Many people dream of becoming entrepreneurs, and often the biggest...
Letting technology do the heavy lifting for certain monotonous tasks...
Expanding your team and capabilities is critical to...
A Chief Financial Officer (CFO) isn’t just a...
May 22, 2020
When Mark Zuckerberg started a social media website for the students at Harvard University in 2004, it was initially a hobby. This side project, Facebook, has now grown into a multibillion-dollar global giant.
Similarly, William Boeing’s fascination with aircraft inspired him to start taking flying lessons. Soon after becoming a pilot, Boeing’s airplane got damaged, and for months he was unable to find the parts to fix it. So he decided to start building airplanes himself. The Boeing Company now generates billions in revenue.
From home businesses to global successes, here are three entrepreneurs who turned their hobbies and passions into businesses.
Satoshi Tajiri, the man behind one of the highest-grossing media franchises in the world, was always fascinated with bugs. As a child, he spent a lot of his time wandering, collecting and learning everything about insects — he was even nicknamed “Dr. Bug” because of his love of collecting bugs. Later in life, he developed an interest in video games and would often skip school to play in gaming arcades.
Tajiri was diagnosed with autism, but that didn’t stop him from following his passion. In fact, he combined his bug-collecting hobby with his passion for video game design to come up with the idea for Pokémon. Tajiri, along with his friend and artist Ken Sugimori, pitched the idea to Nintendo, who saw huge potential in the concept.
Tajiri went through a lot of struggles — even filing for bankruptcy — before Nintendo introduced Pokémon to the world in 1996. And the rest, as we know, is history.
Billion-dollar company The Yankee Candle started when 16-year-old Michael Kittredge set out to create a candle for his mother as a Christmas gift in 1969. He melted some old, red crayons he found in his house on the kitchen stove, poured the hot liquid into a milk carton, added a wick and some broken bits of wax from a used candle and created his first-ever candle.
A neighbor was so impressed by his creation that she convinced Kittredge to sell it to her. Kittredge then used the money to make two more candles — one for his mother and another one to sell. He went on to sell his candles to friends and extended family, eventually expanding to local gift shops. Since then, The Yankee Candle has grown exponentially, employing more than 6,000 skilled workers around the world.
Helen Dewdney, a consumer rights champion, successfully turned her hobby of complaining into a rewarding career. When she was 12 years old, she started a school magazine. One day in physical education class, the boys and girls were put together in a group and were regularly made to play games focused on boys. This annoyed her to such an extent that she took up the issue with the entire school through the magazine. As a result, while Dewdney was stopped from producing the magazine, she got to play her game of choice, netball.
In 2012, after 30 years of helping family and friends seek redress for their complaints, Dewdney started her blog, The Complaining Cow, to share her stories. By 2014, the blog became so popular that she went on to self-publish her book, How to Complain: The Essential Consumer Guide to Getting Refunds, Redress and Results, wherein she shares tips on how to avoid spending a lot of money after getting faulty goods or poor service.
Dewdney now works as a full-time consumer rights expert and appears regularly on radio and TV shows.
Our team is made up of seasoned professionals who bring years of industry experience to the table. You gain a trusted advisor who understands your business inside out.
Say goodbye to the hassles of hiring, training and managing in-house finance teams. You will never have to worry about unexpected leave of absence or retraining new employees.
Whether you’re a small business or a global powerhouse, our solutions scale with your needs. We eliminate inefficiencies, reduce costs and help you focus on growing your business.
Expanding your team and capabilities is critical to sustaining growth—but the question often arises: Should you build an in-house department...
A Chief Financial Officer (CFO) isn’t just a numbers person anymore. Modern CFOs play a pivotal role in shaping strategy,...
Once your annual revenue surpasses $10 million, you attract more attention from regulators, partners, and customers, especially regarding data privacy....
Hiring is one of the most pivotal processes in any organization, particularly for a medium-sized business looking to scale. Yet...
At Escalon, we are committed to keeping our clients informed about the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities across the industries...
Growth in headcount brings exciting opportunities for a business, but it also poses a key challenge: How do you maintain...
Rapid expansion and remote work trends have empowered medium-sized businesses to hire talent nationwide. Yet with multi-state operations come multi-layered...
Growth often hinges on capable leadership at every level. Yet many medium-sized businesses focus on filling immediate management vacancies rather...
Reaching $10 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) is a major milestone, but scaling further brings new operational hurdles. From...