Archive for entrepreneur

Ryan Lecchi: The Medical Engineer

Posted by creelyle22 
· Friday, October 4th, 2024 
· 3 Comments

This week I wanted to look for someone who has innovated the medical community so when I found Type Strong, I knew I needed to write about it. It’s founder Ryan Lecchi was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes his senior year of college in 2019. Ryan was very active in college and kept running into the issue of his CGM sensors getting knocked off while playing. The monitors are very expensive, and Ryan started using some other adhesive patches with some flaws and he thought he could design better ones. This is where he put his Mechanical Engineering knowledge to work. Eventually he was able to come up with a system to make the patches and soon after he released them to the public. Type Strong makes adhesive patches that go over most diabetes devices including the Freestyle Libre, Medtronic Guardian, Dexcom, Omnipod and Insulin Pump Sites. Ryan mentioned he had no idea what to do when it came to the business side of things. What helped him out was that he was very passionate about product design and functionality and on the outside, he seemed to know everything when it came to the business side. He was able to obtain the Covid-19 stimulus payment to start things off as well as support from his universities I2N an Entrepreneurship101 online program.

Early and Current Success:

At first it was slow going in terms of sales, selling only a couple of packs of patches per week. Now Type Strong has a huge online market in Australia and as of recently Type Strong can ship to most other countries. Type Strong is also stocked in other online retailers such as Diabetes NSW & ACT and many pharmacies across Australia. Type Strong was named as a top 4 Finalist in the Small Business category of the 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards NSW ACT in 2022. Type Strong as grown a lot since then and recently have gone into the business of selling pouches to hold insulin pens and needles.

Concluding Thoughts:

Type Strong is a perfect example of seeing a pain/need and innovating off of that which is very inspirational. I hope that this article can show that nothing is always easy, but nothing is impossible.

3 Comments
Categories : Millennial Enrepreneuers, Technology
Tags : , , , , , ,

Bringing the World Together with Coffee

Posted by creelyle22 
· Monday, September 30th, 2024 
· 2 Comments

The Climb

Francois Reihani is someone I think needs more light shead on his amazing companies. Francois is a child of imigrant parents from France and they moved around many times from, Mexico, to LA, to finally Dallas. Francois has been working for most of his life, his dad had a heart attack which meant he and his sister had to step up to help with providing for the home. He started as a car salesman and become the highest seller on the west coast that year at just eighteen years old. Francois went to college and had many dreams about becoming an entrepreneur. This turned into opening a restaurant, which was named Pok, a poke bowl restaurant, with the help of partners. He sold his shares and set his mind on opening The Brightside Project which is apart of the La La Land Kind café.

What it is

The café is designed to help teens that have aged out of the foster system learn valuable life skills and internship opportunities. It may look like a simple coffee barista job from the outside but they are actually learning the in’s and out’s of customer service training, mentorship opportunities and much more. The internship lasts 8 weeks and at the end of it, the participants are helped with job placement, housing, schooling, and therapy.

 

Name Origin

La La Land Kind Café instantly caught my attention due to its name. Francois mentioned he was looking at his life in his young twenties and he said he hated the person he has become. This is when he decided to change his life completely and start the La La Land Kind Café. Although it sounds like it is associated with the musical romantic comedy La La Land, it technically has nothing to do with it. The meaning behind the name is that it is a place where you can go and feel a true sense of joy for life. I think he took inspiration from the plot of La La Land as that movie is very whimsical and shows real dreams in action. I think this calls back to Francois’ life very well as he was so sucessful almost as if he was dreaming up how his career would go but in reality he made it come true. He continues to make dreams come true every single day.

 

2 Comments
Categories : Uncategorized
Tags : , , , , ,

Entrepreneurial Prodigy: Trent Jackson and His Journey to Multimillions

Posted by GilkinsonNR23 
· Monday, September 23rd, 2024 
· No Comments

Entrepreneurship, as Trent Jackson explains it, has always been a part of who he is. Starting at age 8, he sold flipped equipment in newspapers and burnt CD’s to his family to make money, and since then, has grown to own multiple wildly successful companies, the most notable being Jesus Loves You Apparel (www.jesuslovesyou.company). Jesus Loves You is a “Jesus-based movement structured as a clothing line”, which sells t-shirts, sweatshirts, and other clothing items with messages meant to “Turn the Conversation Around”. Inspired by the Holy Spirit’s promptings and the lack of others-centered Christian clothing on the market, Jackson and his team design clothing with the mission that their pieces inspire conversations that lead people to life-changing relationships with Jesus. This intentional and genuine mission has led to lots of success, with the company shipping almost half a million orders since its founding. Despite these amazing numbers, the company is serious about making sure to give credit where it’s due – and that’s not to themselves. As he states on the Jesus Loves You website, “Our heart has never been for us. Maybe that’s not the best business tactic, but we know this message is a lot bigger than just a ‘trendy fashion line.’…  This is not a message “for Christians – by Christians.” This is for people – by Jesus.'” This deflection of glory from themselves to Jesus proves how genuine this company is about their motivations – to share the love of Christ.

Jackson is pursuing other ventures as well, within music, entertainment, and social media marketing. These pursuits have led to Jackson becoming a multimillionaire – and all without a college degree. He started at Lee University in 2015, but dropped out when he realized that college “wasn’t for him”. In addition, he grew up poor, starting from the bottom. This self-starter, without the “proper” education, formed numerous incredibly successful companies, all while giving God the glory. This is an incredible example for any aspiring entrepreneur: there are no prerequisites. Enter the journey with a sense of confidence and leave fear behind, trusting in God’s provision.

No Comments
Categories : Uncategorized
Tags : , , , ,
Matt Mullenweg

Matt Mullenweg: The founder of WordPress

Posted by creelyle22 
· Saturday, September 21st, 2024 
· 33 Comments

Where it all began

Born and raised in Houston Texas, Matt had a seemingly normal childhood to most. He was introduced to the technological world through his father who was acomputer programmer. Eighteen-year-old Matt loved to blog on a platform called b2/cafelog. This site soon was taken down by the owners and this is where Matt decided to launch his own site with the help of his friend Mike Little. In 2003 he and Mike soon built what we know as WordPress, and it was widely received by the public. Matt was only eighteen at the time of founding WordPress and he was still in high school. Due to his chronic migraines Matt was absent from school and this could have kept him from graduating but he was able to push through. After high school Matt continued his education at The University of Houston and chose to study philosophy and political science. During college Matt still worked on WordPress and grew more and more detached from his schoolwork. This lead Matt to drop out of college in 2004 to focus on WordPress entirely.

At nineteen years old Matt was offered a job at CNET in San Fransico which allowed him to work part time on WordPress. He stayed at CNET for only a year as he wanted to work full time on WordPress. Matt began building his team adding former Yahoo! executive Toni Schneider to join as CEO. Over the years Matt has joined several other ventures such as Automatic, GitLab, Global Multimedia Protocols Group, and helped launch Ping-O-Matic. Ping-O-Matic is a mechanism to help notify search engines about blog updates. These ventures led to Matt having an amazingly successful career with WordPress. WordPress powered about 40% of the internet in 2021 so one can only imagine how much it has grown in just three years. Approximately 400 million people visit WordPress sites each month. Overall, Matt Mullenweg is someone that is forgotten by most but as we can see and use in class WordPress is a very collaborative and easy service to use.

 

 

33 Comments
Categories : Blog, Blogging, Business, Business, Sales, Business::Entrepreneurs, Great Ideas, Millennial Enrepreneuers, Social Entrepreneur, Technology, Uncategorized
Tags : , , , , ,

Dominic May: A Young Entrepreneur Making Waves in Newcastle

Posted by KuechlyCJ22 
· Monday, October 30th, 2023 
· 1 Comment

Launching a successful startup is no small feat, but for Dominic May, the founder of CoastXP, it’s been a thrilling journey. In 2018, May embarked on a marine adventure that would not only fulfill his passion for marine tourism but also help showcase the beauty of Newcastle and the Hunter region in a unique way. Let’s dive into the story of this young entrepreneur who was recently named the 2023 Newcastle Young Citizen of the Year.

The Birth of CoastXP: Dominic May’s path to entrepreneurship started as a scuba diving instructor, but he had a grander vision. With a degree in Business and Innovation/Entrepreneurship, majoring in Tourism and Management from the University of Newcastle, he took the plunge and launched CoastXP at the young age of 23. His vision was to create a platform where guests could learn about the coastline, history, Aboriginal heritage, local geology, and interact with marine life in a fun and safe environment.

A Growing Success: With unwavering dedication, early mornings, and late nights, CoastXP has flourished. Starting as a one-man show, it has grown into a team of five. The company expanded to offer both land and on-water tours, not only in Newcastle but also in Lake Macquarie. Dominic May’s hard work and vision have truly paid off.

Recognition and Contribution: Dominic May’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. In 2023, he was honored with the title of Newcastle Young Citizen of the Year. This recognition not only celebrates his contribution to local tourism but also acknowledges his role in Newcastle’s post-pandemic economic recovery.

Newcastle: A Startup-Friendly Hub: Is Newcastle a good place to launch a startup? According to Dominic May, it absolutely is. He highlights the small but supportive startup community in the region. May believes in the wealth of local talent and enjoys connecting with fellow startups and collaborating with local businesses to make Newcastle an entrepreneurial success story.

In conclusion, Dominic May’s journey as a young entrepreneur in Newcastle is not only inspiring but also a testament to the opportunities and support available for startups in the region. CoastXP is not just a marine adventure company; it’s a success story in the making, driven by passion, hard work, and a deep love for the coastal beauty of Newcastle and the Hunter region.

Home

1 Comment
Categories : Entrepreneurship
Tags : ,

Rutger Bruining – “StoryTerrace”

Posted by KuechlyCJ22 
· Monday, October 23rd, 2023 
· 1 Comment

One modern entrepreneur that not many people know about is Rutger Bruining, CEO of the personal biography-writing service StoryTerrace. Bruining launched StoryTerrace in 2015, and it has since scaled massively across both the UK and the US.

StoryTerrace helps people capture and preserve their life stories by writing them into a professional book. The company has worked with over 50,000 customers to date, and its books have been featured in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and BBC Radio.

Bruining is a passionate advocate for the importance of storytelling. He believes that everyone has a unique story to tell and that sharing our stories can help us connect with others on a deeper level. He is also committed to helping people preserve their legacies for future generations.

In addition to his work at StoryTerrace, Bruining is also a public speaker and author. He has given talks on storytelling and entrepreneurship at conferences and events around the world. He is also the author of the book “StoryTerrace: The Secret Power of Your Life Story.”

Bruining is a great example of a modern entrepreneur who is using his skills and creativity to make a positive impact on the world. He is also a reminder that there are many successful entrepreneurs out there who are not household names.

1 Comment
Categories : Business::Entrepreneurs
Tags :

Mark Zuckerberg

Posted by heltzelnj22 
· Tuesday, October 11th, 2022 
· 1 Comment

Mark Zuckerberg, an internet entrepreneur, is known for being the co-founder of the popular social media website Facebook. He is also chairman, chief executive officer, and controlling shareholder of its parent company, Meta Platforms. Zuckerberg attended Harvard University, where he launched Facebook in February 2004 with his roommates. Originally launched to select college campuses, the site expanded rapidly and eventually beyond colleges, reaching one billion users by 2012. Zuckerberg took the company public in May 2012 with majority shares. In 2007, at age 23, he became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire. As of October 2022, Zuckerberg’s net worth was $49.4 billion according to the Forbe’s Real Time Billionaires making him the 23rd richest person in the world. Zuckerberg began using computers and writing software in middle school. In high school, he built a program that allowed all the computers between his house and his father’s dental office to communicate with each other.  During Zuckerberg’s high-school years, he worked to build a music player called the Synapse Media Player. The device used machine learning to learn the user’s listening habits. He had a reputation in college as a “programming prodigy”, and in his sophomore year, he wrote a program that he called Course Match, which allowed users to make class selection decisions based on the choices of other students and also to help them form study groups. A short time later, he created a different program he initially called Face Match that let students select the best-looking person from a choice of photos. Mark Zuckerberg started to contribute most of his time to Facebook because it took off and has created one of the biggest social media website/apps in the world. Approximately 3 billion people use Facebook, a number that is unbelievably high for a social media app. He is one of the most influential people in today’s world and most people focus on his work for inspiration for their own works.

1 Comment
Categories : Uncategorized
Tags :

Miracle Olatunji, The Practical Career Miracle

Posted by nicholshm21 
· Tuesday, December 7th, 2021 
· 1 Comment

Miracle Olatunji was only 17 years old when she founded OppurtniMe, with an available Facebook page at ” https://www.facebook.com/OpportuniME/ “. Described as a Gen Z entrepreneur, content creator, financial coach, and author, Miracle has a bright career ahead of her. She wrote a book called Purpose: How To Live and Lead With Impact. The book explores the challenges of finding your  while also providing tricks and tips that Miracle used to further her career. She talks about things like creating connections in a fast-paced digital world and good habits to instill that promote accumulation of good leadership skills. She also shares inspiring stories and some of the lessons she learned on her own entrepreneurial journey; the importance of seeing the creative power in our lives and tapping into that. Miracle’s company, OpportuniMe, is described as “a digital media and education company which empowers the next generation of leaders to develop life, leadership, and career skills” and said to have helped thousands of other student’s personal and professional goals in the digital age.

Miracle Olatunji has won numerous awards and received a lot of recognition for the work she has done. APB, a site that is designed to connect companies and schools to speakers, one of them being Miracle, sites that “Miracle has been honored as one of The Tempest Magazine‘s ‘40 Women To Watch Who Are Changing The World’, a ‘Young Futurist and Game-changer’ by The Root Magazine, one of the ‘25 Under 25” by BostInno Magazine, and of the “20 Under 40: Young Shapers of Business and Entrepreneurship” by Britannica.” She has had her works published in multiple magazines and other web sites like Forbes. Currently, she is a junior at Northeastern University in Boston, MA where she studies Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. Miracle continues to inspire people with her story as she works as a public speaker; her gutsy moves as a 17 year old have inspired me.

1 Comment
Categories : Uncategorized
Tags : , ,

Aaron Goldstein-Fever Smart

Posted by minetreech19 
· Monday, December 6th, 2021 
· 2 Comments

Aaron Goldstein has always been smart and entrepreneurial. When he was in Highschool, in Florida, he sold T-shirts for social media influencers and other celebrities. While selling these shirts he still maintained very high grades and was accepted at the University of Pennsylvania. During his time at University of Pennsylvania he achieved many things, however two stand out from the rest. First, he accepted a job offer at The Blackstone Group, in their real estate investment department. Next, he created Fever Smart.

Fever Smart is a wearable thermometer that not only monitors a person’s temperature, but also sends an alert to their (or their guardians) phone. This device was thought of when a friend of Aaron Goldstein had to undergo chemotherapy. The chemotherapy had weakened his immune system and Aaron offered to track his temperature to look for infections. During, one of their morning temperatures checks his friend, Collin Hill, had a very high temperature and had to go to the hospital, despite his low temperature the night before. After his friend safely and fully recovered Mr. Goldstein designed Fever Smart, so he would have known of Collin’s fever sooner.

While developing Fever Smart Aaron was a full-time college student, but still find the time to develop the proprietary technology. He also raised 60,000 dollars for his company thru an IndieGoGo Campaign; IndieGoGo is a crowd funding cite for entrepreneurs. After receiving this money his company took off and Fever Smart is sold in multiple countries to parents, hospitals, and the ill. Fever Smart has also grown tremendously through the Covid-19 Pandemic due to its ability to continuously track a person’s temperature. Lastly, due to Aaron Goldstein’s success he was named the 2014 College Entrepreneur of the Year by Entrepreneur Magazine. Learn more about Fever Smart below.

 

2 Comments
Categories : Uncategorized
Tags : , , , ,

Brittany Canty: Co-founder of Comfort Eats

Posted by campagnama21 
· Thursday, December 2nd, 2021 
· 1 Comment

Brittany Canty is the co-founder of a brand called Comfort Eats. This business idea came about when she was visiting her best friend and co-founder, Reina in New Zealand. When Brittany visited, she came with her suitcase full of snacks from back home that her friend had missed so much. The joy that it brought her friend made them think- how can we ship comfort food to people that can’t find these foods where they live?

Brittany Canty

This is exactly what Comfort Eats does. Brittany and Reina have an online shop where people can have their favorite American snacks shipped to them while in a different country. They said they have seen people from other cultures become interested in their business too, not just Americans who are traveling. Brittany says her past experience as a product manager has given her lots of experience with their business. She tries to set one goal to accomplish a day, giving her freedom while also getting something important accomplished for the business.

Brittany says that she would give her younger self the advice of “trust your gut!”. She explains the world has a way of putting insecurities on young people and making them triple check everything. Her and her friend started this business as young entrepreneurs and they succeeded by being passionate in this one area.

Brittany says that listening to their customers is most important in running Comfort Eats. Their voice is most important in getting the right food delivered that will bring joy in so many ways. Brittany and Reina will continue to grow their business, reaching many people who miss the taste of their hometowns.

Brittany Canty – Co-Founder of Comfort Eats (ideamensch.com)

1 Comment
Categories : Entrepreneurship, Experience, Food, Health, Healthy Lifestyle, Online Companies, Uncategorized
Tags : , , ,
Next Page »