“Play by the Rules. But be ferocious,” were the exact words that Phil Knight abided by when he was founding Nike (“Philip H. Knight”). You always have to play by the rules when doing anything but being ferocious and aggressive is another thing. Phil Knight’s ferociousness has paid off in the long run. Designing Nike, the world’s number one athletic-shoe company, Phil Knight was not just an entrepreneur but also clever in the way that he advertised his products.

Philip Hampson Knight, or Phil Knight, was born on February 24, 1938, in Portland, Oregon. He is the son of Lota Hatfield Knight and William W. Knight. Growing up, Phil Knight had two sisters. There names were Joanne and Jeanne Knight (“Phil Knight Biography”). Phil Knight attended …show more content…
Phil Knight continued to run track throughout his college career. While apart of the Oregon track team, he met legendary track coach, Bill Bowerman. Phil Knight trained under Bill Bowerman as a middle distance runner. This was the beginning of a long lasting friendship in the many years to come (“Phil Knight Biography”). Phil Knight’s interest in track, as well as other sports, gave him the incentive to learn more about track shoes and how they were being marketed. He asked Bill Bowerman to assist him in studying and comparing American and Japanese shoes. Working as a team, they determined that the American shoes were inferior in quality and the total weight of the shoe. American shoes were also not up to the Japanese standards in durability (“Phil Knight”). While attending Stanford, Phil Knight designed a detailed plan for what would soon become the number one athletic-shoe company in the world because Phil knight had an assignment to write a paper about starting a small business in an area that was familiar to him. Being a former track star at Oregon, he chose the topic of running. His plan consisted of a way to break the stranglehold that Adidas had on the running shoe