When Hart Main was 13, he joked that candle scents were too girly, and that there should be candles with more manly scents. While he was only kidding, he soon decided to start ManCans, a line of manly scented candles. Originally, Hart’s motivation was to make enough money to buy a new bike, and he planned on dropping the business once he got it. But, ManCans expanded far quicker than he imagined, with products being distributed in about 150 stores across the country. With annual sales now at $200,000, Hart knew that he couldn’t stop now. Despite his age, Hart was still very dedicated to running the business. He is very hands-on with the company and very dedicated to solving problems. One his goals was to establish a charitable aim for ManCans. You see, Hart makes the candles inside of soup cans, which he later donates to soup kitchens and homeless shelters. He has even donated money to said soup kitchens. In total, he has donated around 90,000 cans of soup and $30,000 to them. Over time, Hart has expanded his business with new scents and store partnerships. Overall, ManCans has been a big success.

One reason that Hart Main was such a successful entrepreneur is that he acted on his idea. Manly scented candles could have just stayed a joke, but he followed up on this crazy concept and created ManCans. His hands-on approach also helped give the company it’s good reputation. It was also very impressive how successfully Hart shifted the business from a temporary project to a long-term endeavor. Hart Main has taught me that, no matter what, you can succeed as long as you leave your comfort zone.

Varun Agarwal was kid from India who had always been told to think before he did something. When he told his Mom and Anu Aunty that he wanted to be a filmmaker, they told him that it was a bad idea, and he should be an engineer or a doctor instead. This caused him to think that he might fail as a filmmaker, so he went to college for engineering instead. While he was a very successful student, he hated engineering. But then one day, for the first time in his life, he failed. This was one of the best moments of his life, because he realized that failing wasn’t that bad. Varun decided to stop thinking so much, and just do. With the help of YouTube, Varun was able to create Last Minute Films while in college. It was a fairly successful production company for online videos.

Then, after he graduated, he came up with an idea. He and his friend decided to sell merchandise for schools and colleges all across the country. While the old Varun would’ve stopped and thought things over (and probably drop the idea all together), the new Varun didn’t think and took the risk. He had failed before, so what if did it again?

Fortunately, he didn’t fail. They launched their business, Alma Mater, in 2009 when Varun was just 22 years old. Despite his family and friends discouraging him, Varun pushed on. His drive paid off, because Alma Mater would go on to become India’s school and college merchandise company. He would then go on to write an autobiography, How I Braved Anu Aunty & Co-founded a Million Dollar Company, which would become a national bestseller.

I think one of Varun Agarwal’s most effective trait is was his willingness to confront challenges, even if it seemed impossible to overcome them. Also, He knew that it was better to fail at something you love than to succeed at something you hate. He has taught me to act on my ideas, because they won’t do anyone any good if I don’t share them.