100Minutes

Q & A with Nick Graham. Fondly known as ... "Joe Boxer."

Nick Graham, the extremely personable entrepreneur behind the Joe Boxer brand has recently revealed himself
in a new role: that of author and motivational speaker.

Q: I understand that you're currently working on a book. How did you come to be involved in this kind of project ?

NG: Yeah I've got a book that's going to come out -- later this year. I just started thinking about it one day. It
began as more of a philosophical idea of how brands are created and what are brands. Actually, I don't even like
the word brand. I'd like to find another word for it.

Q: You seem to give some practical information as to how people can look within themselves and see what
talents they might bring to the table.

NG: You know, it kind of ended up that way. I didn't really start it in that sense. But I really tried to figure out
exactly what the process was and then, you know, at the end of it there really is something to learn from it.

Q: There are obviously any number of books out there about how to start a business. But I thought that these
were things that might inspire someone who hadn't even considered being an entrepreneur. Do you think that's
what makes your approach different ?

NG: Yeah, and that's kind of why I use other examples. You know, from Muhammad Ali to Walt Disney.

Q: What's your feeling about what's happened to Disney and Michael Eisner ?

NG: Well, he has done an amazing job for twenty years. I mean he really maximized the Disney brand. It's just a
question of whether the creativity is still maintained there.

Q: So are you thinking that they should go back to their roots a little more ?

NG: Yeah, but not too much. I mean I use the Pixar / Disney example, where Pixar pushed animation foward and
used the creativity of the technology of the time. It's just as Disney did in the early days of animation, and now
Disney's in danger of losing out on all that - if the technology goes somewhere else. That would be a huge blow, I
think. You see, its just fascinating, all that. What I try to do is look into how things are created, who started them
and why. You know ... some of them are completely random The dynamics of creating are just amazing and how
it is all interrelated as well.

Q: You had 100 questions that someone might ask himself or herself. How did you come up with them and why
?

NG: It started when I did a proposal for a book and sent it to my agent. He said this is really interesting but what
do people get out of it ? I said, well they have to ask themselves some questions. He said "well why don't you
just ask the questions." I started with the first one which was, "Who are you ?" Which is a very centering question.
The last one is, "How do you want to be remembered ?" And using this is an attempt to understand the motive to
make money and all the rest of it.

Q: I noticed that some of the questions are really quite emotional. Is that intentional ?

NG: Yes, like who did you love that you don't love anymore ? But that's really it. It's life in a sense. It's how you live
your life. And that's the point of the whole process. I mean this is how you're going to experience it and how you're
going to create value for people, and that's the point. So it's really this kind of existentialist way of looking at it.

Q: Have you gotten any direct feedback when you've spoken to college students ?

Joe Boxer: Yeah, the e-mails have been great. I mean these people are right at the point of sort of formulating
what it is they're going to make. So the reaction was great. Then at the other end of it -- once when people came
up and thanked me, a bunch of students came up and said "do you have any advice for someone starting a
business ?" (Laughs) I said, "well that was the whole point." But anyway, I thought that was cute.

An insightful look at what is the inside 100 Minutes. -- Rhonda Erb

Nick Graham comes out with this book called "100 minutes." It is about firsthand experience with Branding, the
how to create a Brand for your creation or product. Nick Graham spoke to an audience of Editors and Press about
the book, from the Runway under The Tents in New York City's Bryant Park. You will find this interesting and funny.
When Nick Graham began the session he told us a story of when he first started making men's boxer shorts. He
was using an old out of circulation image of a U.S. 500 dollar bill. Men came to his door to confiscate his shorts and
... arrest him. It was the F.B.I. -- they were concerned he was counterfeiting money on the Boxer shorts. They did take
his Shorts (inventory). That was how it all began. You could say here the Feds were -Short- sighted. Picture below.