An image taken from a videotape created at a Sept. 15, 1983, event honoring Carolyn Davidson, the Portland State University graduate who designed the Nike Swoosh. From left: Phil Knight, Joann Marx, Bob Woodell and Geoff Hollister.Courtesy of Carolyn Davidson

In 1982, Phil Knight and Bob Woodell, Nike’s founder and first chief operating officer, respectively, traveled to Stanford University to share their start-up story with a class of business school graduates.

They launched into a litany of mistakes, misunderstandings and narrow escapes that characterized Nike’s first decade.

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