Matt Mullenweg is the creator of WordPress, an open source software used by over 31% websites.  Right now, for this class we are using Mullenweg’s invention. He created and programmed WordPress to be a software that promotes posting and speech online. He discovered that there was a problem with the availability of platforms used to collaborate with others.  Therefore, he decided to create a platform to communicate and share ideas unlike any other platform that existed at the time.

Mullenweg is currently working on a new project that he is calling Automatic. This connects business’s together to figure out customer needs. Mullenweg states that he enjoys programming and hopes that his work has inspired many to keep on doing great things. He is a great example of an entrepreneur who continues to find other problems and solve them.

Daniel Elk wanted to create a better way to listen to music. He hated listening to other streaming services and wanted to think of a better way. While brainstorming, he came up with the idea for spotify. Spotify allows access to a lot of music and is a great way to listen to some of the greatest artist of all time.

However Spotify’s real value is in the way that any band can create a page for themselves and allow their music to be streamed. This is a great service for new bands to get exposure to the market. This all came from one mans frustration in the current media services. Daniel attacked a problem head on and compiled an amazing service that can be used by all. This is a great example of finding an annoyance and creating a solution for it. I’m sure many others were looking for a solution and were happy that Daniel Elk created Spotify.

David Karp was the inventor of something called Davidville. This name may not sound familiar, however maybe the re-branded name of Tumblr will ring a bell. Karp, at the age of just 14 started to intern at major companies. He valued this time he spent there because, while he may not have been making money he did gain valuable experience that he would use later on to become one of the most successful creators in a long time. The experiences he had were very important and ultimately lead to Tumblr.

Karp decided that the US didn’t have enough opportunities for him, so at age 17 he moved to Tokyo alone where he really started to take off as a rising entrepreneur. Moving to Tokyo seems like a big risk that most people probably would not do. However, by changing his surroundings he was able to create new ideas. This change also forced him out of his comfort zone and allowed him to innovate in new and creative ways.

The name Gerard Adams is synonymous with millennial entrepreneurs. His creation “Elite Daily” , a news site for millennial’s was a huge hit. So big, that it sold to daily mail for 50 million dollars in 2015. However Adams didn’t rest on his laurels, he moved on, creating a new startup, this one aimed at helping other entrepreneurs getting there ideas out there. His new startup is called “Fownders”, it involves helping other entrepreneurs to be discovered, and to bring their ideas to production and to realization. It works a lot like a course, by paying into the program, you can receive advice and learn about marketing strategies and other such selling or innovation points, and a significant amount less than college courses would cost you. Adams hope is to be able to supply information to others like himself, and to help them better the world and to succeed with their ideas. You can find the link to their site here.

The name Sean Rad  may not be a household name, but 50 million people world wide use his app monthly. Sean created the very popular dating app “Tinder” in September of 2012. The app became a crazed success and now has millions of users worldwide. The story of Sean does not start there though.

Sean’s first attempt at an app was called “Orgoo”, it was met with very little excitement and largely was a flop. However refusing to give up, he partnered with some of his fellow students at USC and created the celebrity social media format called “Adly”. “Adly” was much more successful than “Orgoo” had been, this was very encouraging to Rad. Rad choose to pursue his entrepreneurial abilities and dropped out of school. Rad eventually joined Hatch labs where he met a software engineer named Joe Munoz and his USC partner Justin Mateen. Together they pitched the idea of a new meeting app that would be more like hot or not, the app would depersonalize the meeting process by just swiping instead of liking or disliking a persons profile.

The format then dubbed “Matchbox” would eventually be named tinder and would launch that same year. The app has experienced great success since its release and is now available in over 40 languages and present in almost every country. Rad basked in his success and is managing a new very large asset. See there site here.

When people think of Jessica Alba, they instantly think of her film career as an actress. in this thought process, they are not wrong, however Jessica used her acting career and fame to do something even greater than create movies and entertainment for millions. She created the company called the Honest Company. This company creates products for families, infants, and new mothers using completely natural and environmentally safe methods and materials. She created this company from her own beliefs and used her film career to leverage the possibility of becoming an entrepreneur.

She expanded her company from a small start up to the large company that it is today. She also has not changed the view or goal of her company from her original goal to make safe and affordable products for families. Her company is built upon honor, honesty, and integrity. Her hope is to continue to be able supply family and environmentally safe products to families throughout the world. Visit there website here.