26-06-2008
Heroes of enterprise
by Adfero
People the world over love heroes and aspiring entrepreneurs are no exception. There is nothing more inspiring than the tale of someone who has come from a humble background rising to the top of their game and making their first venture a roaring success.
The great news for us is that the world of business is full of such examples, such as Nintendo, which grew from very humble origins – the company actually started life as a manufacturer of playing cards! Or even Nokia, which started out as firm specialising in wood pulp. During their early days they have even had a go at producing Wellington boots!
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There are of course more local and well known heroes that a budding entrepreneur should draw inspiration from, two of which are Sir Richard Branson and Sir Alan Sugar.
Sir Richard Branson
Born in 1950, Sir Richard started his first entrepreneurial activities at Stowe School in Buckinghamshire where, according to richard-branson.com, at the age of 16 he created a magazine called Student. One year later he went even further, establishing a student advisory centre.
While Sir Richard's academic performance was affected by dyslexia and a number of earlier ventures did not prove to be a success, this did not hold him back. In 1970, the entrepreneur established his first venture into the world of selling music by mail order and followed that two years later by launching a chain of music retail outlets known as Virgin Records. He moved into the music recording industry the same year.
"In 1972, a recording studio was built in Oxfordshire where the first Virgin artist, Mike Oldfield, recorded 'Tubular Bells', later released in 1973," said richard-branson.com.
"The first album of Virgin Records went on to sell more than five million copies. At the age of 27, Richard signed The Sex Pistols to the Virgin Records label after the group was turned down by every label in Great Britain."
And Virgin Atlantic Airways, one of Sir Richard's most visible successes, has risen from its creation in 1984 to become the UK's second biggest international airline for long-haul routes. Fighting for years against a system biased towards existing airline companies, Virgin now runs flights to destinations including the US, Caribbean, Africa and Asia. It would have been the easy road for Virgin Atlantic to give up the fight but Sir Richard’s determination helped them stay the course.
Sir Richard gives the outward impression of being a fun-loving, likable entrepreneur, however the success of his companies reveals the hard-nosed, driven business man beneath. The mixture of these qualities has served him well throughout his career.
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Sir Alan Sugar
Born in 1947 in the East End of London, Sir Alan grew up as the son of a tailor and did not continue in full-time education past the age of 16. His first job upon leaving school was for the UK's Ministry of Education where he worked as a statistician. Now an accomplished businessman and multi-millionaire, Sir Alan's entrepreneurial teeth were actually cut during his first business venture as the seller of electrical products and car aerials - his premises, a van.
Despite these humble beginnings, Sir Alan was to establish Amstrad in 1968 at the age of 21. Initially created to sell electrical products, Amstrad became synonymous with the first era of the home personal computer, producing its first machine - the Amstrad CPC 464 - for release in 1984.
"Sugar is a key player in the business and media world and one of the UK's most successful entrepreneurs, which was recognised in 2000 when he was knighted for services to industry," said Meera Dattani, in a report by Virgin Media.
After selling his business for a reported £125 million in 2007, Sir Alan is arguably now better known for his appearances on the BBC reality television programme, the Apprentice.
The work of these two men shows that, despite humble origins or early setbacks, it is possible to grow a business into something big. Essentially, both Sir Alan and Sir Richard show that entrepreneurial dreams of making it big can become a reality with hard work and determination.
However, their work over the years also shows that to be a success, it is necessary to possess certain personality traits such as grit, determination, and a will to succeed. They also have a knack of spotting the next big thing. And while not all entrepreneurs will run a business that survives the long term, and others may not grow to become multi-millionaires, it is not out of the question. But it does require lots of hard work and some serious business acumen.
