7 Great Entrepreneur Success Stories To Get Inspired

While some people were born rich and handed everything on a silver platter, others have started with nothing to accomplish the success they are enjoying now. Many of the wealthiest people in the world started their journey in slums and orphanages. Many of them credit their hardships that gave them the motivation, understanding and personality required to make it to the top.

Rags to riches stories are the most interesting stories to read. They give an everlasting appeal to readers and aspiring entrepreneurs. Their stories of a heroic struggle against all the odds can be inspirational for many who may not think it is possible for them to make a similar climb.

If you are having trouble getting inspired or motivated, here are 7 great entrepreneur success stories to get inspired.

1. Steel Tycoon, Andrew Canergie

Andrew Canergie is an American industrialist and the founder of Canergie Steel. His steel company produced more steel than all of Britain at one point. He has an inspiring rags to riches story that can motivate aspiring entrepreneurs.

He grew up in poverty having to share a house with one room and he often slept so he could forget about how hungry he was. His family migrated to the United States to fight starvation. The first job he got was at the age of 13 as a bobbin boy. His job was to change the spools of thread in a cotton mill 12 hours a day, 6 days a week in a Pittsburgh cotton factory.

His spare time was spent reading the works of Robert Burns or the Scottish heroes. He worked his way to the top quickly and by 1889, Carnegie Steel Corporation became the largest of its kind in the world. He was known as one of the “builders” of America who helped shape the nation.

2. King of Retail, Samuel Walton

Samuel Walton is the famous owner of the Walmart supermarket chain. However, this retail king came from rags to riches. To make ends meet for his family, he would do numerous chores such as milking the family cow, bottling the surplus and driving it to customers.

He also joined the US Army during World War II. After the war, he left the military and started managing a variety of stores. He took a loan shortly after and bought his first store. A few later, he opened his first true Walmart location. At the time of death, he had 1,960 Walmart stores across the country.

3. Queen of All Media, Oprah Winfrey

The Queen of all Media is best known for her multi-award-winning talk show The Winfrey Show. This is the highest-rated program of its kind in history. She was dubbed as the ‘Queen of all Media’ and one of the richest African American females of the new era.

Before Oprah reached her pinnacle of success, she has a lot of struggles during her childhood. She was raped at the ages of 9 and 13. She also suffered years of abuse and decided to run away from home. At the age of 24, she gave birth to her son but they eventually died in infancy. She became a millionaire when she went national with her talk show. She went from having very little, but today, she is one of the billionaires in the world.

4. Tech Superstar, Larry Ellison

Larry Ellison is the CEO of Oracle. His mother was an unwed Jewish and his father was an Italian American US Air Force pilot. When he was 9 months old, he was given to his aunt and uncle for adoption.

He was always bright as a child, but very inattentive according to many teachers. His mother ended up passing away during his high school years and he would later go on to attend the University of Chicago for one semester while studying computers. In 1977, he founded Software Development Laboratories (SDL) for a small amount with a few of his friends. Today, Ellison was listed on Forbes List of Billionaires.

5. Asia’s Richest Man, Li Ka-Shing

Li Ka-Shing is one of the richest men in the world. However, his story also inspires other people to strive more. He was forced to stop and leave school at the age of 15 when his father died.

As a result of his father passing away, he was forced to take on a lot of the responsibilities of his house at a young age. He worked at a plastic trading company earning very little. He strived so hard to succeed from these experiences that after years of back breaking work, he was finally able to start his own business.

6. Forever 21, Do Won Chang

Do Won Chang worked as a janitor, a gas station employee and a coffee shop attendant to make his ends meet for his family. He was working so hard that after three years of thrift spending, he was able to save enough to open up his first retail store.

His first retail store is known today as Forever 21. Forever 21 grew to be a giant retail store which is a pioneer in forward fashion amongst teenagers and younger individuals. Today, the retail store has over 480 outlets worldwide and is continuing to grow.

7. Apple Founder, Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs became a legend and an icon for technology. Before he became a household name, he struggled quite a bit early on in his life. He was given away for adoption by his biological parents when he was born.

When he was growing up, he showed a keen interest in electronics. He dropped out of college because his studies were costing his foster parents too much money. He had struggled a lot before he became well-known for being the founder of Apple, Inc.

Conclusion

You don’t have to be born wealthy to be successful. You just need determination and perseverance to succeed. In this post, I shared with you 7 great entrepreneur success stories to get inspired.