Archive : Start-Up Stories

He is the founder and CEO of the world’s second largest satellite television corporation and a pioneer of enhanced television programming for consumers.  And his story is one of peculiar beginnings and extraordinary heights.  Odds are, however, that you have never heard of Charles Ergen, and his Dish Network which currently has approximately 14 million subscribers, making him one of the wealthiest [...]

His brainchild is a Fortune 50 company that is one of the largest technological corportations in the world, and as a result Dell founder Michael Dell is recognized as a pioneer in the industry and one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world over the past quarter century.   Dell was born and raised in Houston, Texas to a wealthy family.  At age eight, he applied to take the GED to get [...]

Mike Ilitch: At a Glance Birthdate: July 20, 1929 Hometown: Detroit, Michigan Education: Cooley High School Company: Little Caesar’s Net Worth: $1.7 billion (2010)   “Pizza! Pizza!” It’s been a marketing slogan synonymous with Little Caesar’s Pizza for decades, which signaled in the marketing strategy of “buy one get one free” and made Little Caesar’s one of the most popular pizza [...]

HOWARD SCHULTZ: AT A GLANCE Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York Education: Bachelors’ degree in communications, Northern Michigan University Company: Starbucks Net Worth: $1.1 billion Quotable: “Compromise anything but your core values.” One could argue that much of America’s workforce runs on coffee.  And not only in the United States but around the world, when one thinks of coffee, it is often [...]

PAUL ALLEN: AT A GLANCE Hometown: Seattle, Washington Net Worth: $13 billion Company: Microsoft Education:  Attended Washington State University (did not graduate) Quotable: “In my own work, I’ve tried to anticipate what’s coming over the horizon, to hasten its arrival, and to apply it to people’s lives in a meaningful way.” Not Just a Tech Investor Paul Allen was at the forefront [...]

From the Wall Street Journal Online By SCOTT ADAMS

LARRY ELLISON: AT A GLANCE Hometown: Chicago, Illinois Education: University of Illinois, University of Chicago (did not graduate from either) Company: Oracle Net Worth: $39.5 billion (2011) Quotable: “When you innovate, you’ve got to be prepared for everyone telling you you’re nuts.” College Dropout Turned CEO He’s a college dropout who, as recently as 2008, was the highest paid [...]