knight ran for Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon before they became business partners

They became business partners when Knight tried to sell the Onitsuka Tigers to Bowerman for the Oregon track team. Bowerman told Knight he didn't just want the shoes; he wanted in on the whole deal.

The business plan for Blue Ribbon Sports came from a Stanford assignment

Nike cofounder Phil Knight’s original idea was to begin selling Japanese shoes, which were cheaper and just as light and durable as the leading German shoes from Adidas and Puma, at a lower price in the American market. His last assignment in business school at Stanford became the original business plan for Blue Ribbon Sports.

Nike couldn’t sign legendary distance runner Steve Prefontaine due to regulations

Because of amateur running regulations, Prefontaine—who held every American running record from 2,000 to 10,000 meters at the time—couldn’t do a paid endorsement for Nike. So Nike’s Phil Knight decided to give him a $5K yearly stipend and print business cards that said Prefontaine was the “National Director of Public Affairs.” When asked what that meant, Knight said, “it means he can run fast.”

Bill Bowerman’s daughter-in-law found the waffle iron he used to create a breakthrough shoe

Nike cofounder and University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman poured polyurethane into a waffle iron for his first attempt at creating the revolutionary waffle-knit sole. The waffle iron, which was found in his backyard, now sits in Nike’s headquarters.

Nike went public in 1980, and the first share sold at $22

Nike stock plummeted in the four years that followed the company’s initial public offering (IPO). The company’s deal with Michael Jordan in 1984 ultimately revived investor confidence.

One of Nike’s most transformational executives started out as its lawyer

Rob Strasser helped settle a lawsuit against Onitsuka Tiger when Blue Ribbon Sports became Nike and stopped distributing the Japanese shoes. Strasser then became a powerhouse at Nike credited with saving the company from going under in the 1970s, before leaving the company in 1987.

Nike made retailers pay for Air Jordans upfront to guarantee stock

Instead of paying for the inventory sold, Knight locked retailers into iron-clad agreements, where the companies would pay upfront for Nike inventory (but at a 7% discount). Knight did this to leverage debt, allowing retailers a better chance at getting the wildly popular Air Jordans.

Watch Bill Nye discuss biomechanics and sustainability while shopping for sneakers

While exploring sneaker history and technology, Nye covers the science of structural design, air bubbles and materials, including algae foam. He once voiced a 20-minute guided run on the Nike Run Club app.

Bob Noyce coinvented the integrated circuit, cofounded Intel and Fairchild Semiconductor, and is considered one of the founders of Silicon Valley

Some even called Noyce the “Mayor of Silicon Valley.” According to Steve Jobs, he was the “ultimate inventor, rebel, and entrepreneur.” This Founders episode dissects an article from 1983 that explains Noyce’s lasting impact.

John Foley was the president of e-commerce at Barnes & Noble before founding Peloton

Foley worked for Barnes & Noble during the company's race against Amazon to dominate the e-reader market (Barnes & Noble had the Nook and Amazon had the Kindle). Foley says his time working for Barnes & Noble helped him learn the business of digital media, which is a core element of Peloton's business.

Peloton instructors have built expansive personal brands

Outside of teaching Peloton classes, many instructors have amassed large social media followings and brand deals—ranging from modeling for Puma and Adidas to "Dancing With The Stars" appearances. On top of their influencer work, leading instructors at Peloton—like Cody Rigsby, Emma Lovewell, and Robin Arzón—reportedly earn salaries of more than $500K.

When he first enrolled at Princeton University, Jeff Bezos wanted to study physics

He later changed his major to electrical engineering and computer science. He graduated Summa Cum Laude and received job offers at Intel, Nokia, and Accenture, but he declined those offers in favor of a job at a fintech startup.

An interview with Laurene Powell Jobs

Steve Jobs is survived by his wife Laurene Powell Jobs, who has spent her career supporting social causes. Powell Jobs said she’s working to distribute the billions of dollars she received from her late husband.

Y Combinator Cofounder Jessica Livingston once interviewed her husband and cofounder, Paul Graham

Two of Y Combinator’s cofounders, Jessica Livingston and Paul Graham, were in a romantic relationship before they started the accelerator. They later married, and much later, Livingston started a podcast. In an episode of her podcast, Livingston and her cohost interview Graham about the beginning of YC and more.

The woman who coined the term ‘girlboss’ now has a VC firm called Trust Fund

In 2006, Amoruso founded the clothing company Nasty Gal, then later wrote a memoir called “#Girlboss” about her company’s meteoric rise. Later, she launched other ventures, including her “Business Class” business coaching series and the venture capital fund “Trust Fund.”

Why endowments took off at the turn of the century

After the Civil War, economic growth boosted philanthropy, much of it ending up in universities and colleges. Charles Eliot, the longtime president of Harvard, realized a university’s success was determined by how much money it could hold in the endowment. His approach to endowments radically changed their role in the modern university.

Watch legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt talk to her team at halftime

Pat Summitt won eight NCAA titles at Tennessee, with every eligible player graduating under her watch. This behind-the-scenes look from the halftime of the 2007 Final Four shows how she made that happen: She was confident, calm, and communal, even concluding her halftime speech by asking her players what they'd noticed on the court.

How a Philadelphia soup kitchen taught business students about ethical decision-making

As the St. Francis Inn—a Philadelphia soup kitchen—struggled with decisions about moving its operations to serve more people, a management professor at St. Joseph's University realized his students might have been able to help. Business students used ethical decision-making frameworks to help the soup kitchen serve more people and attract more volunteers.

The Sex Pistols were created by the owner of a fashion store

Malcolm McLaren and his wife Vivienne Westwood owned and operated a provocative fashion store in London simply called Sex. McLaren created the Sex Pistols from kids who hung around the shop, none of whom were musicians, as a way to infiltrate the music industry.

JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis met at Oxford and bonded over Norse mythology

The “Lord of the Rings” mastermind and “The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe” author were colleagues at Oxford University and shared an appreciation for Norse mythology, which continues to inform the fantasy genre. They were also a part of the same informal literary group, the Inklings, where they’d discuss one another’s works-in-progress.

Portland, Oregon, ran under a commission government for more than 100 years

From 1913 to 2024, Portland operated under a commission form of government, in which five elected commissioners each directly managed their own city bureaus—a structure that was largely abandoned elsewhere in the US by the mid-20th century.

How Charles Blair Macdonald changed the design behind golf

Macdonald's contributions to golf course design, including 21 principles still used today, are just as legendary as the game's players. This deep dive into the mostly forgotten figure explores his legacy, including why he never charged for his services.

Meet a payday lender who tried to fight the industry

Phil Locke once ran more than 40 payday lending stores in Michigan before walking away from lending in 2012. Locke left because he said he felt guilty about being a predatory lender. He tried to become a consumer protection advocate and influence reform, but ended up returning to the industry. (Some users may experience an email wall.)

The Wright brothers' sister hyped their work, and was the only one to attend college

Katharine Wright became the de facto household caretaker after their mother, Susan, died, when Katharine was 15. After graduating from Oberlin, Katharine took over household duties so her father and brothers could work. She promoted their work in the US and abroad.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

Comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, star of 'Schitt's Creek' and 'Home Alone,' quit 'Saturday Night Live' after just one week to return to her old job.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Quincy Jones' 'Big Band Bossa Nova' helped introduce bossa nova—a jazz-influenced Brazilian genre—to the US

During the French Revolution, a botanist's letter asking about "dear Rhus" (poison ivy) was intercepted, leading authorities to suspect he was conspiring with the Russians.