Histories of Different Entrepreneurs - Coursework Example

? xxxxx No. 12345 ENTREPRENEURS RESEARCH ABC Xxxxx xxxx College Department of xxxx xxxxx 28 April, Table of Contents Contents Page No James Caan: Entrepreneur 03 Madam C.J. Walker: Hair-care Entrepreneur 04 Richard Branson: Virgin 06 James Dyson: Dyson Inventor 07 Anita Roddick: Founder of “The Bodyshop” 08 Julian Richer: Richer Sounds 09 Kanya King: Founder MOBO Awards 10 Sir Richard Arkwright: Industrialist 11 Alexander Fleming 12 Bibliography 13 James Caan: Entrepreneur If some one asks who is the most dynamic and successful enterprenuer of UK right now, the instant reply is James Caan. He is the founder of Hamilton Bradshaw and presently acting there as CEO. The company established in 2004, has several areas of operations like buyout, venture capital, turnarounds, and real estate investment in the UK (http://www.james-caan.com/about-james/). James Caan is a British-Pakistani entrepreneur and widely known for Dragons’ Den, a TV program of BBC in which he remained a part of judges’ panel from 2007 to 2010. James Caan basically belongs to Pakistan and his real name is Nazim Khan. In a critical point of view, it can be observed that Caan has a personality of diversified characteristics, both positive and negative. In business point of view, Caan possesses almost all those qualities which a good and successful entrepreneur must have. He is quite intelligent and sharp. One of the positive features of his personality is that he wisely knows how to transform the situations for his benefits. During the early phase of his recruitment agency, Caan had no space in his office at Pall Mall to make any dealings with the clients; therefore, in order to highlight a better image of his company, he prudently preferred the address of an esteemed place to catch the attention of the clients (http://www.startups.co.uk/james-caan.html). At that time the whole meetings with clients were carried out in some restaurants or coffee shops and the clients were told that the company is so busy that they don’t have enough space to deal all the clients in the company’s meeting rooms. For the clients’ easiness, during the same phase, he also changed his name from Nazim Khan to James Caan. This is another example of his smart mind. His autobiography ‘The Real Deal’ reveals several of his sharp moves, showing him as one of the smart, sharp, and reflexive man of UK business world. Mentally, Caan is not very intelligent but also strong. His father had a successful leather goods manufacturing business and was looking for his son to take it over, but Caan was mentally a free person. He was psychologically so strong that he left all that business and decided to venture into quite different fields. Another one of his positive norms is that he does substantial charity to help out the needy people. James Caan Foundation, established in 2006, predominantly works for education of the unprivileged children. During July 2010 when flood hit a huge part of Pakistan, Caan tremendously contributed in the rehabilitation process. With the support of UNICEF, Caan raised ?100,000. Despite of being a dynamic, versatile, and concerned professional, Caan has some flaws. He left his parents when they were looking for his support to take over the family business. This led him to remain estranged from his father for long time. Caan faced a great criticism in 2010, when he offered to buy a baby from a flood affected family of Pakistan (BBC News, 22nd October, 2010). He has also been blamed for tax avoidance with respect to his private equity company i.e. Hamilton Bradshaw. Madam C.J. Walker: Hair-care Entrepreneur Sarah Breedlove McWilliams Walker, widely famed as Madame CJ Walker, modernized the cosmetics and hair care industry for African American women during the first quarter of 20th century. By revolutionizing the cosmetics industry, she became one of the most impressive and influential African American women during the last and first quarters of the 19th and 20th century respectively. Besides a successful hair care entrepreneur, she was also a great philanthropist. Walker really had an inspirational personality of her era. Bundles’s biography elaborates the emotional, physical, and psychological characteristics of the African Americans during her era and describes her significant contributions as a cultural idol that stimulated the women to feel self-importance in themselves as well as their communities. The early life of Walker explores her character under extreme domestic problems. She married to Moses McWilliams just at the age 14 but widowed just after 6 years of marriage. It was a hard time for young walker to survive. She moved to St. Louis and attended public night schools while used to work as a washerwoman. She remained with this job for quite a while. Probably, the nature had created her for some amazing contribution to the cosmetics and hair care industry to benefit million of people in future. During 190s Walker struggled hard against her hair loss. She took a lot of support by using different products as medication but couldn’t. This led her to became visionary and she started to think and experimenting hair care products. Walker was a natural genius as in 1905; she introduced a novel method of straightening African-American kinky hair. The method produced promising results and thus she formally joined this field. Walker did a great struggle to promote her product through travelling and delivering lectures. Due to receiving an exceptional success, Walker established her office in Pittsburgh in 1908, which later she handed over to her daughter. The journey of her hardworking life didn’t stop here. In 1910, Walker moved and settled in Indianapolis. Here she established the headquarters of her company i.e. Madame C. J. Walker Laboratories. The company was not only manufactured the cosmetics brands but a lot of sales beauticians were used to train (Colman, 1994). Walker played a crucial role in promoting the life standards of African-American. Her trained beauticians came out as the advertising source for her among the Negro community of the United States. Club functions, seminars, other advertising campaigns, and her philosophy of “cleanliness and loveliness” not only publicized her products but through these marketing strategies she also contributed for the philanthropic and educational efforts among African-Americans. Walker’s toiling efforts and innovative hair care products made her the first ever black millionaire woman of the American history (New York Times, 1919). Despite of having an excessive amount of money, she was never turned into egotistical. She was also an active supporter of African American foundations and especially a great care taker of women. Once she had said “I am not satisfied in making money for myself. I endeavor to provide employment for hundreds of the women of my race” (Madam C.J. Walker Quotes). Richard Branson: Virgin Richard Branson is a one of the most famous human names in the United Kingdom as for more than 20 years; he is one of the most successful entrepreneurs of UK business industry by expanding his Virgin Empire. Today Richard Branson is a billionaire entrepreneur and is founder and CEO of the renowned mega organization i.e. Virgin Group that consists of more than 400 corporations. Forbes listed him as the 4th wealthiest man of United Kingdom in 2011 having an estimated net worth of about US$4.2 billions (Forbes. March 2011). Hard working and zeal to flourish in the professional field is the dominating aspect of his personality. His whole life is evidence on this particular approach. In 1970, he began selling the music records through mail orders, promoted the business in 1971 by hiring a shop in London, and gave it a productive push by adding a music studio. After earning some handy money, in 1972, Branson launched his record named Virgin Records and Nik Powell and received a widespread fame. In 1973, Mike Oldfield, appeared on the screen through his studio by releasing his first album Tubular Bells which was also the first release of Virgin Records and got warm reception throughout the Britain (Branson, 1999). Later on the launching of projects like Sex Pistols and Culture Club, and purchasing a gay nightclub Heaven made the Branson controversial and some traditional sectors of society raised the fingers on him. However, the firm and sturdy Branson didn’t come under pressure and branched out into a tremendous form of businesses having the name Virgin. These included Virgin Atlantic airways, Virgin Mobile (phone service), Virgin Mega stores (sellers of music and books), in conjunction with car sales, cosmetic items, health clubs, and many other fields (Branson, 1999). Branson has a great ability of knowing himself and the application of his abilities. Aggressive operational style, jovial interpersonal skills, and never introverted attitude are the hallmark of his personality. He used his own personality for the advertising of his Virgin Corporation and this made him as one of the best-known business icon in United Kingdom. For Branson, life is not limited to the business field only. He is great adventurous, and his hobby made him the world record holder. In 1986, he made the fastest-ever crossing of the Atlantic Ocean on his boat Virgin Atlantic Challenger II. In 1987, he became the first man who crossed the Atlantic in a hot air balloon named Virgin Atlantic Flyer (BBC News, 14 June 2004). One of his greatest decisions for human came on scene in 2006 when he declared to donate all of his profits of transportation sector for next 10 years to developing renewable energy technologies (http://renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=46071). Branson is also very active in humanitarian activities since long. Sir Richard Branson is a living legend of this era. He is not only a businessman but a versatile personality that possesses a great balance in all of his activities. James Dyson: Dyson Inventor Sir James Dyson is a British Industrialist and founder of Dyson Company which deals with the designing and manufacturing of vacuum cleaners, bladeless fans, and heaters. Sir James Dyson is a practical oriented person. It seems that determination and creativity are the most glaring features of his personality that kept him firm to achieve the targets. About the death of his father due cancer and the aftermaths he says “I was quite good at it, not because I was physically good, but because I had more determination. I learnt determination from it (Dyson & Dyson, 1997)”. Starting from his first invention The Sea Truck till now, all of his inventions elaborate his inspirational struggle of innovation, wisdom, and self-confidence. The Dual Cyclone, one oh is most successful and market dominating product is a revolutionary idea i.e. bag-less vacuum cleaner which took the market by storm. Dyson has a dynamic and all round personality which has its dimensions away from science and technology. Till September 2004, he remained chairman of board of trustees of Design Museum. Dyson is a visionary person, therefore, to support and promote the design and engineering education among the young generation, Dyson established Dyson Foundation in 2002. James Dyson Award, running in more than 18 countries, is another attempt to inspire the next generation towards the field of designing and manufacturing (James Dyson Award). One of the great designers of this era, Dyson had assets of ?1.45 billion by the end of 2011. Anita Roddick: Founder of “The Bodyshop” Anita Roddick was a British woman best known as founder of “The Bodyshop”, a cosmetics producing company. Impressively Anita was simply a hero of her kind as she had great contribution in there aspects of life i.e. a businesswoman, an environmental activist, and a human rights advocate. She was a creative thinker as she launched her company at a time when men were dominating the entrepreneurs’ landscape. She was a tough competitor as she neither compromised on her principles nor she ever tolerated on her integrity. This approach has made her unpopular as well quite a while. A great conspiracy also created hurdles for her when Jon Entine blamed her for copying the name, concept, and broachers of The Bodyshop. But being a visionary mind, she went through the brands of Bodyshop. In 1991, she was awarded the 1991World Vision Award for Development Initiative. At that time, The Bodyshop had about 700 branches across the country. Furthermore, Anita Roddick was of social working mind. Since she was relentless in her goals, therefore, she supported a lot of other commendable causes e.g. Amnesty International and Save the Rainforests. In 1990, she established Children on The Edge to support the children of Eastern Europe and Asia (Worldaware, 1991). In a birds eye view, Ania’s life seems full of struggle in terms of innovation and receiving honours. She had leadership qualities with unselfish approach. Whatever she did, it was not to collect the money only. She has set new horizons for women to excel in their field of choice. Julian Richer: Richer Sounds Julian Richer is a UK based businessman dealing with online entertainment retailer, having a chain of 51 stores located across the country. Hi-Fi, Home Cenima, LCD, and Plasma TV are leading products of the company (Richer, 1999). The main characteristic of Richer’s personality is his hardworking attitude. Richer is a self-made entrepreneur as he remained hardworking professional throughout his life. Just at the age of 14, he was involved in business while at the age of 17 he had three workers with him. At the age of 20, richer had opened his first shop near London Bridge. However, by using his knowledge, competency, and wisdom, today Richer is enjoying a huge net worth. Today the small store, which he established in 1978, has been ranked as No.1 in the Guinness Book of Records for the highest sales per square foot of any retail outlet in the world (Guinness World Records, 2000). He has 51% business share in Audio Partnership, an electronic company operating in more than 50 countries. In 2010, Sunday Times ranked the Richer Sounds as the best UK Company. After having a worth experience, Archer has turned into a motivational advisor and uses to deliver executive level lectures on staff motivation, cultural change, customer service, and communication applications. Julian Richer considers that customer service is the backbone of any business. But for him, the scope of customer service seems quite broad. Richer strongly believes in the feedback from customer through some proper mean, which may include online feedback posts, freepost cards by which, customers are supposed to rate the rankings of their visits. Richer is a great philanthropic as he has not only established his Charity Foundation but Richer Sounds donates 15% of its profit to charity (Richer, 1999). Kanya King: Founder MOBO Awards Kanya King is internationally known as a great innovator of British music industry and a renowned entrepreneur. Kanya has numbers of dignities like she is CEO of her organization Home Office Task Force to reduce the gun violence, patron of Horniman Museum, and a member of the foundation team of Net Women. However, the main cause of her recognition is the celebrations of the Music of Black Origin (MOBO), which she started in 2003. She plays an instrumental role in organizing the MOBO awards to promote the black music and culture in United Kingdom. In recognition of her tremendous contribution towards the British music, the Queen invited her to celebrate her exceptional performance. Express Newspapers ranked her as the most powerful and influential woman in the history of music business. Although she is running the MOBO awards actively and remarkably, however, it seems that MOBO is involved to passively promote a racism culture because the correlation of music with some ethnicity basically indicates her as racist (The Times, London). David Lister, in The Independent newspaper states "I find any notion of separate awards devised for black musicians, and still largely for black musicians, depressing”. He further explains that "…manage to be both ludicrous and dangerously divisive at the same time" (Lister, The Independent) The personality of Kanya is decorated by her amiable response to the audience and an incessant accessibility to her fans. She is courageous to accept the criticism as well. Sir Richard Arkwright: Industrialist Sir Richard Arkwright is widely considered as one of the leading entrepreneurs of industrial revolution. Richard got great recognition for his invention of water frame which was earlier known as spinning frame. The machine replaced the wooden and metal cylinders by a strong twist for wraps. He also invented carding engine that could convert raw cotton into yarn. Sir Richard Arkwright was a completely self-made entrepreneur and this is also the greatest feature of his personality as well. The history reckons him a toiling human right from his childhood. Sara and Thomas, his parents couldn’t afford to send him school, therefore Richard learnt some reading and writing skills from his cousin and just at the age of 17 years, tragically one of the greatest entrepreneur of his era had to started his professional life as a barber and wig-maker (Smiles, 1866). Ricard was a genius by birth. Besides his hardworking approach, he was creative minded. Even as a barber, he invented a waterproof dye for use on fashionable wig of that time. This invention returned him with some valuable income which supported him to invest in prototype cotton machinery. There is also a controversy regarding the invention of spinning frame. It is widely considered that instead of Richard, it was Thomas Highs who invented the spinning frame but couldn’t patent it due to financial problems. Basically Richard picked the concept from Highs and then transformed the concepts into invention. Beside the inventions of water frame and carding machine, one of his greatest contributions is the setting up of a factory system that was followed on large scale. Alexander Fleming Alexander Fleming was a great Scottish biologist, renowned globally for his most famous but accidental discovery of Penicillin. He was honoured with number of significant awards; however, the greatest recognition of his services came through the Noble Award in 1945. A huge numbers of scientists are still getting benefits from his research and written articles in the field of Biotechnology while millions of common people get the benefit everyday. Fleming was a fiery person. His biography reveals that he had passion and zest for life since his childhood. Besides his exuberant enthusiasm, he had some acute ability to foresee the future demands, options, and trends. The major factor or motive behind his enthusiasm or devotion to his profession seems the sensitivity of his nature. Time magazine listed him in one of the 100 greatest personalities of the 20th century and gave a magnificent tribute to his personality and contributions. It was a discovery that would change the course of history. The active ingredient in that mould, which Fleming named penicillin, turned out to be an infection-fighting agent of enormous potency. When it was finally recognized for what it was, the most efficacious life-saving drug in the world, penicillin would alter forever the treatment of bacterial infections. By the middle of the century, Fleming's discovery had spawned a huge pharmaceutical industry, churning out synthetic penicillin that would conquer some of mankind's most ancient scourges, including syphilis, gangrene and tuberculosis (Times, 29th March 1999). Bibliography BBC News (14 June 2004). Branson sets cross-channel record, BBC News. BBC News (2010). Dragon James Caan 'regrets offer to buy baby. 22 October 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11605927. Retrieved 2010-10-22 Branson, R (1999). Losing My Virginity: How I've Survived, Had Fun, And Made a Fortune Doing Business, Three Rivers Press Colman, P. M. & Walker, C.J. (1994). Building a Business Empire. The Millbrook Press Dyson, James; & Giles Coren (1997). Against The Odds: An Autobiography Forbes, (2011). Richard Branson. Forbes. March 2011. Guinness World Records 2000 http://www.startups.co.uk/james-caan.html http://www.james-caan.com/about-james/ James Dyson Award. Lister, D (2008): The Mobos are past their sell-by date - David Lister, Columnists - The Independent. The Independent (London). 4 October 2008. Madam, C.J. Walker Quotes. New York Times (1919). Wealthiest Negress Dead. New York Times. May 26, 1919. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/1223.html. Retrieved 2011-02-03 Richer, J (1999). Richer on Leadership, Revised Edition, Richer Publishing Smiles, S (1866). Self-help: with illustrations of character, conduct and perseverance, John Murray Publishers, London The Times (London). Time Magazine. Alexander Fleming – Time 100 People of the Century. 29 March 1999. Virgin Group to Invest $3 Billion in Renewable Energy. http://renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=46071. Retrieved 12 October 2006 Worldaware, (1991). World Vision Award for Development Initiative. Retrieved 11 September 2007, Read More