Famous Solopreneurs Who Accomplished Nothing by Age 30

https://solounicornsclub.beehiiv.com/p/5-famous-solopreneurs-who-accomplished-nothing-by-age-30

by jacky2wong • 2 years ago

51 27 2 years ago

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syndicatedjelly3• 2 years ago

I feel like no successful person would describe what they did before they became successful as "nothing"

Swizec• 2 years ago

I feel like no successful person would describe what they did before they became successful as "nothing"

My favorite life motto that I stole from who knows where: Do things that, if they succeed, make the rest of your life/career look like a footnote.

johnsimer• 2 years ago

Sam Altman

ahazred8ta• 2 years ago

Sam Altman: "But I always want it to be a project that, if successful, will make the rest of my career look like a footnote."

smt883• 2 years ago

I think Jack Dorsey would. The more we learn about him, the more he seems like a clueless idiot who got very lucky.

syndicatedjelly3• 2 years ago

That doesn’t seem obvious to me. What have you learned that makes you say that?

bazil376• 2 years ago

Wang was a figure skater and journalist before entering the fashion industry.

“Accomplished nothing”

jedberg• 2 years ago

In the same vein:

"Before becoming the founder of Walmart, Sam Walton owned a small chain of variety stores"

thaumasiotes• 2 years ago

Pfft, who hasn't at some point? ;p

jacky2wong3• 2 years ago

Fair point although entering a new industry often requires starting completely from scratch.

bloodyplonker22• 2 years ago

Their achievements don't just come out of nowhere one day. They spent much of their earlier lives compounding their skills, even if that meant failure.

jacky2wong3• 2 years ago

Definitely. These solopreneurs all kept trying after failing and I wanted to share a bit of their story!

a_bonobo• 2 years ago

Sanders started franchising Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) at the age of 62, using his first Social Security check to fund the business.

That seems like not much funding! Looking at Wikipedia:

Sanders believed that his North Corbin restaurant would remain successful indefinitely; however, he sold it at age 65 after the new Interstate 75 reduced customer traffic.[29][30][5] Left only with his savings and US$105 a month from Social Security (equivalent to $1,147 in 2022),[5] Sanders decided to begin to franchise his chicken concept in earnest, and traveled the US looking for suitable restaurants. After closing the North Corbin site, Sanders and Claudia opened a new restaurant and company headquarters in Shelbyville in 1959.[31] Often sleeping in the back of his car, Sanders visited restaurants, offered to cook his chicken, and if workers liked it negotiated franchise rights.[5]

I don't think anyone could fund a business on $1,147 a month. Then again Wikipedia talks about unspecified savings. Those should be substantial after selling a restaurant?

sircastor• 2 years ago

I think the cost of doing business has increased substantially in the last 60 years. Even respecting inflation, I think services, wages, and just the obligations related to business are more expensive than they used to be.

redrove• 2 years ago

I would add: disproportionately so in higher bureaucracy higher tax environments.

Your money just goes a lot less further as a business owner and as a result it’s harder to have a small business, such an environment heavily favors large corporations that have the funds and man hours to throw at the problem and come out on top.

vgeek• 2 years ago

As useless trivia-- one of Sanders' relatives founded Lee's Famous Recipe once Sanders essentially exited KFC. Subjectively, it is better than modern day KFC.

The Corbin KFC/museum draws tons of tourists-- especially from China (I think they have more locations there than in the US.) If anyone happens to go there, Corbin also has a pretty good pinball arcade with ~60 tables and a redemption game section.

nylonstrung• 2 years ago

Sam Walten owning numerous supermarkets was "nothing"?

collectedparts• 2 years ago

yeah this is not a very good list. if you read "Made in America" (1992) it's clear that the eventual "founding" of Walmart was just a continuation in Sam's entrepreneurial journey that had been steadily gaining momentum for years already with his store management and precursor efforts

andrewedstrom• 2 years ago

These are not solopreneurs. They’re entrepreneurs.

yareal• 2 years ago

Furthermore, there's no such thing as a solopreneurs. Everything you have now, everything you will ever build or do or touch is done with the combined labor of millions of humans. Thinking that somehow you are going it solo denies reality.

davidedicillo• 2 years ago

I wonder if there are any recent examples.

jacky2wong3• 2 years ago

Good point - I'll research and create a more recent list.

lgkk• 2 years ago

There are plenty of people who work until they’re able to take a risk without destroying their family’s well being.

We don’t hear about the failures because it’s a tragedy. But I’ve worked with a lot of failed entrepreneurs in their 40s. It’s clear they aren’t happy in their jobs but also have no choice now.

pjmlp• 2 years ago

This feels like the usual "overnight success, 30 years in the making" kind of stuff.

Famous Solopreneurs Who Accomplished Nothing by Age 30

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