Entrepreneurship is not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s not an easy task to get into an entrepreneur’s shoes because there are just too many responsibilities chained to them and if not completed in time and in an appropriate manner, one can be weighed down under the weight of these responsibilities. That’s why if you rummage through the personal profiles of the most successful entrepreneurs, you will know it needs some extraordinary traits to ace running a business.
To begin with, almost all entrepreneurs are quite well-versed in their respective fields. Bill Gates wouldn’t have been able to transform Microsoft into a business empire if he weren’t well-informed in software development. The endurance level of successful entrepreneurs is also unmatched, and their creative mindset never misses out on an opportunity to tap into something new to provide customers with new reasons to stay hooked on their business. We know such entrepreneurs are almost few in thousands and are rare finds, that’s why we have picked some top entrepreneurs in 2022 for you. Below are their profiles which you can read in detail:
The Fashion Institute of Technology graduate, Amanda Wojtas is the founder and CEO of Eternal Fleur, an eCommerce floral shop and B2B corporate clients gifting brand. She started her business journey in 2017 with the launch of her preserved floral brand. Before its launch, Amanda worked as an Account Executive which greatly inculcated in her the sense of operating and managing a business, and her dream came to fruition with the launch of her pioneering brand, Eternal Fleur.
Amanda’s floral business is one of a kind. It specializes in long-lasting floral arrangements that last a year or longer without water or sunlight. Eternal Fleur is currently creating the first-ever circular economy in the floral industry with the hospitality and events industry at the heart of it. It will be the first-ever B2B Subscription model that will make florals available for rent on a daily to quarterly basis.
“Think of us as Rent the Runway for flowers!” says Amanda.
As part of the Female Founder Collective, Eternal Fleur utilizes eco-friendly and sustainable practices and spreads environmental efficacy awareness besides promoting practical and impactful lifestyle changes. With Amanda at its side, the brand vows to go plastic-free by 2025 and do its part in the global fight against climate change and the struggle to preserve the natural environment.
Global business development and marketing strategist Adam Ahmed is the CEO and founder of Camhirst, a digital marketing platform. He is also the proud owner of the 3DCP Robot company, Camhirst3DCP, which is developing eco-friendly geopolymer cement. Adam started his journey in sales around 1994 but steadily moved to finance and marketing and finally settled down in London as a blockchain and crypto expert. He has partnered with multiple companies worldwide, successfully empowering them while bringing prosperity.
It has been his dream to help create a better world for people on a global scale. His business model is an ecosystem of multiple companies currently trying to reduce the global housing crisis and global warming. He also gives live Zoom sessions on wealth to understand the more innovative way of earning money. One of his companies teaches how cryptocurrency works and how to safeguard Bitcoins. Adam has recently secured a deal with the African Union in Dubai, allowing his company to assist the local government in providing housing and tech solutions to uplift and educate the general population.
His 3DCP Robot company will provide affordable housing for all, raising the standard of living. Adam’s reformative ideas can take any nation from poverty to prosperity. He plans to achieve this in Africa by focusing on developing programs that will alleviate the needy, creating economic stability.
Lisa Falzone, a Stanford graduate, is an entrepreneurial mastermind who has driven millions in revenue through top-grade private equity firms. In 2018, she co-founded Athena Security with Chris Ciabarra; the duo previously co-founded an iPad point-of-sale business, Revel Systems, in 2010. Although Revel reached 500m in evaluation, Lisa bid it farewell to shift her focus towards a different challenge: to help prevent mass shootings and create a safer environment for communities, especially at schools and workplaces.
"Using mass shootings as Athena's north star, we aim to mitigate and prevent human loss," says Lisa.
Athena’s award-winning Weapons Detection System is made up of OPENGATE, an operator and monitor unit, a Lidar sensor, and a stand. It detects any concealed threatful weapons, such as guns and knives, and instantly sends alerts. Being the only system that passes the NILECJ 1,2 Standard, Athena's security system is one of its kind. It has also been successful in not detecting cell phones and other everyday items as concealed weaponry. Athena’s system is also safe for medical implants to pass through.
With the rise of COVID-19, the company has expanded its technology to build a temperature detection system that can detect body temperature through quick, contactless screening of over 2,000 individuals per hour. As of today, Athena's systems are installed in many schools, offices, airports, casinos, and hospitals.
Besides saving lives, Lisa is also keen on bridging the gender gap in the business sector, encouraging women to build careers in tech and lead their own companies. She has also been awarded Forbes 30 Under 30 and Fortune 40 Under 40 accolades for her entrepreneurial achievements.
David S. Franklin is a multifaceted man - from being a war veteran in the Navy to being an entrepreneur and innovator. The past two decades have seen him work in the corporate sector, participate in two IPOs and become the founder of a few companies. David's latest startup, knowRX, is an award-winning healthcare initiative that aims to enhance prescription medicine awareness and empower patients and their families.
The idea for knowRX stems from one of David's distressing personal experiences. In 2018, he lost his father due to a medication-induced side-effect, which made him realize the pain many other patients fall prey to due to medical illiteracy or irresponsibility. So he decided to bring about a change by helping increase health literacy to improve people's lives – a few months later, knowRX was born.
"After losing my father, I considered it natural that I wanted to blame someone. However, as a technologist, I also wanted to fix something. From this experience, I set out to help others," shares David.
knowRX's digital healthcare application, The Owl App, helps users better understand prescription and nonprescription medications and connect with their trusted physicians and healthcare teams. The initiative also focuses on achieving Therapeutic Equity through EPCARE, knowRX's digital health platform, by engaging a diverse community in clinical trials that further assist in boosting health quality. EPCARE employs machine learning to enable secure information exchange between patients, healthcare providers, and researchers to facilitate drug innovations and inclusivity in health research.
Besides being a tech-savvy developer, David is also a public speaker, mindfulness coach, and Positive Neuroplasticity Training (PNT) teacher. Outside his work life, he is a happy-go-lucky family man who loves to go to the beach and trout fish.
An unorthodox businessman, Aren Singh Bahia is a speaker, entrepreneur, coach, and philanthropist. He’s the founder of Karma House Bali, Conscious Arts Tattoos, Full Reset Coaching and a founding partner in YogiLab, Lighthouse Bali, and Lotus House Vancouver. Recognized as Entrepreneurs Herald's Top 5 Coaches to Look Out for in 2022, Bahia’s entrepreneurial drive encompasses compassion and the many lessons he’s gotten from his life.
From addiction and organized crime to meditation and yoga, life has been full of twists and turns for him. But eventually, it was all for good as Bahia’s life took a positive turn when he finally decided to start over and live a life of compassion, generosity, and connection. Since then, he launched 7 businesses in 7 years and has successfully raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help underprivileged and mentally disabled Balinese children and at-risk youth in Vancouver. Devoting his life to service, creation, and connection was the best decision he’s ever made.
Just last year, he got into a major life-threatening motorcycle accident, which left him handicapped for almost a year. However, the near-death experience changed his life for the better as the horrible trauma led him to find resilience and live life to the fullest, refining his personal as well as professional life.
Now, along with helping people and young entrepreneurs build their brands and become successful, Bahia is strategically guiding them to be compassionate along the way and develop ways that will deeply benefit their lives as well as their loved ones. “The goal of my businesses is to help others in need and promote creation, connection, and personal development, all the while making charity work cool,” says Bahia, who hopes to bring more happiness and joy to the world and make it a better place to live.
An innovator and disruptor by nature, Norel Mancuso is the CEO and co-founder of Social House, Inc., an award-winning digital growth agency specializing in building authentic connections between brands and their audiences, and filling the voids that prevail in the marketing space. In 2010, Mancuso and Bree Hardaway - her sister and business partner - quit their jobs to focus on creating a unique, ‘out of the box’ agency with an idea to disrupt and improve the way brands and their consumers communicated with each other in the online space. This goal came to fruition with the inception of Social House, Inc.
“Our goal was to ‘make media human’ and our methodology was what we now call our ‘TriVision’ approach,” Mancuso described the distinct vision behind Social House, Inc.
Mancuso started Social House, Inc. with as little as $500 and only two laptops. It is now in its 12th year and broadcasts thought-provoking and meaningful content to over 127 countries, reaching over 700 million people all over the world. Consisting of a diverse team of intelligent individuals with Mancuso at its helm, Social House, Inc. has made a prominent mark in the marketing realm and continues its work by digitally transforming a plethora of the world’s most recognizable and multinational brands, including Pepsi, Urban Decay, Henkel Corporation, Amazon and Playboy.
From specializing in digital strategies to providing paid media and content solutions, the Social House team taps into social and brand storytelling like no other. They track digital consumer behavior and develop unique and unconventional narratives to provide the best possible results to the brands they work with. One of Mancuso’s recent ventures is the Social House Society, a monthly membership designed exclusively by digital experts, to guide small businesses and help them navigate the vast world of social media and online branding.
As a leading digital and marketing authority, Social House, Inc. also takes pride in being certified as a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE), Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), and NGLCC (LGBTQ+). Mancuso, the proud CEO, considers this as one of the most significant achievements of her career. She and her team have defied the odds, stood the test of time, and challenged the norms in the past and plan to continue to do so in the future.
Morenikeji Abina, a fashion and beauty entrepreneur, is the founder and creative director of Rendoll Lagos – a Nigerian fashion brand that provides womenswear luxury pieces that are stylish yet attainable. Founded in 2019, the luxury fashion brand is only in its third year and has already been featured in British Vogue, Elle Magazine, Glam Africa, Haute Fashion Africa, Cosmopolitan Magazine, and Harper’s Bazaar, among other international press features. This achievement is a testament to the founder’s hard work, passion, and consistency.
With an academic background in law, Reni had neither any experience in fashion nor investors. A capital sum of £400 and a small team of 3 was all she had in order to start her venture. However, international recognition and increased demands provided Reni and her team with the breakthrough they needed. Within three years, Rendoll has flourished enough to ship its luxury products to more than 20 countries - a number that’s growing to this date. Rendoll now stands amongst top fashion brands with yearly revenues of over £100,000, strengthening the African mark in fashion and competing with established businesses that have many more years of experience. It is now well on its way to becoming an attainable luxury international go-to brand for the best resort and party dresses.
Starting out as travel content creators, André Santos and Joana Salgueiro are the founders of Honeymooners, a travel agency that provides personalized honeymoon experiences including unique trips that are tailored to what each couple desires. Although it launched in May 2021 and is only in its second year, Honeymooners has already topped the charts of top travel agencies in Portugal, becoming number one on the list. It is nothing but the effort of the founders, their consistency, and passion to provide ‘out of the box’ trips and unforgettable memories to couples.
“At Honeymooners, our greatest tools are experience and love,” says the entrepreneurial couple.
Love has always been the key force for the couple, not only in their personal life but also in their entrepreneurial drive. After all, it was love that got them to this point. André and Joana grew up in the same hometown, Moimenta da Beira, went to the same school, and since then, they have been best friends, lovers, and are now married and parents to a beautiful child. It was on their honeymoon when the couple decided to start traveling the world dressed as bride and groom, to spread the message that life should be lived as if it were an eternal honeymoon.
Marked as one of the leading honeymoon specialists, Honeymooners provides services for not only exclusive holiday plans but also destination weddings and romantic trips. Moreover, corporate partnerships with some of the most luxurious hotels and resorts in the world have allowed them to know the best of the destinations and stay on top of the travel game.
The travel agency stands out from the rest due to its dedicated exclusive services including the pre-trip advisory meeting that features in-depth insights into their clients’ love stories and understanding of their unique requirements. Constant follow-up and 24-hour support during the trip further add to their exclusiveness. Currently, Honeymooners has a talented team of professionals spread all over the world to provide travel services worldwide. After conquering the travel realm in Portugal, André and Joana plan to make Honeymooners the number one choice all over the world.
Starting from the bottom to owning a multi-million business in his early twenties, Filip Boska is one of the most polished and successful entrepreneurs of his age. Currently, he is the co-founder and CEO of BookingKaola - a platform that powers thousands of services and is used by entrepreneurs worldwide.
However, this isn’t his only business venture. Before starting BookingKaola, Filip was focused on King of Maids, a home cleaning platform that he started at 19 with a high school friend and a combined investment of $6,000. The cleaning business was a success as the founders transformed it into a $5M venture in a time span of just three years. How Filip used this revenue to invest in his SaaS company speaks to his entrepreneurial genius.
BookingKaola makes it easy and economical for aspiring entrepreneurs to kickstart their service business and compete with big international competitors. That is what makes it a trusted and top choice for people from all industries, sizes, and countries.
Filip is now looking forward to making BookingKaola a self-funded unicorn. “99.9% of BookingKaola users are self-funded,” he says as he paves the way for new entrepreneurs to achieve big things without any outside capital. Through hard work and dedication, Filip has reached the height of success and is now helping other entrepreneurs do the same.
A serial entrepreneur at the young age of 23, Sheridan Clayborne has built an 8-figure revenue business and also has multiple fintech companies to his name. He co-founded Lendtable alongside Mitchell Jones, a consumer financial services platform enabling people to maximize their 401(k) match and employee benefits. His notable accomplishments include Forbes 30 Under 30, Thiel Fellow, YCombinator Summer 2020, and MLT Fellow. At only 15 years of age, Sheridan got accepted into Northwestern University, becoming the youngest African-American to be accepted into one of the most prestigious academic institutions around the globe.
Sheridan’s entrepreneurship journey began while he was in college, starting multiple companies and ultimately scaling them to eight figures in revenue. Soon after, he was diving deep into financial services to help an average American take full advantage of the 401(k) match and employee benefits they have access to. Ultimately, he dropped out of school to pursue entrepreneurship full-time.
Growing up in a low-income black family, Sheridan witnessed first-hand the hardships of an average American to save and invest for their retirement. Moreover, the uncertain times we live in these days make Ledtable’s mission more important than ever. With the post-pandemic new normal and the markets crashing with every passing day, it has become all the more necessary to plan for and invest in retirement. “Our goal is to make it possible for everyone to be able to retire by 60,” says Sheridan.
The thriving entrepreneur has accomplished so much at such a young age. We sure are going to see him conquering the sky in the future. Catch him on Twitter for a sneak peek of what he’s up to next.
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