I was raised by entrepreneurs, but I never wanted to be one. Instead, I saw myself in a big corner office in the city. I started climbing the corporate ladder, but being laid off twice showed me that a corporate career wasn't as secure as I thought. I started freelancing, and soon opened a marketing agency called No Subject. We focused on events and influencers, back when we were still calling them bloggers.
If you're an entrepreneur or freelancer, building a personal brand and credible reputation is no longer optional if you want to grow your business. A personal brand helps you stand out in a saturated market and establish yourself as a trusted authority, and in turn, helps to drive more revenue. Social media is a key way to build your personal brand and reputation.
Anu Shah (also known as Anuja Shah or Anuja Sharad Shah) is a globally recognized entrepreneur and big-tech leader whose career is a masterclass in resilience and high-stakes innovation. Currently serving as a Principal Product Manager - Tech at Amazon, Shah brings a wealth of experience from her tenure at Meta (Facebook), where she led AI-driven creative automation and global brand advertising initiatives.
Melody Sabatasso stood in the lobby of San Francisco's Huntington Hotel, arms overflowing with a handcrafted denim patchwork skirt, a jacket and an assortment of other sewing equipment. She had just hitchhiked across the Golden Gate Bridge and to the top of Nob Hill from Marin County, and she wasn't amused to learn at the front desk that her famous client refused to see her for a final fitting. The budding designer wouldn't take no for an answer.
Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison were great both great inventors of their time. Tesla was brilliant. He even felt sorry for how long it took Edison to come up with his inventions. But Tesla was eventually forced out of his company and he died penniless. Edison on the other hand racked up commercial success. He managed to motivate employees, woo investors, and win consumers. His inventions broke through to the mass market.
WOODstack and Adidas launched the Blood, Sweat & Tears Adistar Control 5 and hosted an event that highlighted the true grit, hustle, and community behind WOODstack's rise. WOODstack started in Brooklyn as a single, family-run storefront and grew into a multi-location retailer that supports community, culture, and New York's next generation of entrepreneurs. WOODstack builds on principles of hard work, family legacy, and service, and serves as a trusted destination for emerging talent, local creators, and New Yorkers who seek authenticity.
At the start of this year, I went back to contracting, and then I learned I had prostate cancer. It was stage one, and I was on active monitoring for six months. I did some more contracting up until July, when I was told I needed to have treatment. So, I had treatment, and all the signs were good. In August, I thought, 'OK, I can start looking to go back to work.'
For more than four decades, Larry and Lorna Hundt have shaped not only a company, but a culture. What began as a young university student's weekend bus runs between Waterloo and Toronto evolved into one of Canada's most creative and admired motorcoach and tour operations. As Larry reflects on a lifetime in the industry and the legacy of Great Canadian Holidays & Coaches, the through-line is unmistakable: entrepreneurship, innovation, and a devotion to people - passengers, partners, and employees alike.
Five Welsh entrepreneurs have been recognised for outstanding progress after completing the Business Wales Start-Up Accelerator, with the latest cohort underlining how intensive, targeted support can turn early-stage ideas into investment-ready businesses. The award winners completed the ten-week accelerator programme and were recognised across five categories, reflecting both the breadth and quality of entrepreneurial talent emerging across Wales. Collectively, the cohort demonstrated strong momentum in moving from concept to customer, validating propositions and building clear growth strategies.
Entrepreneurs often have to take a leap of faith to get their businesses off the ground-whether it be cashing out their 401(k)s for funding, or dropping out of Ivy League colleges to go all-in. Chess.com cofounder Danny Rensch started his 235 million-player empire when his life was on the brink of collapse. Although he initially believed his vision was unrealistic, he credits a bit of that self-delusion to the platform's success.
Today, we meet James Eder, the 42-year-old cofounder of Student Beans (a discount coupon company targeting the college crowd), who is now a work-life coach splitting his time between London and the French Alps, and author of The Collision Code.Eder was inspired to build Student Beans in 2005 after organising his university's summer ball-a party for over 600 students where he was responsible for sponsorship. "My calls to big brands led to me asking for samples and raffle prizes," Eder recalls to Fortune.
I'm French, but I absolutely love living in LA. Still, during my maternity leave, I returned to Paris to be closer to my family. There, my baby adored singing books. She was only a few months old, but they kept her engaged. When we returned to America, I couldn't find anything similar. At the same time, I was learning all the English nursery rhymes I hadn't grown up with. I loved singing rhymes like "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Patty Cake."
When we think of entrepreneurs, many of us imagine bright young upstarts in hoodies and jeans, like Mark Zuckerberg or Irish founders of the payment service provider Stripe, brothers Patrick and John Collison.
2000-2003: The next Harry Potter book didn't come out for three years. 2022: Right after he was born, my son decided he would never sit in a stroller or a car seat. What is something you had to learn the hard way? Life doesn't pause for anyone. In the past few years, I've started three companies, moved homes and had two babies. There's no perfect moment, just a lot of juggling.
Concern over the potential of artificial intelligence replacing employees remains high as the number of work tasks the tools can tackle grows. But the technology now plays a large role in boosting employment, too. A new report by job site LinkedIn shows how AI does that by fueling small business growth, and enabling a rising number of aspiring entrepreneurs to strike out their ow
The median base salary for HBS's 2025 graduates rose to $184,500, up from $175,000 the year before. Of the 65% of the class seeking employment, 90% received at least one job offer within three months of graduation, and 84% accepted-both improvements from the classes of 2024 and 2023. Data from PayScale, analyzed by Poets & Quants, estimates the median lifetime income of an HBS graduate at over $8.5 million.
After experiencing intense itching from head to toe, I developed a total aversion to dogs. I made my husband agree that we would never have a dog when we got married. My husband and I both worked internationally, he in defense and me in humanitarian efforts. We met in Afghanistan and later moved to Kenya, which was a region where his harder skillset and my softer skillset could both be utilized.
The two-time founder told Fortune that he approaches it the way he approaches his business: always on. "It's just like in business, you have to, consistently, every day, show up and don't have any excuses for poor performance." He said that not all his Ironman training days are great, but he has to make sure he follows his plan. It aligns with how he works.
I grew up believing courage was about heroes jumping off mountains and running into burning buildings, 300 Spartan warriors standing against the invading Persian army-the kind of thing that is celebrated in epic poems and Hollywood blockbusters. But life has taught me something different. Courage does not just have to look spectacular. In fact, much more often, courage lives in the everyday.
Jarred Kessler has spent over fifteen years at the intersection of finance, technology, and real estate. He is known for building companies that rethink traditional models and deliver new solutions for both investors and consumers. From raising $150 million in startup capital to leading innovative real estate platforms, Kessler has established himself as a strategic thinker and transformative leader. "I've always believed that the best opportunities come from understanding change before it happens," Kessler says.
Having built a company worth around 70 million pounds ($92m) that he plans to sell soon, John wants to avoid a hefty capital gains tax bill. As his children are in university, upping sticks is possible. He hopes to take advantage of the Republic of Ireland's non-domiciled, or non-dom, tax regime, which would exempt him from Irish taxes as well.
For aspiring entrepreneurs, he said the key lesson from his career is the vital importance of "resilience, grit, hard work, and working on something that matters." Siminoff said that nobody knows how AI will reshape the world, but young people's best shot is to pursue a passion and work hard, as he expects there will still be jobs in five years for people who are "great at things."
While many businesses have modest beginnings, Dell says risk-taking focused his mind. "If you want to really make it big, you better come up with something unique," Michael Dell, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Dell Technologies, told Fortune in a 2017 interview. "It better be differentiated-that nobody else is doing." His other piece of advice for entrepreneurs is to take feedback with a grain of salt.
"I have blind, crazy, crazy trust that he's got what he's working on," Sakkijha said, adding that they're both "in it to win it." Masad said one advantage of working together is their ability to be direct. That level of openness helps the business move more quickly, he said. Both said that working together also brings out their individual strengths. Masad said he sees himself as detail-oriented, data-driven, and passionate about problem-solving and strategy, while Sakkijha thrives in communication, decision-making, and emotional intelligence.
Best known for his portrayal of Andre "Dre" Johnson on ABC's Black-ish, Anderson not only starred in the series but also served as executive producer. The show became a cultural touchstone, using comedy to explore themes of identity, family, and progress. His creative influence extended to spin-offs like Grown-ish and a variety of hosting roles, including To Tell the Truth and the 75th Emmy Awards.
Two of the UK beauty industry's most successful founders, Susie Ma of Tropic Skincare and Jenna Meek of Refy, are set to join the BBC's Dragons' Den as guest dragons in 2026. The pair will sit alongside Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman and Steven Bartlett, as well as fellow guest dragons Tinie Tempah and Gary Neville, in a line-up designed to bring a new generation of entrepreneurial voices into the Den.
