Archive for Websites – Page 4

Warby Parker: A New Way to Look at a Problem

Nine years ago, Jeffrey Raider, Andrew Hunt, Neil Blumenthal, and David Gilboa founded a company called Warby Parker, a company which they hoped would address the need for eyeglasses in a different way.

A simple issue that eyeglass customers often face is a cosmetic one: they do not know if they will like the eyeglasses they purchase, or if the glasses will look good on them. When trying on glasses at the eye doctor, or at an eyeglass store, it can be hard to tell what the glasses will look like when you where them out. It can also be hard to even know where to start with glasses. There are so many options but a customer does not always know what will look good on him or her.

Warby Parker wanted to address those issues. What if there was a company that allowed you to try on the glasses before you had to commit to them? What if the company helped you figure out what glasses would look best on your face? The Warby Parker business model was born. The company is primarily an online business, doing most of its business through its website. The website in its current iteration begins with a short quiz of sorts that asks the customer various questions from face shape to their preferred material of glasses. From there it will give the customer a series of suggested eyeglasses and from that list, the customer can select five different eyeglasses that they would like to try on. A few days later in the mail they will receive a box in the mail. This box will contain those five eyeglasses, and they have a week to try the eyeglasses on and then return them.

This model allows the customer to get a feel for the glasses, to decide if they like the look, the feel, and the function of each pair. There is no pressure to make a quick decision with Warby Parker, unlike at an eyeglass store. Customers are encouraged to take their time before committing to a pair.

Though Warby Parker is primarily online, they have begun to recently add some brick-and-mortar stores, with these popping up in the United States and in Canada, though they still strive to adhere to the same business methods.

The founders of Warby Parker did not want to simply create a business that helped people with figuring out which pair of glasses to wear. Though this is an important niche and they have found a smart way of addressing it, they wanted to add something deeper to their business: an element of social entrepreneurship–entrepreneurship that gives back. With that, they began this model: for every pair of glasses sold, they would donate a pair to a company that distributes eyeglasses in developing countries to encourage forward-thinking for individuals and startups there. This way they would not just be giving something away in the form of charity, but they are empowering individuals by providing certain resources (eyeglasses and reading glasses) that promote an individual towards autonomy and self-direction.

Warby Parker is a good example of a business that saw a problem–in their case, an insufficient method of trying on and fitting eyeglasses–and established a new and thoughtful solution. They are also a good example of then taking that new business model and making it into something that gives back to communities in need, in a way that does not harm these communities more.

Leaving Facebook For Quora: A Questionable Decision for Adam D’Angelo?

35 year old Adam D’Angelo was the chief technology officer at Facebook until his departure in 2008, when he decided to leave and start his own website, Quora. Quora is a question-and-answer website where anyone can ask any question and receive an answer from another user.

Something I find exemplary about Adam D’Angelo is that he was willing to take that (entrepreneurial) risk to leave a large, rapidly emerging company to try something new of his own. This is a very risky move because he held quite a high position in the company and left it all to start something new and unknown.

I think Adam D’Angelo is driven by the excitement and innovation of creating something new and also providing something new to people that solves a problem for them. His idea for Quora was innovative and solved the problem or not having answers to questions on the internet. Sure, you can search your question on the internet but you might not be able to find the exact answer you need, just a general answer. Quora allows everyone’s questions to be in one place with many specific answers to your question.

Adam D’Angelo exhibits many entrepreneurial traits. He shows risk, passion, innovation, excitement, determination, and many other traits of an entrepreneur. The risk to leave his good position to pursue a new goal, the passion to create something never done before, the innovation to think and push towards something new and creative, the determination to find the success he wanted to achieve.

Adam D’Angelo inspire me because he shows that sometimes to you have to remove yourself from your comfort zone to reach out and expand on horizons that haven’t been touched yet. Although a question-and-answer website may seem like it would fade away, D’Angelo has kept it lively and it continues to expand and grow. I’ve learned quite a bit from this entrepreneur and that’s why I think he is an important figure and someone we could all learn something from.

 

Content Creating in 2004 – Ashley Qualls

Ashley Qualls was not out to become a millionaire when she launched her tutorial site whateverlife.com on the fledgling Internet of 2004. Catering primarily to other young teens her age, the 14-year-old posted free graphics she’d created, building a community around sharing free web layouts and graphics for anyone with an interest in design. Qualls later expanded the site to share free MySpace layouts and HTML tutorials so other teens could build their presence on the popular social media platforms of the times. The site itself developed into a social platform of sorts, with other users sharing their own designs.

The concept of sharing designs over the internet and connecting with other individuals with similar hobbies is very familiar to most millennials today, but it was fresh enough in the early 2000s that Qualls, by unintentionally tapping into a fresh market, gained almost immediate success.

From the beginning, Ashley had perceived the site as a hobby; everything available on her site was free and it had all spun out of her own personal interests. Once she realized she could start making money off what she was marketing, she began hosting ads on the website. Although this was her only source of revenue, Ashley generated so much web traffic due to her content that by age 17 she had become a millionaire.

As social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram have taken off, Qualls has maintained the site, increasing its social community appeal, and it is still incredibly successful today. An early lesson in internet content creation, Qualls’ instant success might not occur in the same quick way today as it did back in the early days of the Internet, but the options available to current bloggers and designers are perhaps now more plentiful than ever.

Always More

As a Christian, we are running this race we call life with the end goal of crossing the finish line and into the arms of our Father as he whispers, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” The race is tiring and we sometimes get distracted from where the finish line is. We hesitate, we fall, we get up again and we keep going, because we ALWAYS have MORE strength, endurance, and power in Christ.

Audrey Roloff, the founder of her blog AujPoj started writing the phrase “always more” on her arms and shoes in high school. A dedicated long distance runner, she kept every pair of running shoes she has ever owned and would spray paint them red, fill them with prayers and notes, and finally mark the bottom with the phrase “Always More” to signify the end of an era and the start of a new one. Her inspiration behind the phrase comes from Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine…” As she got older, she started applying the phrase to more in her life beyond just running. “When I get cut off on the road or treated rudely, these words remind me that there is ALWAYS MORE to someones’ story than what I know. When I am filled with joy, these words remind me that Christ will ALWAYS overfill me with MORE joy as I look to Him.”

What started out as a personal mantra for a girl growing up in the Pacific North West has now turned into a national movement.

Roloff started her blog AujPoj as a way to relate running and faith, but expanded it to include DIYs, tutorials, devotionals, personal stories, and more to create a true hodgepodge of creativity and inspiration. She has since expanded her blog into a shop inspired by the phrase, “Always More” where she sells clothes, hats, stickers, and more.

She frequently references her “always more” mantra with applications to her own life experiences to over 905,000 followers on her personal Instagram page. And with almost 75,000 followers on her shop Instagram page, Roloff’s personal motivation has expanded into a full blown business and ministry. Her mission to encourage other women to “ALWAYS believe in the MORE that is within them through Christ,” has reached young women all over the world. She’s also included an Always More Devotional which involves weekly text messages filled with encouragement, prayers, scriptures, and more to inspire and motivate you to always believe there is more to be found in Christ.

Audrey Roloff has created more than just a business. She’s created a movement. There is always more hope, love, and joy when we seek Christ, and she invites anyone and everyone to come alongside her to live out this truth.

Instagram.com/AudreyRoloff

Instagram.com/ShopAlwaysMore

https://www.aujpoj.com/always-more/

https://www.aujpoj.com/shop/

Facebook Founder

Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of Facebook is one of the worlds youngest billionaires. It all started when he was 12 years old. He created a program for his fathers dental practice, he also created online games for himself and his friends. As Zuckerberg’s interest in computers continued to increase, his parents hired a private computer tutor. Zuckerberg often outperformed the computer tutor. Zuckerberg decided to take his programming to the next level and developed the early version of Pandora. As young Zuckerberg was developing this, he had many job offers from Microsoft and AOL, but denied all of them. Zuckerberg started working on the social media website, Facebook, in his college dorm room at Harvard. Two years onto college, Zuckerberg dropped out to focus on completing Facebook.

Image result for facebook

Mark Zuckerberg is a very successful young entrepreneur and has very many entrepreneurial traits. One trait that is clearly visible in Zuckerberg’s upcoming is his ability and desire to take risks. One instance that shows this is that Zuckerberg dropped out of college to pursue what he was trying to accomplish. Risk Taking is easily one of the biggest traits that create a successful entrepreneur. Zuckerberg is also determined, he was very determined to persevere with his company and wouldn’t let anything stop him. This is also shown when Zuckerberg dropped out of college, not even himself furthering his education got in the way of his dream. Zuckerberg wanted to do things the way he wanted it and wasn’t afraid to tell other people no, he denied many contracts and didn’t want any help besides the men he was already working with. Zuckerberg is very inspiring and shows what is taken to follow dreams from a young age and still shows what it takes to run a successful company.

Brother-Sister Pair Create Multi-Million Dollar Online Yearbook

Who knew that a pair of brother-sister millennial entrepreneurs could create a multi-million dollar business by the ripe ages of 14 and 25? Geoff and Catherine Cook of New Hope, Pennsylvania, built a website called MyYearbook from the ground up – and they did this while Catherine was still in high school. In 2002, when their family decided to make the move to New Hope, Catherine was extremely interested in making new friends at her new high school. One day, she was flipping through the pages of her yearbook when she realized that this was not the most efficient way to make new friends. She thought if only there was an online yearbook where she could reach out to people who did not already know her, but who were interested in making new friends as well. She brought the idea up to her already successful brother who had recently graduated from Harvard and had sold a few of his own companies, and he jumped right on board. He invested a whopping $250,000 and stepped in as CEO. These siblings launched what would become one of the nation’s most-trafficked websites from the comfort of their parents’ home. Within the first week of its launch, 400 users had already signed up and were avidly using the site. After reaching out to investors and focusing on branding their company as “MySpace for high school”, Catherine and Geoff were able to hire a team of engineers to expand their company even further. In 2011, MyYearBook merged with Quespasa – a $100 million deal – that allowed them to reach an even larger Brazilian and Mexican audience, with the new name of: MeetMe. Through this deal, they were able to take their website worldwide and affect millions of people around the globe.

Catherine and Geoff Cook are exemplary millennial entrepreneurs because they started with a simple idea, and through hard work and dedication, they were able to create a world-wide business out of their parents’ home. They were motivated and dedicated, a combination that would drive them to succeed and achieve even more than they could have imagined. Catherine had a vision and at the age of 14 was able to pursue her dreams by pushing every limit and overcoming every stereotype that tried to hinder her. She did not allow her age to stop her, nor did she allow the opinions of others at her new school to impede her goals. She simply worked countless hours, contacted the right people, and most importantly never gave up.

I believe Catherine and Geoff’s story is inspiring and can teach many lessons. Their passion and persistence led them to astounding success and drove them to continually innovate their idea. Catherine talked to other students every day while Geoff networked online to truly see what others though of their site. They constantly critiqued, tweaked, and pivoted their idea based on their target audience’s desires so that MyYearbook became one of the most popular social networking sites in the world.
This has taught me the importance of continuous improvement. I believe that products and ideas can always be improved. As society changes and technology, stereotypes, and expectations change along with it, companies need to constantly develop their products. Even a successful product can always be improved because improvement leads to more success. This is a concept that I intend to bring into the products and businesses that I create both now and in the future.

Young Entrepreneur Shocks The Real Estate World

Akshay Ruparelia is a nineteen year old entrepreneur from Britain and founder of Doorsteps.co.uk.  Doorsteps.co.uk is a multi-million dollar company that is based both online and offline.  The company is seen as “the Uber of the property world” because it hires self-employed local property agents for each property it has to sell.  Akshay developed his company while in college.  He had to balance his studies, taking care of his deaf parents, and developing his business.  Akshay had a lot on his plate as a kid, this helped him to mature quicker than most.  His work ethic learned from being a carer to his parents is one of the reasons he is so inclined to succeed.

Doorsteps.co.uk is different than other real estate companies because it costs a lot less and provides the best of the best customer service.  A person can sell their house through Doorsteps.co.uk for 99 pounds as opposed to 1,000 pounds through an agent.  Akshay’s is able to work more and harder than most to develop ideas and find gaps to change the way people think about markets through his outstanding work ethic developed over his years.  I am inspired by how much Akshay has accomplished at such a young age.  It helps me to see that if you put the time in to really think about and develop your ideas you will be closer to succeeding your goal.  I have learned that no matter your age you can change the world.

https://doorsteps.co.uk/

Your Brokenness is Welcome Here

It doesn’t take long scrolling through social media to feel like you’re missing out on the life that someone else is enjoying. So many girls are left feeling broken and inadequate from a society that thrives off of likes, shares, and comments. Jordan Lee Dooley, 24, is on a mission to change the culture of social media as she helps “everyday girls live intentional lives.” Her hobby turned blog turned business, SoulScripts, has become an online ministry for young women seeking their purpose.

SoulScripts originated in the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority house at Indiana University, while Dooley was a student in 2015. Her Etsy shop included personally hand-lettered mugs and journals with scripture and Biblical quotes. Eventually, she expanded her business into a blog where she tackled the personal topics behind the scripture, keeping the name SoulScripts as the title of it. It didn’t take long before she quickly discovered that this was the purpose God had for her life and pursued her true passion of writing and speaking full time.

She now travels all over the country speaking at churches and events, while also writing for her blog and Instagram. Dooley is telling her own story one post at a time as she encourages other women to seek Christ first while also giving advice on finance, relationships, self care, faith and more. She tells of her own times of heartbreak and brokenness and how God saw her through to the other side.

With an Instagram following of over 200,000 followers, she turned a college hobby into a full blown business. Dooley has since expanded Soul Scripts into a podcast named SHE, and her book, Purpose, about “breaking through insecurities, expectations, and the pressure to prove” comes out in 2019. She also leads a twelve week Bible Study Boot Camp called Soul Session that includes access to a Facebook group with her and other Soul Session members, 12 Bible study videos, and 12 downloadable worksheets for $97.

Jordan’s mantra of “Your brokenness is welcome here” has become a movement that is being worn by girls all over the country. She is promoting authenticity and encouraging women to pursue their purpose. Her passion turned purpose has led other girls to lead intentional lives of pursuing Christ and knowing their identity is determined by their faith in Christ.

https://jordanleedooley.com/

instagram.com/jordanleedooley

instagram.com/SHEpodcast

instagram.com/soulscripts

 

How Marc Benioff Became a Millionaire by Age 25

Marc Benioff, co-founder of Salesforce, showcases his incredible entrepreneurial ability by racing to millionaire status at age 25. How did he accomplish this monumental achievement so quickly? Key factors like software development, humble beginnings, and wise mentors helped skyrocket Benioff’s success as an entrepreneur.

Marc had a passion for developing software. He sold his first software product at just 15 years old. It was a software called “How to Juggle” priced to the buyer at $75. A strong start for young Benioff. He continued, at the age of 15, to develop and sell Atari 800 games such as Escape From Vulcan’s Isle and King Arthur’s Heir. Marc surely showcased his computer and coding prowess. However, none of it would have been possible without this humble start.

Benioff had the opportunity, through the permission of his parents, to work at a jewelry store. He would work there after school hours and do work such as cleaning the floors. This allowed him to save up enough money to purchase his first computer. Little did young Benioff know, this would be the first brick in building his largely successful career.

Continuing to develop his professional skills for 10 years at Oracle, Marc became a millionaire at the young age of 25. He worked as an executive where his salary quickly added up to the millionaire mark.

Marc dreamed of bigger things than what Oracle could offer and began to be inspired to change the way people upgrade their software through the development of the large, well-known company, Salesforce. Salesforce, Benioff says, would not exist without the mentorship he received from Steve Jobs. Marc developed the #1 customer relationship management (CRM) platform. It is a cloud-based application for sales, service, marketing and more. They allow a company to log in and begin connecting to customers without the help of an IT expert.

Blake Ross the Firefox

Blake Ross is one fiery topic.  From the age of fourteen, he was already making big moves. He joined the likes of Netscape as an apprentice then went onto Stanford. His idea first hit the market in November 2004 when Blake was only nineteen years old. He began his endeavor to help his mother overcome her frustration with Internet Explorer. She was upset with its poor performance and how she could not book mark her favorite sites and it was riddled with pop-up ads. Viruses often plagued Mrs. Blake’s computer as well. Ross then took to learning programming for himself so he could one day fix those problems. At the age of only 10 he made his first website. In 1998, Netscape released its code to open source and allowed anyone to tamper with it. Firefox was then born from the ashes. Less than a year after its initial launch Firefox had been downloaded more than 100 million times and was soon threatening the big fish like Internet Explorer. Because Firefox was open source, thousands of programmers worked together to bring it to life and bring innovation to the website. Although not taking over Internet Explorer, it is still used by a mass audience. StatCounter released data stating that in 2010 32% of internet users around the world used Firefox compared to Internet Explorer’s 49%.  Blake Ross has a net worth of 150,000,000 dollars today and is a pristine example of the millennial entrepreneur.