In relentless pursuit of excellence, these innovators have made it a habit to come up with game-changing ideas. These serial entrepreneurs touch billions of lives and have even bigger plans for 2021.
It takes effort, imagination and hundreds of hours of hard work to come up with an idea that changes people’s lives and establishes itself as a game-changer in the industry. While most great entrepreneurs bask all their lives on the back of one such idea, some become literal mines of ground-breaking ideas. They float one idea after another, shape successful businesses around them and establish themselves as examples to others.
A person who successfully establishes concepts into reality and ideas into prolific business models is known as a serial entrepreneur.
Here, we take you through 7 such great entrepreneurs of our age people who have moved the world through their series of innovative thoughts and are continuing to do so in 2021.
1/7
Elon Musk
Just at 49, Elon Musk has built and run some of the most famous businesses in the world. From Paypal to Tesla, SpaceX, Boring Company, SolarCity, and Neuralink, Musk has been perhaps the most successful serial entrepreneur of the 21st Century.
Musk had entrepreneurial skills from a very young age. He founded PayPal when he was 28. He then founded SpaceX in 2002 and currently is at the forefront of the global commercial space industry.
Watch: Elon Musk’s $700 quintillion asteroid mining dream
The Crown Jewel of Elon Musk’s entrepreneurial portfolio, Tesla became a grand success within a decade of its establishment. Leaving Toyota behind as the world’s biggest automotive company, Tesla achieved a phenomenal 459% growth of its shares, making Musk the fifth richest person on the planet in October 2020.
| Elon Musk | Biography |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Elon Reeve Musk FRS |
| Occupation | Business Tycoon Industrial Designer & Engineer |
| Age | 49 |
| Education | Queen’s University University of Pennsylvania |
| Nationality/ Citizenship | South Africa Canada United States |
| Companies Founded (I) | Zip2 X.com (Now PayPal) SpaceX Tesla |
| Companies Founded (II) | The Boring Company SolarCity OpenAI Neuralink |
| Net worth | US $126.2 billion |
It’s OK to have your eggs in one basket as long as you control what happens to that basket.
– Elon Musk — Famous Quote
Is Elon Musk’s IQ more than Bill Gates and Steve Jobs?
Elon Musk’s IQ score is 155. However, that’s a little less than both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates who have scores of 160. Nevertheless, Musk stands of for his ability to use numbers to make process changes unique and read and apply technical information to a complicated industry.
2/7
Jack Dorsey
Jack Dorsey‘s exceptional social site idea Twitter changed the way who-is-who of the world interacts with the rest of the world. It cut down on sources like newspapers, channels and magazines and put celebs directly in touch with their fans and critics. Dorsey, the co-founder and CEO of Twitter, was also the founder and CEO of Square, an online mobile payment company.
Watch: The Insane Lifestyle of Jack Dorsey
He started his entrepreneurial forays with a company that specialized in online dispatch services. However, his most famous product, Twitter, was an inspiration from LiVEJOURNAL, a social media site from Russia, and AOL instant messaging. His innovative ideas were seriously taken up by investors as the foundation for Twitter and other products were laid soon.
| Jack Dorsey | Biography |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Jack Patrick Dorsey |
| Occupation | Technology Entrepreneur Philanthropist |
| Age | 44 |
| Education | New York University University of Missouri-Rolla |
| Nationality/ Citizenship | United States |
| Companies Founded | Twitter Square |
| Net worth | US $9.5 billion (Nov 2020) |
Great companies don’t just have one founding moment. They have many founding moments.
– Jack Dorsey — Famous Quote
Where did Jack Dorsey learn how to code?
Nowhere. Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, is perhaps the world’s most successful self-taught programmer. With immense interest in city infrastructure and transportation, Dorsey started to learn programming all by himself as a teenager.
3/7
Gary Vaynerchuk
Born in Belarus, Gary Vaynerchuk moved to the United States when he was 3. He is the CEO of VaynerX, a media and communications company, and VaynerMedia, a renowned advertising agency. His other businesses are Gallery Media Group, VaynerSports, and Green Street.
From bagging ice, selling baseball cards and growing his father’s business online, Vaynerchuk has tried his hands almost at everything. He has summed up his experience in a book series titled ‘crushing it’.
| Gary Vaynerchuk | Biography |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Gennady Vaynerchuk |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur Author & Speaker |
| Age | 45 |
| Education | Mount Ida College, Massachussets |
| Nationality/ Citizenship | Belarusian-American |
| Companies Founded (I) | VaynerX YummyText Wine Library TV |
| Companies Founded (II) | Resy Empathy Wines |
| Net worth | US $160 million (Nov 2020) |
The game for me is not acquisition, it’s lifetime value and the percentage of wallet I get from that person.
– Gary Vaynerchuk — Famous Quote
Is Gary Vaynerchuk a self-made millionaire?
Vaynerchuk inherited a family wine business worth $3 million and transformed it into a 21st century hot-seller by founding the Wine Library and making the family business worth $60 million.
4/7
Michael Rubin
Michael Rubin is an established internet and sports serial entrepreneur. He founded a sports equipment company called KPR sports which had earned $50 million revenues by 1995. His 1998 venture, Global Sports, a billion-dollar e-commerce venture), was purchased by eBay for $2.4 billion. eBay sold three of Global Sports’ consumer divisions back to Rubin.
Rubin merged all of three to form the present-day Kynetic. It includes ShopRunner (member-based service website dedicated to online shoppers), Fanatics, Inc., (sports merchandise seller) and Rue La La (flash sale site). Rubin is also one of the investors in the New Jersey Devils hockey team and the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team.
| Michael Rubin | Biography |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Michael G. Rubin |
| Occupation | Business Man Sports Merchandiser |
| Age | 48 |
| Education | Villanova University |
| Nationality/ Citizenship | American |
| Companies Founded | GSI Commerce Kynetic Fanatics Rue Gilt Group |
| Sports Teams Co-owned | Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) New Jersey Devils (NHL) |
| Net worth | US $3.5 billion (Nov 2020) |
There is always a way to accomplish what you aspire to accomplish — but the way you get there might not be the way you expected to go.
– Michael Rubin — Famous Quote
How much is Michael Rubin’s company Fanatics worth?
E-commerce major and sports merchandising giant Fanatics is today worth US $6.5 billion. Rubin’s company has picked up to series E rounds of funding.
5/7
Evan Williams
Co-founder of Twitter, Evan Williams worked as a computer programmer at O’Riley Media, a company that publishes books and websites in the computer technology context. His first-hand experience helped him start his own blogging site ‘Blogger’.
Watch: Evan Williams talks about his darkest moment
He also co-founded Pyra Labs. The ex-chairman and CEO of Twitter, Williams also established Medium, one of the largest blog distribution websites.
| Evan Williams | Biography |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Evan Clark Williams |
| Occupation | Technology Entrepreneur |
| Age | 48 |
| Education | University of Nebraska-Lincoln |
| Nationality/ Citizenship | United States |
| Companies Founded (I) | Twitter Blogger Medium |
| Companies Founded (II) | Pyra Labs Odeo Obvious Corporation |
| Net worth | US $3 billion (Sep 2020) |
Take a human desire, preferably one that has been around for a really long time Identify that desire and use modern technology to take out steps.
– Evan Williams — Famous Quote
Is Twitter founder Evan Williams vegan?
Williams is a vegetarian. Interestingly, he has invested in a fake meat/ vegan company called Beyond Meat alongside his Twitter Co-founder Biz Stone. Williams investment stands at US $414 million.
6/7
Janus Friis
Billionaire Scandinavian entrepreneur Janus Friis made the world take notice when he co-created Skype, the first prominent computer-to-computer voice and video calling service. Skype achieved great success within no time and it was sold to eBay, Inc. for $2.6 billion in 2005. Zennstrom rejoined Skype in 2007, and four years later, it was sold to Microsoft for $8.5 billion.
However, Skype was just one of the several tech ventures they had established. A peer-to-peer file sharing service called Kazaa was also their innovation. At present, Zennstrom is handling Atomico, an investment venture that has invested in over 50 technology companies. Friis founded Starship Technologies in 2014.
| Janus Friis | Biography |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Janus Friis |
| Occupation | Business Tycoon Entrepreneur |
| Education | High School Dropout |
| Nationality/ Citizenship | Danish |
| Companies Founded (I) | Kazaa Skype Joost Vdio |
| Companies Founded (II) | Starship Technologies Altnet Rdio Wire |
| Net worth | US $900 million-1.3 billion (2020) |
Its more important to have smart people who really believe in what you’re doing than really experienced people who may not share your dream.
– Janus Friis — Famous Quote
How did Janus Friis become a billionaire?
Friis achieved the ultra-rich tag after he and his partner Niklas Zennström sold Skype to eBay for US $2.6 billion in 2005. He still retains financial interest in Skype through Silver Lake Partners which sold Skype to Microsoft for US $8.5 billion.
7/7
Alexander Samwer
Alexander Samwer, part of the Samwer Brothers with Marc and Oliver — from Cologne, Germany, is known for creating several successful ventures through their excellent entrepreneurial skills. While living in San Francisco, they studied the success of eBay. In 1999, they replicated the same idea in Europe to launch Alando.
Watch: The Samwer Brothers Success Formula
The company was sold to eBay for a whopping price of $43 million within 100 days of its establishment. A year later, they founded their next company called Jamba!, which offered SMS mobile content, including online gaming and ringtone. In 2004, Jamba! was sold to VeriSign for $270 million. In 2007, they established Rocket Internet SE, which replicated successful global businesses in local markets. The company is now funding startups for a number of internet companies, including Foodpanda, HelloFresh, and Home24. The trio was also the early investors in Facebook in 2008.
| Alexander Samwer | Biography |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Alexander Samwer |
| Occupation | Technology Entrepreneur Investor |
| Education | University of Oxford Harvard Business School |
| Nationality/ Citizenship | German |
| Companies Founded | Picus Capital Pacifico Energy Partners Augustus Alando |
| Arvantis Group Jamba! Rocket Internet GFC | |
| Net worth | US $1.2 billion (Nov 2020) |
We don’t accept that we can’t win.
– Alexander Samwer — Famous Quote
Why did Alexander Samwer part ways with his Brothers?
The youngest of the three, Alexander left the company of his brothers Oliver and Marc in 2013 to go his separate way. Alexander has since been active in social projects around education and environment including “Leaders for Climate Action.”
