Business
Entrepreneur
How We'll Connect
Entrepreneurship is not a solo experience. It’s a collective effort—building a team, finding partners, fostering relationships with consumers that could last days or decades. So while the pandemic has changed the way we connect, it hasn’t changed the simple fact that we must connect. With new tools, philosophies, and work-from-home strategies, we’re setting ourselves up for an interconnected future—whether by screen, in person, or a bit of both.
10+ min |
July - August 2020
Entrepreneur
“Incredible Innovation Comes Out of Dark Times”
Sara Blakely has steered Spanx through 20 years of ups and downs, including personal devastation and global catastrophe. It has taught her a lot about the value of adversity.
7 min |
July - August 2020
Entrepreneur
The World's Best
Our list of 200 franchises that are expanding (and thriving!) around the globe.
1 min |
July - August 2020
Entrepreneur
Solve Tomorrow's Problems Today
We can still build sustainable businesses. But it’ll require thinking far ahead—and acting now.
3 min |
July - August 2020
Entrepreneur
HOW WE'LL FRANCHISE
As the pandemic has unfolded, questions have swirled around franchising. Can food service, its biggest category, survive in a time of social distancing? Will people continue to buy franchises in uncertain times? And can brands make large, expensive changes across hundreds or thousands of units? So far, the answer seems to be: Yes! The pandemic has shown just how resilient and adaptable franchising can be. Here’s what comes next.
10+ min |
July - August 2020
Entrepreneur
HOW WE'LL BUILD
In the pandemic’s early days, celebrated investor Marc Andreessen wrote an essay about the power of entrepreneurship. “Every step of the way, to everyone around us, we should be asking the question, What are you building?” he wrote. “What are you building directly, or helping other people to build, or teaching other people to build, or taking care of people who are building?” On the following pages, entrepreneurs offer their answers.
10+ min |
July - August 2020
Entrepreneur
The Wizard of Whopper
Fernando Machado is the marketing genius who turned Burger King (and Popeyes!) into a buzzy, relevant, always-on-point brand. Here’s how he pulls it off.
10+ min |
April - May 2020
Entrepreneur
Business/Unsual – Schmidt's Naturals – “Naivete Can Be Really Helpful”
Jaime Schmidt built and sold Schmidt’s Naturals for millions. Her advice: Don’t focus too much on the challenges ahead. Just get going.
6 min |
April - May 2020
Entrepreneur
Calling Out Your Copycat
Founders are turning to social media to make noise when other brands encroach on their intellectual property. It’s a splashy way to defend your company, but can it actually help protect it?
5 min |
April - May 2020
Entrepreneur
A Laptop That Acts Like a Smartphone
5G laptops are debuting, and they’re promising something entrepreneurs need: nonstop connectivity.
3 min |
April - May 2020
Entrepreneur
Building a Family's Future
After his corporate career, a father wanted to set up his family for generations to come. Now he and his daughter run a Real Property Management franchise—together.
4 min |
April - May 2020
Entrepreneur
“As We Get Bigger, We Need to Think Smaller"
When Ben Weprin founded Graduate Hotels, he thought he’d created an eccentric brand that would never really scale. Six years later, it’s raised nearly a billion dollars and is building bespoke lodging next to colleges nationwide. Now he’s wondering: How much can you grow a company that’s based on local charm?
10+ min |
April - May 2020
Entrepreneur
ONE PLUS ONE EQUALS BILLIONS
Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson’s career was stalling. Then Dany Garcia stepped in to help change everything.
10+ min |
April - May 2020
Entrepreneur
THE CRAZIEST BET IN RETAIL
A little startup called Le Tote recently bought Lord & Taylor, one of the country’s oldest brands. What happens next may say a lot about the future of shopping.
10+ min |
April - May 2020
Entrepreneur
Keep the Team Together
If you really want to make your employees happy, stop thinking like a boss… and start thinking like an employee.
3 min |
April - May 2020
Entrepreneur
Get That First Meeting
One big meeting can transform a startup—but how do you get in front of the right person? Six entrepreneurs share how they scored some coveted face time.
3 min |
April - May 2020
Entrepreneur
What's in a Name? WHEN THE BRAND IS YOU
After transforming the beauty industry and then leaving her namesake company, Bobbi Brown is leveraging her experience to create more new brands.
5 min |
Startups Spring 2020
Entrepreneur
THE WAY TO SELL YOURSELF
Our opening sentence is our most important. And too many of us are getting it wrong.
3 min |
Startups Spring 2020
Entrepreneur
Tap Your Network IT'S WHO YOU KNOW
When I lost my job, I felt like I lost everything. But I hadn’t. Here’s how I built a network that helped me rebound even stronger—and build a multimillion-dollar podcast business.
3 min |
Startups Spring 2020
Entrepreneur
Location, Location, Location FOUNDERS, GO HOME
To attract the best investors and employees, startup founders once had to move to the coasts. But more and more, they’re returning to their roots to build their businesses.
10 min |
Startups Spring 2020
Entrepreneur
JOINING FORCES TO GROW
After running her sign-and-awning business for 18 years, Nikki Taheri decided to turn the operation into a FastSigns franchise.
3 min |
Startups Spring 2020
Entrepreneur
FROM FLYING HIGH TO PIZZA PIE
Former Air Force intelligence analyst Stephanie Moseley became a Marco’s Pizza franchisee. And yes, those jobs do have something in common.
2 min |
Startups Spring 2020
Entrepreneur
Finding Investors FIRST, GET INVESTORS— THEN, MAKE THE PRODUCT?
When she set out to launch the new paint brand Clare, Nicole Gibbons was told to build first and raise money later. But to really create the startup she wanted, she’d have to go in reverse.
3 min |
Startups Spring 2020
Entrepreneur
Customer Service STOP DOING WHAT PEOPLE HATE
That’s the philosophy Jesse Cole used to build the Savannah Bananas, an unusually popular (and weird) baseball team. And it can work for any business.
10+ min |
Startups Spring 2020
Entrepreneur
Brand Name SAME WORD, NEW OPPORTUNITY
It’s easy to fear changes to your brand. It’s harder (but more fulfilling!) to embrace them. That’s why Edible Arrangements finally embraced a new definition of edibles.
2 min |
Startups Spring 2020
Entrepreneur
Better Business, Better Business World
Stitch Fix CEO Katrina Lake is one of just a few female “unicorn” founders. And she has learned to embrace that power.
6 min |
March 2020
Entrepreneur
When?
When do you launch? / When do you act? / When do you change? It just might be the most important question an entrepreneur ever answers.
10 min |
March 2020
Entrepreneur
Mom Knows Best
When entrepreneurs really listen to their customers, their businesses can transform. That’s what Michelle Kennedy learned when building Peanut, a social networking app that set out to help moms make other mom friends…but has become about so much more.
10+ min |
March 2020
Entrepreneur
Don't be a brand. Be a voice.
Black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross spent 10 years getting a hair care company off the ground.One thing is clear:The message matters as much as the product.
10+ min |
March 2020
Entrepreneur
Can The Black Market Be Stopped?
The biggest threat to marijuana startups isn’t coming from the legal competition. It’s coming from the illegal market, which thrives even in states that have legalized weed. To extinguish the threat, licensed dealers might have to work together.
10 min |