In this article you will learn about some Entrepreneurs who after 30 achieved success and they show you that it is possible.
I like to write articles with introductions that completely immerse the reader, but people who resign themselves to pursuing their dreams with the excuse that they are “old” are simply making an excuse. So to the point:
Entrepreneurs after 30 years.
1. Donald Fisher, co-founder of Gap at 41 years old.
“Don’t worry about those who talk behind your back, they are behind you for a reason.”
He saw an opportunity thanks to the Levis clothing store. When she tried to return a pair of jeans, she realized that no Levis store carried all styles in all sizes; so she passed a proposal to open one that had this feature and called it: “GAP”.
Some time later, Donald together with his wife, launched their own clothing line (GAP) that would bear the same name as the store; becoming the first brand that did this.
GAP currently has more than 15 billion in sales and more than 135,000 employees.
2. Lynda Weinman, founder of Lynda.com.
“Earning money is something you have to do for a living, but the drive to want to create something that creates value is much more powerful.”
When I need to learn something to add value to my projects, I think of two things: YouTube and Lynda.com.
Lynda Weinman, like many other entrepreneurs, began her first steps with a failure: She opened 2 clothing stores that she had to close some time later.
The path to success led her to work doing animations and special effects for different movies and in 1995 she founded Lynda.com.
Initially, Lynda.com was a source of information and resources for its computer science students. To date, it is one of the most important education portals, which is why it was bought by LinkedIn for 1.5 billion dollars.
3. Bob Parsons, founded GoDaddy at age 47.
“In business you end up trying a lot of things, most of them don’t work. The path for a person to become good at business is by failing, failing, failing and failing again.
“I’ve earned everything I’ve received,” says Bob. “Very little was given to me, I have been working since I can remember. Whether it was selling or delivering newspapers, at gas stations, working in construction and factories…I have always earned my money.”
After hard work, at the age of 44 he sold his first company. Parsons Technology was acquired for 64 million dollars by the company Intuit, Inc. In 1997, she founded GoDaddy.com, one of the most recognized companies in charge of selling Internet domains.
According to Forbes, Bob is worth more than $2.7 billion.
4. Jack Ma founded Alibaba at the age of 35.
“We are never short of money. We lack people who dream and are willing to die for their dreams.”
We all know what Jack Ma has achieved but many don’t know what he had to go through.
A few years ago “failure” and “Jack Ma” were synonymous. Of the many barriers that he had in his education, the 10 rejections by Harvard stand out. Then 30 job search rejections. One of them when KFC came to China: 24 applied, 23 hired, and guess who got turned down?
He also saw 2 of his initial projects fail but that did not stop him and now his company, Alibaba, is the most fearsome competitor to giants like Ebay and Amazon and he occupies the throne of the richest man in China.
He is a very interesting person. If you don’t know him, watch this short video to give you an idea.
https://www.facebook.com/ModoEmprende/videos/1624568340922323/
Also read: 40 powerful phrases by Jack Ma that will help you create a business.
5. Tim Westergren, co-founded Pandora at age 35.
“Make your team feel respected, empowered, and genuinely excited about your company’s mission.”
Before co-founding Pandora, Tim worked as a music producer and composer for 20 years. She even worked as a babysitter in her spare time.
Pandora was not always a successful company. In fact, he owed more than $150,000 and Tim had no way to pay the employees for 2 years.
When he had “busted” 11 credit cards and all seemed lost, he received the investment that saved his company and today he has more than 2,000 employees and continues to revolutionize the music streaming market.
In the following video you will see how he convinced 50 employees to work for free.
https://www.facebook.com/ModoEmprende/videos/1398005433578616/
6. Bernie Marcus, co-founded Home Depot at age 50.
“I’m basically a dinosaur, I don’t use email, but I do recognize the importance of science and the resulting possibilities.”
Marcus wanted to be a doctor but did not have the resources to pay for the degree. So while working with his father, he made a career as a pharmacist. He also went through several companies and in each of them he understood the importance of sales.
Years later when he held a senior position, he was fired along with the person who would co-found Home Depot. In 1978 they took a risk and founded Home Depot, shortly after Marcus, his partner Arthur Blank and Ken Langone, the person in charge of getting the group of investors, became billionaires.
7. Robert Noyce, co-founder of Intel at 41 years old.
“Innovation is everything. When you’re ahead, you can tell what the next innovation will be. When you’re behind, you have to expend all your energy to catch up.”
Robert is not the protagonist of a story full of failures or pain, it is the story of a young man whose ingenuity changed the world.
At a very young age he built radios and even airplanes to play with his brother. He always stood out in his studies, with mathematics being the area in which he stood out the most.
His talent allowed him to work in well-known companies until finally, in 1968, he founded Intel. His accomplishments earned him honors from 3 presidents, a member of the US Business Hall of Fame, and a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Medal.
And it could not be missing, the story of Chris Gardner, the man who inspired the film: “In Pursuit of Happiness”.
Conclusion.
Don’t make excuses and find the way. Age is not a determining factor for success, so do not think that if you are “older”, it is too late.
What you need is to constantly think of ideas. And if you already have it, validate it and validate the market. If after that, you see a possibility. chase her 🙂
And remember, if you are really interested in creating your own business, you can read our book “How to create a company while working: Discover how to manage your time, manage your money and motivate yourself while creating a company and working for another” , where you will find all the information you need to found your own company, without having to leave your job.
