When Blake Mycoskie founder and “Chief Shoe Giver” of TOMS Shoes, spoke about the keys to his company’s success at this year’s SXSW Interactive conference, maybe he should have mentioned a good public-relations team.
Mycoskie, whose socially responsible company has for the past five years provided free footwear to impoverished children across the world, recently found himself embroiled in what he called an “issues debate” over civil rights and equality.
Here’s what happened: At the end of June, Mycoskie spoke at an event sponsored by the evangelical Christian organization, Focus on the Family, known for its work in opposition of abortion and same-sex marriage. Shortly thereafter, Christianity Today magazine published an article that suggested that the urban-apparel company had been developing a partnership with the conservative group.
Read the entire article at Entrepreneur.com.