• Forbes , Tuesday, March 13, 2012 10:30 AM

Sara Blakely grew her undergarment empire without any outside investment, debt, or even a cent spent on advertising. Blakely started Spanx out of a Decatur, Ga., apartment with $5,000 in savings at 27 years old. Today, the company still won’t advertise.

“We’ve been self-funded from the beginning,” said CEO Ann Goldman. “We had to spend money only on things that make money and advertising was esoteric. You couldn’t really measure the return you were going to get so we didn’t do it. The power of women discovering the brand from other women was actually a better strategy."

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