Daymond John’s success is credited to the immeasurable value of having a solid support system.

It’s a known tidbit that the “Shark Tank” co-star turned FUBU into an iconic brand thanks to his mother’s belief in him. However, in an interview with Shannon Sharpe, he revealed the extent of just how much she supported his dream.

After Sharpe mentioned that John’s mother was his first investor, he shared his journey that led to the special moment. From seeing him work tirelessly on his brand for five years to being denied by 27 banks, she made a big decision to help her son.

“I go to my mother and tell her I got turned down from 27 banks and she says, ‘Daymond, you’ve been trying to contribute to this house as long as you were a kid. I wouldn’t do this if you didn’t have the money. Let’s take all of the money we can out of the house. You manufacture and deliver the clothes and put the money back into the house.’ And that’s how she gave me the money,” he told Sharpe.

He continued: “My mother went out and got a $100,000 loan on my house and I have no idea how because the houses were $75,000. To this day I haven’t asked her what she did for the rest of the money, but shout out to moms.”

Turning FUBU Into A Success

Although he was heavily backed by his mother, at the time, it was still a fight to ensure that her investment would be worth the risk.

According to John, nearly three months later, the $100,000 became $500 due to not having enough financial education to handle juggling various costs for FUBU.

The mishandling of money put him in jeopardy of losing his mother’s house. Again, she came in to save the day with the idea to put an ad in the newspaper for a strategic partner. It led to securing three of them and signing a deal for manufacturing distribution with Samsung’s textile division.

“There were some dark times and that’s the best part of me having three amazing partners,” John said. “Every time they were down, I’d pick them up and vice versa. My mother was still there saying you got this and my community was behind me. I realized that I had to make it work. Everything was on the line and there was nothing else to discuss. It was just I had to make this work.”