Entrepreneurship

What's in your waste can?

Most of the things in your room right now will eventually become garbage. That’s the simple idea that in 2001 drove college freshman Tom Szaky to launch Terracycle, a company that collects waste and converts it into new products.

David Kahn: serial entrepreneur

David Kahn, once owner of Blockbuster and Subway franchises, not to mention a mansion and a Hummer, watched his profit assumptions go down the tubes. But he never cashed in his dreams:

Flirting with Groupon

Chicago-based Groupon has spawned an industry of deeply discounted coupons. If its model catches your business's fancy, try it, with precautions. Make sure you’re solid on Yelp. If you’re afraid of a customer deluge, cap the number of coupons. And never take your eye off quality.

A brew master's guide to leadership

Jim Koch is a sixth-generation craft brew master. But unlike previous generations, he built a beer empire, Boston Beer Co., that brings in annual revenues of more than $500 million. Here’s what inspires and drives the man behind Sam Adams beer:

Got an idea? Light the fuse now

Media mogul Jim Dolan’s signal characteristics include becoming easily bored and getting a thrill from taking calculated risks. In fact, he took his company public in 2007, having long ago learned about timing investments—that lesson came when he was a little kid selling fireworks.

What's your defining moment?

When Bill Rasmussen borrowed $9,000 on his credit card for a new venture in 1979, he didn’t realize he was making a decision that would define his career—and the future of sports broadcasting. ESPN aired for the first time because of that defining-moment decision by Rasmussen.

Inside the mind of great entrepreneurs

What distinguishes great entrepreneurs? By eavesdropping on the thinking of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs, Professor Saras Sarasvathy discovered that master entrepreneurs are like Iron Chefs: They’re at their best when presented with a spread of ingredients, then challenged to push their imagination to the limit.

Tyson's bare-knuckles businessman

Donald J. Tyson was an entrepreneur with a vision when he dropped out of college and built his father’s Arkansas chicken business into one of the world’s largest producers of poultry, beef and pork. But his risk-taking style often led him to the limits of the law—or just beyond. Where he got it right:

Under Armour's road to sweat equity

For Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of Under Armour, the journey to leadership began with a vexing problem he had personally experienced: As a walk-on player with the University of Maryland football team, he perspired a lot. So, after he finished playing with the team, he decided to find a solution to his sweat problem. His mission: to create a no-drip T-shirt.

The entrepreneur behind Silly Bandz

Unless you’ve spent time on the playground lately, or have kids of your own, you may know nothing about the latest schoolyard craze: Silly Bandz. The story of Rob Croak, the man behind them, holds lessons for entrepreneurs in search of the next big thing.

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