ATLANTA — Atlanta's very own entrepreneur and founder of Spanx, Sara Blakely, had a big surprise for her employees this past week.
Just days ago, Blakely sold and supported a deal valued at $1.2 billion to Blackstone for the acquirement of Spanx, according to 11Alive's partner, the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
At her headquarters, Blakely hosted a party and had a special surprise for her employees. During the party, Blakely said when she first started the company she wrote one goal down.
"I said this company will one day be worth $20 million and everybody laughed at me, and you know, I said 'I really believed that.' So to stand here today and think about what we've been able to create, and what we've been able to do while being authentic, and kind, and delivering amazing products to women," she said.
On her Instagram page, Blakely added "it was an emotional announcement filled with happy tears acknowledging how far we've come."
"And then the tears really started to flow when I surprised everybody with 2 first-class @delta plane tickets to anywhere in the world and $10,000 cash to spend on the trip," she wrote.
Blakely said she wanted every employee to celebrate this moment in their own way and create a memory that would last a lifetime.
"Cheers to 21 years of magic and many more to come," she wrote.
Some of Blakely's employees wrote what they were doing to do with the first-class plane tickets and the money. One said they were going to use it to elope, another said they were going to go to South Africa on a safari.