Kevin Plank and the Rise of Under Armour

Plank, born in 1972, grew up with four older brothers who, right from childhood, compelled him to constantly struggle to secure his interests. Plank wasn’t great at academics. During his high school days, Georgetown Preparatory School rusticated him for poor academic performance. As a result, Plank joined Fork Union Military Academy, where he started playing football with the aspiration of becoming a professional football player.

Toward the end of college, Plank had a job offer in hand from Prudential Life Insurance. Plank, whose inclination for sports had grown immensely during the schooling phase, wasn’t interested in taking up a job that would take him away from sports. Had he accepted the job and settled for it, he said, "I would have killed myself."...