Two brothers John and Patrick Collison began working on the company that became Stripe in 2010. It originally began as a side project but they quickly began to shift their focus toward it after discovering how difficult it was to process payments for goods and services over the internet. After a short period of development they quickly created a prototype. The duo quickly discovered that gaining legitimacy was the biggest hurdle for the company to grow. The brother’s tackled this issue by first harnessing word of mouth about their product to build a user base that eventually allowed them to partner with major tech companies and allow their company to grow into the tech giant that it is today. The Collison brothers provide and excellent example for entrepreneurs to learn from in how to overcome adversity. The brothers found a problem with something that has a massive user base like the internet and found a way to create a product that helps others and makes a profit at the same time. The brothers also provide a great example for how to overcome challenges in order to grow your business.

Josh Luber founded the company stockx in 2015 but his entrepreneurial mindset started as early as six grade when he sold gum to students when his school when they were banned from having it in class. Luber took this mindset with him when he created Stockx a Ecommerce business model that would act as a “stock market of things” where the real time prices of good sold on the site such as sneakers and clothing so buyers and sellers can see the prices of goods change in real time. In creating this company he found a way to tap into two extermely profitable markets. The first is the eCommerce market where sites such as eBay thrive, and the second is the resale market for sneakers which is now worth up to 2 billion dollars worldwide. By creating a business that allowed for buyers and sellers to easily purchase and sell goods with the unique idea of tracking an item’s price in real time like the stock market Luber created an innovative business that is now valued at over 1 billion dollars.

Founded in his college dorm room in 2003 Anthony Casalena created Squarespace an online platform which allows for people to easily create a website for their business or for personal use with a variety of predesigned templates and themes to choose from. In creating Squarespace Casalena created a platform that took advantage of the rapid growth of the internet in how it is used for business from advertising to selling their product. By creating a platform that simplified the complex task of designing a website Casalena found a way to tap into a vast market that included many people who wouldn’t have bothered with establishing a website for their brand other wise. This ability to create a platform that harnesses emerging technological innovations and bring them to a new market of customers showcases great entrepreneurial thinking which is something any entrepreneur can learn from in their endeavors to start a business.

Rada’s inspiration for Misen came out of the time his friend lost the only good pan that he owned and in order to replace it he would’ve had to spend over 200 dollars. This inspired Rada to develop his company Misen Cookware which is a company that develops high quality cooking utensils that are sold at a reasonable price. Rada used the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter in 2015 to launch a single chef’s knife. Since then the company has grown to produce many different types of cookware. Misen accomplishes their goal of affordability by using the the internet to cut out the middle man that is physical retail locations and directly shipping to their customers. This decision to purely focus on ecommerce allows them to provide a high quality product at an affordable price. The second way Misen manages to create a high quality product at an affordable price is that they design all of their products in house and consult multiple different types of experts from engineers to professional chefs. Rada and his company Misen is an excellent example of using the many benefits the internet provides entrepreneurs in the current day. The company also shows how entrepreneurs can find space in a crowded market by innovating in their process and product.

After ten years of friendship the two friends decided to create a business centered around their love for cereal. The business they created magic spoon is centered around the idea of bringing customers a cereal that has a balance of flavor and health benefits. The two founders wanted to bring their love of cereal into a product for adults to fill a niche in the market. Two managed to create a product that differs from other traditional cereals in two ways. First is in the ingredients Magic spoon uses. Instead of making their cereal out of highly processed grains and high fructose corn syrup like other cereals magic spoon uses ingredients like milk protein and a blend of natural sugars to create a product that is much higher in protein than other cereals and low in sugar and is gluten and grain free. The second way magic spoon differentiates themselves is in the way they allow customers to shop for their product. Magic spoon uses e-commerce to allow customers pick out a box of various flavors that are shipped directly to their home. Magic spoon also offers a monthly subscription program that sends new flavors to their customers every month promoting brand loyalty and encouraging customers to try new flavors of their product. Magic spoon is a perfect example of a business that identified a problem in an existing market and created a new niche to solve that problem and create a successful business at the same time.

The idea for Warby Parker came from Neil Blumenthal and his three best friends while they were studying at business school in 2008. After one of them lost their glasses on a hiking trip and couldn’t afford to replace them the four friends came up with the idea for an online retailer that sells prescription glasses that are affordable and stylish. Their goal was to break into a market that had been dominated by a single company to provide a more affordable alternative to people who use glasses launching their online retailer in 2010.  Their business model has been very successful as the company reported 245 million dollars in revenue and was valued at $3 billion. To reach this level of success the four friends had to overcome people’s hesitancy over buying prescription glasses online without trying them on themselves. To overcome this they had the idea to ship customers a trial box with five different pairs of glasses for them to choose from before buying the pair they like best. This solution to the problem showed how the founders of Warby Parker were able to pivot and solve a problem with their original idea in order to allow their business to succeed. They also continue to grow their already successful business by expanding into selling contacts and opening brick and mortar retail stores across the country as well as partnering with Nordstrom to put their companies glasses in their stores. Warby Parker demonstrates how young entrepreneurs can use the power of the internet to turn an idea into a business.