7 super-successful entrepreneurs share their best advice for people who want their own business
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The 30 companies (and their young founders) on our 2017 list have been pulled and prodded, picked at, and pondered.
And still they stand — thanks in large part to novel business models, in-demand products and services, and revenue to back them up.
Indeed, these young firms represent the best of what this next generation has to offer.
But they have a long way to go. After all, every big business was small once.
Here, we pulled together some of the best advice from this year's 30 Under 30 judges, who include: Real estate mogul and Shark Tank co-host Barbara Corcoran, XPrize's Peter Diamandis, Honest Tea co-founder Seth Goldman, and Uncharted Play founder (and 30 Under 30 alum) Jessica O. Matthews.
What is your best advice for young entrepreneurs today?
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Barbara Corcoran: You should start your business when you're young. Experience is grossly overrated and there is no substitute for just jumping off a cliff and figuring out the answer on the way down.
What advice do you wish someone gave you when you were just starting out?
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Peter Diamandis: First, find a mentor, someone you admire in the field you're most excited about and offer to work for that person for free. Think of it as a free graduate education. Going back a few centuries, apprenticeship was critical to one's success and I think the concept of apprenticeship is very valid again.
Second, be clear about your passion and don't settle for anything else. Don't do something for the money or to make your parents or your teachers happy. Pursue a startup because it's your personal passion, your highest aspiration. If you do something you are passionate about, you will work harder than ever before and shine against anyone else.
Doing anything big and bold is difficult, and if you're not totally in love with it, you'll give up before you succeed. For me, it was my passion for space, which I obtained during my childhood from the Apollo program and Star Trek. Space has been my primary motive force in nearly everything I've done. It's my guiding star.
What is the most common mistake you see young people make and how can they avoid it?
Honest Tea
Seth Goldman: People think they need to take a certain job they might not like to help them get the next opportunity. But by agreeing to do something they might not like or might not believe in, they run the risk of either being good at something they don't like to do, or not doing well because they are unhappy — both of which are bad outcomes.
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