Eric Yuan is a man who has made billions of dollars from the coronavirus pandemic. Eric’s story is a story of perseverance, Eric was denied eight-times before he was able to use his visa and move to California. What is unique about Eric is his origins, he started his career in Japan and he was inspired to move to silicon valley after hearing Bill Gates talk about the Dot-com bubble. What drives Yuan is his work, his first several years in the united states he did very little besides coding and working. What makes Eric’s idea so interesting is that it allows our society to function and have get-togethers online and stay risk-free in our world that is facing the coronavirus. Eric’s main entrepreneurial trait he shows is his ability to recognize problems and find solutions.

Eric saw that many people wanted a way to talk to loved ones long-distance and that is the reason for him creating this app. He also saw a problem with most video conference apps and he had a way to remedy it, he noticed that most video conference apps are boring so he added ways to have fun and enjoy the experience. Eric inspires me because he is an immigrant who saw a problem found a solution and proved what the American dream is all about. The principle I have learned from Eric is perseverance, if he hadn’t kept trying to get his visa accepted in the USA he never would have made his company and he would never have realized his dream.

Blake Ross is an exemplary example of a young entrepreneur who successfully created a web-browser that is a competitor of Google. He also has a very interesting condition called aphantasia, which means that he cannot visualize anything, he cannot even visualize his own father’s face. What drives blake is his desire to succeed and innovate. What made his business model interesting is that he created his product to be a competitor of Google and Microsoft which is a very lofty goal and he succeeded. Blake shows the following entrepreneurial traits, innovative thinking, out of the box thinking, and initiative.

Blake is innovative because he figured out a better way to do something that very big companies have already done and succeeded at. Blake inspires me because he was able to create a competitor of google while simultaneously studying and being a full-time student. This makes me think that if he can do it anyone can which helps inspire me to follow my entrepreneurial dreams. I have learned the principle of hard work and perseverance, he was able to succeed while being at a hard university he did this by just pushing through and following his gut about his idea.

David Karp is an interesting character, he doesn’t keep a schedule and hates appointments. What makes David so unique is his story, he taught himself how to code at the age of 11 and he dropped out of high school at the age of 15. He ended up creating a very successful blog website called Tumblr. What drives Dave is the drive to keep Tumblr focused and not innovate the product to death. What makes his business model interesting is there was nothing like Tumblr around when he created it. Tumblr allows people all the way done to the age of 13 to post whatever they want and allows them to find like-minded people to relate to.

David shows the entrepreneurial trait of being unorthodox, he doesn’t like keeping a schedule and likes to talk to people when they need him. However, he is also a very organized person and likes to keep everyone on task. He is innovating by creating a space online for everyone on the internet even young people. He inspires me by proving that even people that are extremely young and never had a full education can succeed in a large way. The principles I have learned are to keep a rigid work ethic and stay focused but also to be able to have some flexibility and not need a set schedule.