2. Henry Ford (Ford Motor Co.)
•Formed Ford &
Malcomson in 1902
(age 39).
•Fun fact: Ford
became an apprentice
machinist in Detroit at
the age of 16.
Photo: “Barney Oldfield & Henry Ford,”
The History Channel
3. Mary Kay Ash (Mary Kay®)
•Opened her first
store in 1963 (age 45).
•Fun fact: Ash quit her
sales job in 1963 after
being passed over for
a promotion by a man
she had trained.
Photo: Corbis for Inc. Magazine
4. Steve Jobs (Apple)
•Founded Apple with
Steve Wozniak in 1976
(age 21).
•Fun fact: After
dropping out of Reed
College after one
semester, Steve Jobs
worked as a technician
with Atari.
Photo: Silvermac.com
5. Debbi Fields (Mrs. Fields®)
•Founded Mrs. Fields
Cookies in 1977 (age
21).
•Fun fact: Fields used
money from her
childhood job as a
“ball girl” for the
Oakland Athletics to
buy ingredients for
baking cookies.
Photo: mrsfields.com
6. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield (Ben
and Jerry’s®)
•Opened their first Ben &
Jerry’s ice cream parlor in
1978 in a renovated gas
station in Vermont, using
$8,000 of their own and
$4,000 they borrowed (ages:
27).
•Fun fact: Boyhood friends,
Cohen and Greenfield wanted
to do something that was
“fun” and decided to start a
food business. After realizing
bagel equipment was too
expensive, they took a
correspondence course in ice-
cream making.
Source: Star Magazine
7. Oprah Winfrey
•Launched her own
production company,
Harpo Studios, in 1988
(age: 34).
•Fun fact: Winfrey
started out in rural
Mississippi, where her
grandmother said she
used to interview her
corncob doll.
Source: AP
8. Pierre Omidyar (eBay™)
•Launched “Auction
Web,” now eBay, in
1995 (age:28).
•Fun fact: he wrote
the basics of eBay
over labor day
weekend in 1995 to
help his fiancée trade
PEZ candy dispensers.
9. Wendy Kopp (Teach for
America)
•Kopp founded Teach
for America in 1989
(age: 22).
•Kopp described her
idea of Teach for
America in her college
undergraduate thesis.
Source: Echoing Green
Editor's Notes
Formed Ford & Malcomson in 1902 (age 39); reincorporated into Ford Motor Company in 1903
Fun fact: Ford became an apprentice machinist in Detroit at the age of 16 (source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/greatminds/timeline/index.html)
Opened her first store in 1963 (age 45)
Fun fact: Ash quit her sales job in 1963 after being passed over for a promotion by a man she had trained (source http://www.inc.com/30years/articles/mary-kay-ash.html).
Founded Apple with Steve Wozniak in 1976 (age 21)
Fun fact: After dropping out of Reed College after one semester, Steve Jobs worked as a technician with Atari
Founded Mrs. Fields Cookies in 1977 (age 21)
Fun fact: Fields used money from her childhood job as a “ball girl” for the Oakland Athletics to buy ingredients for baking cookies.
Opened their first Ben & Jerry’s ice cream parlor in 1978 in a renovated gas station in Vermont, using $8,000 of their own and $4,000 they borrowed (ages: 27).
Fun fact: Boyhood friends, Cohen and Greenfield wanted to do something that was “fun” and decided to start a food business. After realizing bagel equipment was too expensive, they took a correspondence course in ice-cream making (source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/growyourbusiness/radicalsandvisionaries/article197626.html).
Launched her own production company, Harpo Studios, in 1988 (age: 34)
Fun fact: Forbes listed Winfrey as the first black woman billionaire in world history. Winfrey started out in rural Mississippi, where her grandmother said she used to interview her corncob doll.
Launched “Auction Web,” now eBay, in 1995 (age:28).
Fun fact: he wrote the basics of eBay over labor day weekend in 1995 to help his fiancée trade PEZ candy dispensers.
Kopp founded Teach for America in 1989 (age: 22).
Kopp described her idea of Teach for America in her college undergraduate thesis.