Just a Few Examples
of the
Entrepreneurs:
Leaders In Change
Entrepreneurship Education
Benjamin Franklin
writer, diplomat … businessman
 A writer, publisher,
inventor, politician
and diplomat, he
 always
considered
himself a
businessman
John Rockefeller
first business before age 20
 His first business
selling grain and
other goods before
he was 20 .
 By buying out oil
refineries around
Cleveland and New
York after the Civil
War, Rockefeller soon
dominated the market
Thomas Edison
Most prolific Inventor of his time
 Edison's relentless
innovation made him the
most prolific inventor of
his time
 Started as a telegraph
operator but soon moved
on to refining that
technology and creating
others that would turn
the world on its head: a
device to turn power into
light, a machine to
record and play back
sound
Ray Kroc
Master Franchisor!
 Ray Kroc turned a
California burger
shack into a brand
whose golden arches
span the globe
 By investing in
franchisees, Kroc
drove the inexorable
growth of McDonald's
and created one of the
most visible brands in
history
Walt Disney
Animator – film - entertainment
 The first multimedia
empire was built on
animation
 He also founded
Disneyland .
 His company owns:
Buena Vista Pictures
Entertainment, ABC
TV, ABC Family
Channel, and ESPN
Martha Stewart
Publishing, TV, Foods,
Merchandising/Retail – started business
in her home
 Started a catering
business out of her
Westport (Conn.)
home in 1976
 Went on to expand
into retail,
publishing,
television, and
merchandising
Bill Gates
Technology!! Philanthropist
 By linking his
Microsoft software to
IBM's first PCs, he
dominated the industry
 He developed a twotwoprong strategy of
expanding the market
while maintaining a
strong hold on
competitors
Jeff Bezos
Web sales - technology
 Founded
Amazon.com, in 1994
 Bezos pioneered
techniques that have
become staples of
online sales.
sales.
Muhammad Yunus
Micro Finance Lending – for 3rd world people
Social Entrepreneurship for the poor
 2006 Nobel Peace
Prize winner,
founded a banking
system 30 years ago
to lend small
amounts of money to
the rural poor in
Bangladesh villages
 The Grammeen
Foundation – Micro
Enterprise financing for 3rd
world individuals/countries
Michael Dell
custom built PC’s - innovation
 Created a new model
for PC sales
 Cutting out the retail
middleman and
custom--building
custom
computers to suit
buyers' needs put
Dell at the front of
the class of PC
makers
Oprah Winfrey
Brand Image, publishing, broadcasting,
web, Social Entrepreneur
 Oprah Winfrey turned
her name into one of
the most successful
and respected brands
in the world
 Leveraged that fame
into other interests:
magazines, Web sites,
film and television
production and Social
Entrepreneurship
Steve Jobs
Technology/Innovation
 The Apple cocofounder combined
simplicity with innovation
to emerge from the
Internet boom as one of
the lone tech companies
that can butt heads with
Microsoft
Tom Anderson & Chris DeWolfe
My Space – Social Networking
 Founders of
MySpace.com
 Registering 160,000
people per day with
no marketing
 By September 2007,
there were over 200
million accounts.
accounts.
Chad Hurley, 29; Steve Chen, 28 &
Jawed Karim, 27
Broadcasting - Tech
 Founders of
YouTube
 Broadcasts 100
million short videos
daily on myriad
subjects
 Sold to Google
Pierre Omidyar
Internet Sales/Marketing
 Founder of EBay,
EBay,
which made the
promise of the
Internet a reality by
connecting farfarflung customers
with the goods they
wanted to buy
Lee Brown - Lucas BrownBrownLin Miao - ages 20 to 23
Marketing firm w/$100 investment
 Founded marketing
firm Tatto while
students at Babson
College in 2005 with a
$100 investment
 Revenues are $25
million for 2007 and
expected to grow to
$50 million by 2008
Max Crane - Tyler Dikman –
David McIntosh -Darian Shirazi
ages 1818-23
Raised 1.65 million venture capital
 CoCo-founders of
nine--person
nine
software
application and
social networking
company Redux
 Began business in
December 2006 and
raised $1.65 million
in venture capital in
March, 2007
Max Durovic – age 24
& Michael Kenny age 23
Employ 500 employees
16-- 25 years of age
16
 This duo started their
own business, Aarrow
Advertising, with $100
 Employs 40 fullfull-timers
and 460 partpart-timers
who range between 16
and 25 years old
 Had $2.3 million in
sales in 2006 and
projects $4.2 million
this year
Jasmine Lawrence, 16
Uses her
science knowledge
 After a chemical hair
relaxer caused almost
all of her hair to fall
out, she decided to
make her own
 After borrowing $2,000
from her parents, the
high school junior
launched her
company, Eden Body
Works
 This year she expects
to earn $100,000 in
sales
Sarah Schupp, 25
uses writing skills -
journalist - publisher
 Founder of
University Parent
Media which
produces
visitor/information
guides for parents
of college students
 Expects around
$800,000 in
revenues in 2007
Alex Tchekmeian, 21
owns/created15
businesses
in music industry
 Owner of AKT
Enterprises, which
consists of 15
businesses that
revolve around the
music industry and
include merchandising,
Web development, and
online ticketing
services
 The business had $1.3
million revenues in 2006
and just over $3 million in
2007
6 Young Men
Technology - Engineering - Math - Science
 Started Loopt, a
customized mapping
software for GPSGPSenabled phones that
allows users to locate
friends on a map via
cell phone or Web site
 The 3535-employee
company has received
$5 million in venture
funding
The Next Generation…. of
VT REAL Entrepreneurs
2009 VT REAL Statewide Business
Plan - 1st Place
“Hearts for Haiti”
 Team of 6 students from - MMUHS
Created a socially responsible business/marketing plan (non(nonprofit) to help raise money and awareness for Haitian
families – working with
the Vermont Haiti Project
Social Entrepreneurship
Education – through VT REAL
2010 -
VT REAL Business Plan
Top Three Winners – with their Teacher
@
 P

 Lieutenant Governor
presents awards at the VT Chamber Business
and Industry EXPO – along with Comcast
presenting $2,250 in cash prizes!
Former VT REAL Students
Amy Malinowski – Babson College (full 4 year
scholarship - $50K per year – Social Entrepreneurship
Michael Adams
– 2010 Bryant College – BS Business
Management – Owner/Creator “Eddie’s Energy Bars” and VT
Mustard

Katherine
Bowen
– Ithaca College – International
Marketing - Summer Intern Washington, DC -
Business Ideas and
Winning Plans
 Hannah Ricard
Live, Love, Dance Studio
(North Country Career Center)
 Lauren Graves
L & J Automotive – car repairs/parts
(Winooski High School)
VT REAL
Opportunities
 Rochester, VT student
with VT REAL Teacher
Susan Bushnell
 VT REAL Students from
Rochester, VT with their
teacher and Legislators
 at the 2009 Statehouse
Entrepreneurship Week
Luncheon
February
February 2010
Entrepreneurship
Week
at Statehouse
More Ideas
and
Winning Plans
 Kora Hutchinson
“Aim for Perfection” – photography studio
(Randolph Technical Center)
 Brianne LaCross
“Fun 4 Everyone” – entertainment park
paint ball, go carts, mini golf
(Bellows Free Academy – St. Albans)
 Tessa Blanchard
“Tessa’s Massage Spa/Studio”
(Randolph Technical Career Center)
VT REAL Engaging
and
Enterprising Activities
May 2010 –
VT REAL Business Plan Competition
Award Ceremony at Vermont State Chamber
Business & Industry
EXPO – with Comcast
Sponsor of $2,250
prize monies
for students
Tomorrow’s Entrepreneurs
are in
Our Schools Today!
Tomorrow’s
Entrepreneurs
are in our Schools Today!
Plant the Seeds ….
Let Them Grow