Giving Is Part of the Entrepreneurial Journey
FROM THE TEAM

Giving Is Part of the Entrepreneurial Journey

That choice can mean donating to a cause they care about, supporting a local organization, mentoring a young entrepreneur, creating scholarships, investing in their community, or simply opening a door for someone who needs an opportunity. The same qualities that drive entrepreneurship – initiative, optimism, hard work, and a belief that things can be better – also drive philanthropy. There is something powerful about building something and then using that success to help others build something of their own. We often call that giving back. It is more than that. It is giving forward.
Overnight Shipping? Absolutely. Overnight Success? Not Quite.
ENTREPRENEUR STORY

Overnight Shipping? Absolutely. Overnight Success? Not Quite.

There’s a point in almost every entrepreneur’s story where all you have to do is survive another day. You don’t have to solve every problem all at once – but you better get up and solve the problem that will otherwise kill the company today. Then you get some rest and rise tomorrow to solve the next one.
I Married a Serial Entrepreneur.
FROM THE TEAM

I Married a Serial Entrepreneur.

The life of an entrepreneur is not a career. It’s a lifestyle. Work does not fit neatly into work hours because the problems rarely arrive neatly inside the typical 9-5. The ideas come during dinner. The calls come during errands, first thing Sunday morning, or just as you’re about to jump in the swimming pool.
The Blue Jean Dreamers
ENTREPRENEUR STORY

The Blue Jean Dreamers

There are two distinct acts of entrepreneurship in this story. Jacob Davis saw a practical problem and figured out how to solve it. Levi Strauss saw the possibilities in Davis’s solution and had the means to bring it to a much larger market.
The Sweet Success of Small Town Business
ENTREPRENEUR STORY

The Sweet Success of Small Town Business

For more than a century, Bryan, Ohio has been sending its candies into homes, schools, doctor’s offices, and Halloween bags across America. It’s a place where generations of entrepreneurs have not only preserved what they inherited but sought to ensure that beloved products remain available for new generations to enjoy. Hall of Giants exists to celebrate towns like Bryan and companies like Spangler.
The Hall of Fame America Has Been Missing
FROM THE TEAM

The Hall of Fame America Has Been Missing

Every Hall of Fame is ultimately an answer to the same question: Which achievements deserve to be remembered? America has answered that question for athletes, musicians, entertainers, and dozens of other professions and pastimes. Yet one group whose contributions have shaped every American’s daily life has never had a national home of its own: entrepreneurs.
America Was Built by Founders. Now, It’s Sustained by Them.
ENTREPRENEUR STORY

America Was Built by Founders. Now, It’s Sustained by Them.

From small-town shopkeepers to groundbreaking inventors, from family-owned farms to global companies, the American story has always been written by people willing to dream bigger than their circumstances. In the Old World the founders left behind, those circumstances at your birth defined your possibilities for the rest of your life. The founders believed something different was possible for all, a nation where opportunity was limitless.
The Summer I Mowed Lawns
FROM THE TEAM

The Summer I Mowed Lawns

Not so long ago, almost every teenager had a summer job. Perhaps it was in a fast-food joint, or at a gas station, or at a movie theater. Today, it’s very different. The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times have each recently reported that fewer American teens are working today. You probably don’t need a paper to confirm what your own eyes tell you.  Summers are more structured, and schedules fill up earlier. It’s a rare kid who spends their afternoons knocking on doors and asking if there’s work to be done.
A Giant of Enterprise: Madam C.J. Walker’s Enduring Legacy
ENTREPRENEUR STORY

A Giant of Enterprise: Madam C.J. Walker’s Enduring Legacy

Entrepreneurs do more than build businesses. They create ever-expanding opportunities for others. As Walker’s company grew, she recruited and trained thousands of women to become sales agents. At a time when professional opportunities for women were limited and opportunities for black women were especially scarce, Walker’s organization offered a path to economic independence. Her agents learned how to sell products, manage accounts, speak to customers, and run small businesses of their own. Many earned incomes that gave them greater freedom and stability than they had previously known.A creative and intuitive salesman, Wrigley began including two free packs of chewing gum with his soap – a way to set himself apart from his competition and endear himself to customers. Despite tight margins, Wrigley made the gum trick work. The business grew fast.