Avinash Chate
+91 87936 30001Book a Session
Request a ProposalWhatsApp

    Shoe Dog Book Review: What Phil Knight Teaches Indian Student Founders

    Swoosh Squad reviewed Shoe Dog at HNIMR with a skit about heavy running shoes. My questions on importing and competitors, plus 5 lessons for young founders.

    Shoe Dog Book Review: What Phil Knight Teaches Indian Student Founders

    On 29 October 2026 I was the chief guest and judge at "Ink & Insights", a book review competition at MKSSS's Smt. Hiraben Nanavati Institute of Management and Research for Women (HNIMR), Karvenagar, Pune. Twenty-one MBA teams each reviewed a business book on the theme "From Vision to Venture: Learning Through Books", with a skit, slides and then questions from me.

    The very last team of the day was group number 21, Swoosh Squad, with Shoe Dog, Phil Knight's memoir about building Nike. Closing a long day is not easy, and they did it with a smile.

    What the book is about

    Shoe Dog came out in 2016. It is Phil Knight's very honest account of building Nike from what everyone called a crazy idea. As a student at Stanford, he wrote a paper arguing that Japanese running shoes could beat the German brands, just as Japanese cameras had. In 1962 he travelled to Japan and got the rights to sell Onitsuka Tiger shoes in the United States. In 1964 he started Blue Ribbon Sports with his old running coach, Bill Bowerman, and sold shoes from the boot of his car at track meets.

    Bowerman never stopped experimenting; the famous waffle sole came from his wife's waffle iron. When the Onitsuka deal broke down, they launched their own brand, Nike, in 1971. The Swoosh logo was designed by a student for 35 dollars. For years they lived in a cash crunch. Banks dropped Knight, and a Japanese trading company, Nissho Iwai, kept them alive. Nike went public in 1980. The big lesson of the book is: do not stop.

    How Swoosh Squad presented it

    They opened with a short skit in Marathi. Two athletes complain that their shoes are so heavy they cannot run properly. Why does nobody solve this for people like us? We need comfortable, lightweight shoes. Let us find a solution ourselves. And then, of course: "Just do it." Everyone in the hall understood the book before a single slide came up.

    They showed a short video glimpse of Knight's journey, then made a point I liked: for Phil Knight, business was a solution to a problem he had faced himself as a passionate runner. He knew what a runner expects from a shoe because he was one.

    The team walked through his idea of importing good, affordable shoes from Japan, and the early decision to sell directly to athletes to build relationships. Then the hard part: financial pressure, cash flow problems, inventory and credit troubles. Their five lessons were believe in your vision, take calculated risks and learn from failure, value hard work and teamwork, be patient and think long term, and face challenges with courage. They ended with the whole team on stage and the tagline, "Just do it."

    My questions to the team

    I first asked what they had learned from the many failures in Phil Knight's life. "Never give up. Just do it," they said. Fair enough, but I wanted to go one level deeper, to the business itself.

    So I reminded them that Knight did not start by manufacturing. He started by importing shoes and selling them. If you got a chance to start a business tomorrow, I asked, what would you first import and sell in India? They admitted they had never thought about it that way. That is honest, and it is exactly the thinking I want students to practise.

    Then I asked whether, while studying Nike, they had read anything about its competitors, Puma, Reebok or Adidas. They had not. I am not sharing this to embarrass anyone. It is the most common gap I see, in colleges and in companies. We study the hero and forget the market the hero was fighting in.

    5 lessons for Indian students and young founders

    1. It is fine to start as a trader

    Nike began as a reseller of someone else's shoes. Trading teaches you customers, pricing, credit and logistics with less risk than manufacturing. Ask yourself today: what could I buy well and sell well this month?

    2. Solve a problem you live with

    Knight was a runner selling to runners. Swoosh Squad's skit said the same thing. Your daily irritations, at college, at home, in your sport, are your best market research.

    3. Study the competition before you need to

    Who else sells this? At what price? Why do customers choose them? Spend one evening on Puma, Adidas or your local rival before you spend one rupee on stock.

    4. Watch the cash, not just the sales

    Nike was growing and still nearly ran out of money many times. Growth eats cash. Know when you pay suppliers and when customers pay you, and keep that gap small.

    5. Know when to become a brand

    When the Onitsuka deal broke, Knight had a choice: find another supplier or build his own name. He built Nike. A trader who understands the customer deeply is in the best position to launch a brand later.

    The real message

    Swoosh Squad said it well in their closing: a small business, with risk and effort, can grow into a global brand. I would add only this. Knight did not wait to be ready. He started from the boot of a car. Pick one small product, sell it this month, and learn. Just start.

    If you run a college or company

    I run book-review competitions, entrepreneurship sessions and leadership programmes for colleges and companies across India. If you would like one for your students or your team, write to me here and we will plan it together.

    With thanks to HNIMR

    My thanks to Dr. Priyanka Singh, Director of HNIMR; Mrs. Manjushree K. Nawale, Librarian, and her library team, who organised Ink & Insights 2026; Mr. Vishwajeet Deshmukh, Placement Officer; Mr. Devadatta Sant; and Ms. Minal Kotwal, for hosting me so warmly and making the day run so smoothly. And to every student who stood on that stage with a book in hand: thank you for the courage and the creativity.

    Related Articles by Avinash Chate

    Work with Avinash Chate

    AC

    Avinash Chate

    India's Leading Corporate Trainer | TEDx Speaker | Author

    With 1000+ organizations trained including RBI, JSW Steels, and Ferrero, Avinash Chate delivers high-impact corporate training across India. Creator of the KITE Leadership Framework and bestselling author of "The Winning Edge."

    Website YouTube

    Avinash Chate services

    Corporate Trainer in Mumbai · Top Corporate Trainers in Mumbai · Leadership Trainer in Mumbai · Top Leadership Trainers in Maharashtra · Motivational Speaker in Mumbai · Top Motivational Speakers in Mumbai · All service locations

    ← Back to all articles · Book Avinash Chate

    By Avinash Chate — Maharashtra’s #1 Corporate Trainer & Motivational Speaker. .