Getting There

Getting There will inspire you to move toward your entrepreneurial dreams with the business journeys of six successful entrepreneurs.

Innovation is all around us in the age of the internet. This tool remains highly underutilized as a way to not only grow businesses, but ourselves. Young Craig Newmark, while nice, was nerdy and shy. He wanted to have many friends, but recognized that his poor communication skills were holding him back. So he did what any introverted young person might do and turned to the internet.

Newmark enjoyed connecting people and allowing them to use their respective expertise to help each other. Starting small, he began an email list to give tips and connect people with others and the things with which they were interested. As word spread, more people asked to join the newsletter and his following grew.

Eventually, the lists within his emails grew so large that Craig began his own website to handle all the information. Not long after, in 1997, Craigslist was born and is still going strong today. Newmark’s innovative view on how the internet could solve his and others problems made a big difference for him and those he serves.

When you are inspired to make something good for the world, you make it happen. This is one of the core beliefs of Wendy Kopp, who started Teach for America. The road to building this organization which has impacted millions, however, wasn’t easy.

When Kopp began at Princeton, her determination to make a difference led her to join a student organization. When they approached the CEO of a large company for funding, however, everything changed. Upon completion of her group’s presentation, the CEO noted the impoverished people right out the window. He challenged their request by questioning why he would help their cause when there were more pressing needs in the world. Kopp then dedicated herself to the higher purpose of providing equal education to the poor.

Inspired to make a change, she resolved to beat all odds to raise the needed $2.5 million estimated budget. Approaching businesses for help to reach this dream, she received a lot of push back from people who told her that she was too idealistic. Kopp showed them her determination by gathering over 2,500 potential recruits. After news outlets picked up on her efforts, the project quickly received the money needed to move forward. Wendy Kopp’s grit triumphed over staggering odds to create one of the most influential organizations in the country.

Sometimes, though, changing direction when things get hard is exactly what you need to do, as we’ll see in the next lesson.