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Plank launched his activewear line, Under Armour, in 1996 from the basement of his grandmother's house in Washington, D.C. He played college football for the University of Maryland as a fullback, where he found inspiration for the business. Plank hated how his cotton t-shirts were always soaked in sweat after practice, so he set about designing a shirt that would stay as dry as possible. A few serendipitous events then led to Under Armor becoming a household name around the world. Over the past two years, Plank has realigned his goals. He's spent nearly a billion dollars investing in a handful of the most popular fitness trackers and apps, including MyFitnessPal and Endomondo. Inc . reports that by investing in these companies, Under Armor now has health, diet and fitness data for more than 150 million people. Under Armor aims to leverage this data to improve marketing, merchandising and product development.
Nearly $4 billion in revenue – the company projects it will reach $7.5 billion by 2018
Partners include Stephen Curry, Jordan Spieth, Tom Brady and Lindsey Vonn
Second Plus major sportswear company in the United States (behind Nike)
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This article originally appeared in the February 2017 issue of SUCCESS magazine.
