Being organizers and operators of businesses, entrepreneurs hold powerful positions in the society. They are among the most respected people in the world because they possess qualities that not all people do, and they do things that most ordinary people may find undoable. More than his wealth, the success of an entrepreneur lies in the success of the organization that he leads. Behind every lucrative business today is an entrepreneur who has a clear vision in mind and knows how to weather crises and think out of the box. Here is a list of the 10 greatest entrepreneurs today:
10. Evan Spiegel
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Evan Spiegel is the co-founder of Snapchat who made it to the headlines after he turned down an offer from Facebook to purchase his franchise for $3 billion. Throughout 2013, his company had gained so much popularity that it got funding offers from various sources, allowing it to end the year with almost $50 million investment at $2 billion valuation. The company that Spiegel founded has captured the attention of the younger generation, making it appealing not only to its market but even to advertisers. He has been able to run his company so well that even Mark Zuckerbeg developed interest in his company. Spiegel is a graduate of Stanford University and is the son of two reputable lawyers in the United States. He believes that success cannot be attained without taking risks.
9. Jeff Bezos
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An American investor and technology entrepreneur, Jeff Bezos has played a significant role in the development of e-commerce since he founded Amazon.com, which is known today as the largest online retail store of a broad range of products, including books, clothes, tools, electronics and more. Amazon reached its peak in 2013 because of the successful Amazon Web Services (AWS), which has emerged as a true leader in the field of web services. Bezos is considered among the greatest entrepreneurs today because he was able to take Amazon from a once small online retailer of books into being the top online merchant of various products today.
8. Larry Page
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Lawrence “Larry” Page is one of the co-founders of Google, along with Sergey Brin. He is an American computer scientist and entrepreneur who currently serves as the chief executive officer of the world’s largest Internet company. He is credited for inventing PageRank, the search ranking algorithm of Google that works in analyzing how each of the millions of Internet web pages connect to each other. Because of his leadership, Google is now the leading Software as a Service (SAAS) vendor in the world, sustained by its Gmail and Google Drive products.
7. Howard Schultz
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An American writer and businessman, Howard Schultz is the current chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks. He used to own the Seattle Super Sonics and one of the Board of Directors at Square INC. In 1998, he also co-founded the investment group Maveron with Dan Levitan. Since he became the chairman of Starbucks, he has kept his focus on packaged goods, tying up with grocery and retail stores worldwide to extensively promote Starbucks products. Because of his good decision making, Starbucks has been able to succeed despite the worldwide economic crisis.
6. Mark Zuckerberg
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Best known for being among the five co-founders of the social networking site Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg is an American Internet entrepreneur and computer programmer who currently serves as the chairman of Facebook, Inc. Since he co-founded the most popular social networking site today, he has consistently been ranked among the wealthiest and most influential people in the world. Through his leadership, Facebook has been the leader in social networking for years. In 2013, he pushed for more aggressive advertising strategies which eventually led Facebook, Inc. to eat earnings expectations. As of February 2014, his estimated wealth is already US$ 27.9 billion.
5. Bre Pettis
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Born in 1972, Bre Pettis is a video blogger, multi-artist and American entrepreneur who is best known for his DIY video podcasts for MAKE as well as for the History Channel’s History Packer. One of the co-founders of the NYC Resistor, Bre Pettis also founded the MakerBot Industries which is popular today for producing 3D printers. Because of his innovative products, he has been able to change the way people look at 3D printing. Unlike before when 3D printers were beyond the reach of average consumers, they are now made easily available to everyone.
4. Jack Dorsey
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In 2012, Jack Dorsey was recognized by The Wall Street Journal as the “Innovator of the Year” because of his contributions in the field of technology. Dorsey is an American businessman and web developer who co-founded the world’s most popular micro-blogging site Twitter. He also currently serves as the chief executive officer of mobile payments company Square. This company paved the way for more market-friendly businesses as he allowed even average small businesses to accept credit card payments on mobile devices. His competing solutions are unparalleled that he was recently named among the Top 35 Innovators in the World under the age of 35.
3. Travis Kalanick
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Known as a “serial entrepreneur,” Travis Kalanick is an American entrepreneur who founded in 1998 Scour, one of the earliest P2P file exchange search engines ever introduced. He also founded Red Swoosh in 2001 and currently serves as the chief executive officer of Uber, another company which he co-founded with Garrett Camp in 2009. This company allows consumers to connect with taxi services through the use of their mobile devices.
2. Godfrey Sullivan
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The president and chief executive officer of Splunk, Godfrey Sullivan has helped the organization realize beyond expected growth since he became at the helm of the company five years ago. The continued success of Splunk lies in his inclusion of Big Data a significant part of his business strategy, making site easy for anyone to access. Because of his leadership, Splunk was able to file an IPO in 2012 and successfully acquired Bugsense just a year after.
1. Tim Ferriss
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Tim Ferris is an angel investor, public speaker and entrepreneur who published the No. 1 New York Times bestseller, USA Today bestseller and Wall Street Journal bestseller “The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich.” Aside from being an author, Tim Ferriss is also one of the advisors of giant social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as StubleUpon, Evernote and Uber. For the past six years, Ferriss’ name has been in bookstores and television shows. He currently hosts the show The Tim Ferriss Experiment.