By Arslan Naqi
Entrepreneurs are acknowledged for being cheerful characters, both at work and in their private lives. Here are 8 cheerful stories to help motivate your own business success. From furniture mover to winning startup cash in a poker game, here are eight unexpected things that entrepreneurs have done.
Steve Jobs became a self-made millionaire at the age of 23
Steve Jobs is known as one of the supreme minds of the modern history, but his childhood was not that easy. His young, working-class parents worked very hard to raise him. Soon he was adopted by another couple, Paul and Clara Jobs. From a very young age Jobs was fascinated by computers. However, he never enjoyed formal education system.
After his first semester he dropped out of college, and started working at video game engineering company Atari. In the following days, Jobs together with Steve Wozniak created the first-ever Apple machine. The duo then funded their own commercial venture but through unconventional avenues at first, Jobs had to sell his Volkswagen bus and Wozniak sold his only scientific calculator. By age 23, Jobs had a net worth of a million dollar. At that time, he was the youngest on Forbes’ list of the country’s richest people. Jobs did not have any monetary assistance from his family or any other person but he kept on. By the age of 24, he made $10 million and crossed $100 million by the time he was 25. Before his death in 2011, he was reported having a total net worth 10.2 billion dollars.
Since His Childhood, Ralph Lauren had only one goal. And that was to become a millionaire.
Answering a question about his future goals in the school yearbook Ralph Lauren wrote only one word: “millionaire.” little did he know that he would go far beyond that number. Ralph opened a fashion company in 1967, Ralph Lauren Corporation. The UK based company now has a net revenue exceeding 6 billion dollars.
Ralph was the youngest son of Jewish immigrants living in the Bronx. From a young age he loved watching movies, some say that his childhood Hollywood stars continue to influence his designs. He would fall into the fantasy movies of that time, imagining himself into the scenes in which stars of those times like Gary
Cooper and Cary Grant were acting. The characters that populated his dreams and visions, Ralph brought that very fantasy to the world of fashion.
Ralph Lauren now has a net worth of $5.5 billion. The Ralph Lauren brand is well known across The United Kingdom for its luxury goods.
David Daneshgar Won Seed Money for his Startup by Playing Poker
A great challenge for a man with a business idea is accumulating startup money, no one would have imagined that playing poker was the quickest way to generate $30,000.
Daneshgar and his two friends wanted to start an online platform connecting florists with customers, but they didn’t have sufficient funds to begin with. Daneshgar, spent a thousand dollars to enter The World Poker Tournament 2008 and won the entire World Series of Poker that year. The grand prize of $30,000. Coincidentally, that was the exact amount required to start their business. At the end of the thrilling final round, Daneshgar said to his friends “Its flower time.” They launched their commercial site; BloomNation.com, in the year 2010.
If you’re a card genius like David Daneshgar, you should consider signing up for a poker tournament.
John Paul DeJoria was Twice a Homeless Person
It’s not very often that a homeless man can dramatically change his situation and become a billionaire. John Paul DeJoria is an American billionaire who co-founded two great multibillion-dollar firms; “John Paul Mitchell Systems”, a widely famous hire product brand and “The Patrón Spirits Company” Mexican based company that uses recycled bottles and leftover distilled water to fertilize the land. Now aged 73 DeJoria has a net worth of $3.1 billion.
DeJoria was a door-to-door encyclopedia and shampoo salesman. The pursuit of his entrepreneurial visions enabled him to partner with Paul Mitchell, and together they founded one of the most profitable hair-care company in the world. Soon after their company meet with success, Mitchell died due to cancer and DeJoria took over. Today the company generates $1 billion in annual revenues. DeJoria does not measure his success in dollars. Instead, the accuracy in which his plans were executed is his greatest achievement. DeJoria often says “If a business intends to stay in business, it cannot just consider of today’s bottom line.”
Bill Gates was a University Drop Out
Bill Gates enrolled himself in the Harvard University in 1973, originally thinking of a law career. In 1975 Gates dropped out of college in pursuit of his vision to see a computer at every desktop. Later in that year he launched Microsoft with his friend Paul Allen.
Microsoft was the first programming company. Due to its advanced software, IBM approached Gates, Paul and their team to purchase the software but they denied. They wanted a royalty fee from every sale IBM made using their software, and all rights of the software would remain with Microsoft. Originally IBM rejected their proposal. But due to advance ability of their software, IBM signed a partnership contract with Microsoft, agreeing to their demands, in 1980.
In 1985, IBM requested Microsoft to develop an operating system for their new computers called OS/2. Microsoft successfully produced that operating system, but also launched its own alternative, which proved to be in direct clash with OS/2. Soon Microsoft Windows overshadowed OS/2 in terms of sales. In 1990s after launching several versions of Microsoft Windows, Microsoft retained 90% market share of the world’s personal computers. The decision Bill Gates made not to sell the entire program with all rights to IBM in 1980 proved to be the most vital decision in the history of Microsoft.
Brad Pitt was a Furniture Removalist
Before he was an actor, the famous Hollywood superstar was a furniture mover. Brad Pitt attended the University of Missouri, he majored in journalism at the Missouri School of Journalism. But he never graduated he moved to Los Angeles with hopes of entering the film industry.
Pitt worked as a furniture mover, a chauffeur and dressed up as a chicken on the streets of LA for the restaurant chain El Pollo Loco to support himself in his early days in Hollywood. While struggling in L.A., he started studying acting with Roy London, the late renowned acting coach. Finally, in the late 1980s, Pitt’s career began he won bit parts in several television series and starred in a few television movies, but his first big hit came in by 1991; “Thelma and Louise.” since then he appeared in several blockbuster movies.
As of now, Brad Pitt has a total net worth of $300 million. Apart from acting Pitt also co-owns Miraval Winery, a vineyard. The vineyard has shattered the price record for pink blush.
Mark Zuckerberg Created Facebook in a College Dorm Room
Mark Zuckerberg is the fourth college drop out in this list. Zuckerberg is a former Harvard computerscience student who launched Facebook in February 2004 from his university dorm room. Next year he left Harvard to pay all attention to Facebook. Zuckerberg also holds the title of being the youngest billionaire in history, which he achieved in 2008 at the age of 24. Zuckerberg is currently the CEO and president of Facebook.
In his second-year Zuckerberg wrote the software for a website called Facemash. He hacked into Harvard security network, where he copied the student ID images and used them to populate his new website, website users could use the site to compare student photos and determine who was more handsome. Facemash was shut down by Harvard security, and Zuckerberg faced heavy penalties, but later all charges against him were lifted.
Next year, in 2004 he launched a new website called The Facebook. Originally, membership to the website was restricted to Harvard students only. Eventually, Zuckerberg gave membership access to other universities and colleges and later to the world. Now at the age of 36, Zuckerberg is the fourth richest man in the world with an estimated net worth of $92 billion.
After years of struggle, Eric Yuan finally created Zoom
Eric Yuan is the founder of one of the most famous and widely used communication platforms; Zoom, his net worth exceeds $19 billion. In the mid-’90s Yuan came to the United States from China, in pursuit of the internet boom. But coming to the USA was very difficult for him. Eight times he applied for a visa permit but his request was denied. Finally, on his ninth attempt, his application was approved, but the process took two years. In America, he worked for Silicon Valley communication for years. It was 2012 when Yuan launched Zoom platform. His platform was unique in its features, it was a solution for those who wanted to see someone far away.
Today, Zoom is used by more than 750,000 companies, keeping their employees connected through video and audio conferencing, chat, virtually combined workspaces and more. The real-time, face-to-face feature of Zoom makes it easier for companies to stay in touch, so workers can easily work from home and stay connected while working from a remote location. Zoom is used by many schools, for online classes, and for other various purposes. Yuan’s tough visa experience is a reality many other immigrants also face. But it’s also a demonstration of what can happen if you’re persistent.
Final Word
Many people like Eric Yuan face many difficulties to execute their ideas, some times it takes months maybe years for your dream to come true. Bill Gates didn’t make Microsoft overnight, there is no creation which is built overnight. All the entrepreneurs mentioned on this list have one thing in common. They all started from scratch. And the scrutiny of their lives is itself a guide for anyone who wants to achieve success.
To become what they are now each of them made sacrifices and many times faced failure. But they all knew that if you think that success comes gradually or eventually then you already lost the battle. The ones who win are those who accept failure and move on. Not only do they work hard, but are also smart enough to execute their ideas in the most perfect ways. If you need expert help setting up your business plan, contact Booming Businesses.
