Category: Business

100 Top Entrepreneurs Who Succeeded Without A College Degree

Successful Entrepreneurs

Who Succeeded Without Traditional Education

Dropout sign

en•tre•pre•neur -noun Entrepreneur, translated from its French roots, means “one who undertakes.” The term Entrepreneur is used to refer to anyone who undertakes the organization and management of an enterprise involving independence and risk as well as the opportunity for profit.

Some of my favorites:

Historical Figures

  • Abraham Lincoln, lawyer, U.S. president. Finished one year of formal schooling, self-taught himself trigonometry, and read Blackstone on his own to become a lawyer.
  • Andrew Carnegie, industrialist and philanthropist, and one of the first mega-billionaires in the US. Elementary school dropout.
  • Andrew Jackson, U.S. president, general, attorney, judge, congressman. Home-schooled. Became a practicing attorney by the age of 35 – without a formal education.
  • Benjamin Franklin, inventor, scientist, author, entrepreneur. Primarily home-schooled.
  • Christopher Columbus, explorer, discoverer of new lands. Primarily home-schooled.
  • Thomas Edison, inventor of the lightbulb, phonograph, and more. Primarily home-schooled, then joined the railroad when he was only 12.

Business Pioneers

Tech Innovators

  • Kevin Rose, founder of Digg.com. Dropped out of college during his second year.
  • Larry Ellison, billionaire co-founder of Oracle software company. Dropped out of two different colleges.
  • Michael Dell, billionaire founder of Dell Computers, which started out of his college dorm room. Dropped out of college.
  • Pete Cashmore, founder of Mashable.com at the age of 19.
  • Shawn Fanning, developer of Napster. Dropped out of college at the age of 19.
  • Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, billionaire. Did not complete college.

Food & Lifestyle Entrepreneurs

  • Dave Thomas, billionaire founder of Wendy’s. Dropped out of high school at 15.
  • Jimmy Dean, multimillionaire founder of Jimmy Dean Foods. Dropped out of high school at 16.
  • John Mackey, founder of Whole Foods. Enrolled and dropped out college six times.
  • Rachael Ray, Food Network cooking show star, food industry entrepreneur, with no formal culinary arts training. Never attended college.
  • Wally “Famous” Amos, multimillionaire entrepreneur, author, talent agent, founder of Famous Amos cookies. Left high school at 17 to join the Air Force.
  • Wolfgang Puck, chef, owner of 16 restaurants and 80 bistros. Quit school at the age of 14.

Arts & Entertainment

  • Ansel Adams, world-famous photographer. Dropped out of high school.
  • Frank Lloyd Wright, the most influential architect of the twentieth century. Never attended high school.
  • James Cameron, Oscar-winning director, screenwriter, and producer. Dropped out of college.
  • Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Inc. Did not attend college.
  • Russell Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam records, founder of Russell Simmons Music Group, Phat Farm fashions, bestselling author. Did not finish college.
  • Sean John Combs, entertainer, producer, fashion designer, and entrepreneur. Never finished college.
  • Simon Cowell, TV producer, music judge, American Idol, The X Factor, and Britain’s Got Talent. High school dropout.

Education Paths

High School Dropouts

Walt Disney, Richard Branson, Wolfgang Puck, Ray Kroc

No College

Henry Ford, Mary Kay Ash, Rachael Ray, Richard Schulze

College Dropouts

Michael Dell, Larry Ellison, Steve Wozniak, John Mackey

Home-Schooled

Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Edison

Join the Conversation

Which of these entrepreneurs do you find most inspiring? Are there others you would add to this list?

Outta My Way I’m Going To Starbucks!

When Customers Become Walking Advertisements

I was at a Starbucks drive-through when I noticed the license plate frame of the car in front of me. The license plate read “Outta my way, I’m going to Starbucks!”. The reason I took the picture was it was interesting to me that I was in a long line of cars for a $4 latte and the car directly in front of me loved the company so much they proudly displayed it on their license plate.

What does it say about a company when people (not companies) make and sell license plates which allow you to display your affection for a particular company?

I don’t think it is too difficult to create a company people will love and respect so much they will tell the world about it. Companies of course try to attract customers to get them in their door, but are some companies simply looking to get customers in the building, or are they looking to build relationships with their customers?

I think you can build a relationship with your customers through your brand, transparency, serving the community it serves, customer service, quality products, and differentiating products. I think if you do any of those things to a high standard (not too difficult these days) customers will come back, and they may even be so passionate about your company they will tout it on their license plate.

The Recipe for Brand Loyalty

Brand Identity

Strong, recognizable, and meaningful

Transparency

Honest communication with customers

Community

Serving the local neighborhoods

Customer Service

Going above and beyond expectations

Quality Products

Consistent excellence every time

Differentiation

Standing out from competitors

Your Recipe for Success?

Is there a recipe for the success of a company? If you were to make the perfect recipe for a company you love so much you wanted to share it with the world, what would it consist of in your opinion?

Join the Conversation

What brands have you felt so passionately about that you’ve promoted them beyond just being a customer? What did those companies do to earn that loyalty?