Given TOMS’ mission and the way its business model is constructed, would you characterize TOMS’

business model as a standard business model or a disruptive business model? What impact has TOMS’ business model had on socially-minded organizations?

In 2005, Blake Mycoskie, a serial entrepreneur, needed a break. After starting 5 companies in 12 years, he traveled to Argentina looking for some time to relax.

He met some expatriates who were doing social work in villages on the outskirts of Buenos Aires and asked if he could tag along. In one village in particular, he noticed that most of the children didn’t have shoes.

He stopped a few of the kids to look at their feet and saw cuts, abrasions, and infections. He knew the villagers were poor and couldn’t afford to buy their children shoes and wondered what he could do to help. He also knew there was an inexpensive shoe in Argentina called the alpargata. What would be the best way to provide poor Argentinean children alpargata shoes?