Everyone dreams of becoming an entrepreneur at one point or another in their life. And we all know that it is not an easy dream. That is why most of us give up. From day one, it requires 100% effort on your part. You most likely will not have anyone around to support you. It will take a long time before you see any hope for success. Of course, this will scare away people who are not serious about their dream of becoming an entrepreneur. But, for the ones who are, the loneliness, the naysayers, and failure after failure will serve as motivation.
Today, we talk about people who did not give up and achieved their dreams of becoming entrepreneurs. They took the world of business by storm, shook the foundations of their respective industries, and changed them forever. So how did they achieve such groundbreaking success? With a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). Every entrepreneur mentioned in this article has an MBA background. There is a reason why MBA degrees are one of the most successful and sought-after programs worldwide. Also, MBA grads head the world’s best firms like Apple, Mckinsey, Coca-Cola, and Amazon. Lastly, you do not have to leave the comfort of your home to get your MBA. You can now get your degree online at your pace. Florida Gulf University offers an online MBA program in Management Leadership for people comfortable learning from home.
With that being said, let’s get into it.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa, on 28 June 1971 to his mother, Maye Musk, and father, Errol Musk. He has a younger brother and sister. His family was very wealthy during his childhood. He showed interest in computing and taught himself coding using a manual. After high school, Musk spent two years at Queen’s University in Ontario and transferred to Penn University. He graduated in ’95 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics. He has an MBA degree from the Wharton School of Business. Musk’s entrepreneur career has been quite the story. Earlier in his career, he co-founded Paypal and Zip2. Not one to rest on his laurels, he went and co-founded Tesla, a giant in the automotive industry. He also founded space exploration company SpaceX and is on a mission to colonize Mars! As of right now, he has amassed a fortune of $220+ billion!
Stephen Schwarzman
Schwarzman was born in Boston on 14 February 1947 to Joseph Schwarzman and Arline Schwarzman. He grew up in Philadephia, Pennsylvania. After high school, he attended Yale University. He graduated in 1969, and in 1972, he got his MBA from Harvard Business School. Schwarzman’s first job was at Lehman Brothers Brothers, an investment bank. In 1989 Schwarzman formed his own company: The Blackstone Group, with his friend Peter Peterson. Initially, Blackstone Group focused on mergers and acquisitions but quickly branched into other investments. Today, Blackstone Group is one of the world’s largest alternative investment firms with over $730 billion aum.
Mark Pincus
Pincus was born on 13 February 1966 to Theodore Pincus and Donna Pincus. He grew up in Chicago, Illinois. After high school, he attended Wharton Business School. He graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. Afterward, in 1993, he got his MBA from Harvard Business School. Pincus’s first job was in the finance industry as a venture capitalist. He worked as a VC for six years. He has held numerous management positions in many companies like AT&T. In 2007, Pincus found Zynga Inc. known for developing games like Farmville and Word with Friends on social platforms. The company received a one billion dollar IPO in 2011.
Philip H. Knight
Knight was born on 24 February 1938 to Bill Knight and Lota Cloy Knight. He grew up in Portland, attended the University of Oregon and graduated in 1959 with a Journalism degree. Afterward, in 1962, he got his MBA from Stanford. Knight worked as a CPA at Coopers & Lybrand and Price Waterhouse and also served in the Army. After graduating from Stanford, Knight visited Japan on his trip around the world. While he was there, he met with Onitsuka, the founder of Asics, a running shoe brand, and secured distribution rights for Asics in the western US. When Knight got the first shipment from Asics, he mailed two pairs to the University of Oregon track and field coach Bill Bowerman. Bowerman loved the shoes and wanted to work with Knight on future designs. The two later founded Nike. Today, Nike is worth $30+ billion and is an industry leader in sport’s shoes.
Paul Rice
Rice was raised in Austin, Texas, by his mother. After finishing high school, he went to Yale in 1978. He graduated in 1983 with a major in Political Science and Economics. He earned his MBA in 1994 from UC Berkeley, where he developed his plan for TransFair, or as it’s known today: Fair Trade USA. Fair Trade USA has changed the game for farmers in the global market and has allowed them to get their fair share from big corporations. To date, Fair Trade USA has helped 1+ million farmers worldwide get their fair share for their produce. Also, over 800 businesses are certified through Fair Trade USA.
Agnes Koulouvaris AKA Varis
Varis was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on 11 January 1930. After finishing high school, she attended Brooklyn College and majored in Chemistry and English. Afterward, she earned her MBA from Stern School of Business. She has founded three industry-leading pharmaceutical companies known as Agvar Chemicals, Marsam Pharmaceuticals, and Aegis Pharmaceuticals.
Conclusion
It is scary to start on the path of becoming an entrepreneur. The first step to every dream is creating an actionable plan. You will face many obstacles and challenges on your journey and fail many times before finding what works for you. People will leave your side, and haters will doubt your ability to be an entrepreneur. Do not pay them any attention. Instead, focus on your work. Take inspiration from those who have done it before you, like the people mentioned in this article.
Sheerin Jafri is a creative and passionate blogger who loves to write on various trending topics. She looks forward to pursuing a career as a financial analyst and is keen to learn about business and lifestyle.
