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News Corp’s Rise in 2 Minutes

January 15, 2011 By Clark Leave a Comment

Below is a quick, very informative video detailing the history and various acquisitions of News Corp since it’s inception.

Most interesting to notice is that the company’s origins came from Australia, and it’s first American asset was the San Antonio Express News.

CEO/Chairman Rupert Murdoch then bought The National Star, New York Post, and 50% of 20th Century Fox (buying it in full 3 years later).

The video also lists News Corp’s eyesores, such as DirectTV and Myspace (does anyone still use this?).

For more on the Murdoch’s check out this great Vanity Fair article located HERE.

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Don’t Mess with The DeJoria: Homeless Man to Branding Billionaire

December 19, 2010 By Clark Leave a Comment


Whenever I’m getting a haircut I always notice all those Paul Mitchell bottles shelved up high, or in the hands of some hair stylists aggressively selling it to me. There must be a good story behind this brand which is constantly in ones face.

Due to the packaging, most people know the name Paul Mitchell, but the name John Paul DeJoria is lesser known.

However John Paul DeJoria’s rise to wealth is most spectacular, simply because he used to be homeless, and grew up nearby in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Some details about DeJoria’s life:

-DeJoria and his brother were moved into a foster home after his parents divorced

-DeJoria was part of a street gang in East Los Angeles (he got out and joined the Navy)

-Had many odd jobs, working as a janitor and life insurance salesman

As a natural salesman, DeJoria earned a marketing position at Time Magazine, leading to subsequent promotions, and then worked for Redken Laboratories (hair care brand now owned by L’Oreal).

Later, In 1980 DeJoria met Paul Mitchell and together they formed John Paul Mitchell Systems with a loan for $700 (see this link for starting up a company with low capital).

DeJoria’s proven resilience, despite the hardship in his life, carried over in his business.

A great quote from DeJoria is such ” I have said many times [Read more...]

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Fastest Growing Companies of 2009 by Fortune and CNBC

December 14, 2010 By Clark Leave a Comment

To anyone who has not already seen it, this is a fantastic episode below hosted by CNBC and Fortune Magazine. Interviews are conducted with CEO’s from some of the fastest growing companies of 2009.

It is a top ten list, David Letterman style. A wide spectrum of businesses is covered including fashion, food, oil and asset management.

Companies profiled, and CEO’s interviewed are with:

-Black Rock (3 trillion under management, bigger than the Federal Reserve)
-Personal favorite Chipotle! (1.3 billion in sales from burritos)
-UGG Boots (hear how they kept the integrity of the brand)
-Oil giant Arena Resources (very detailed description of their business, and all the domestic oil we actually have! )

Most interesting is to hear about McDonald’s blooming partnership with Chipotle which was cut fast, after an apparent exploitation of the franchise. Also note Chipotle CEO Steve Ells started the business with an 85k loan from his father, and states attention to detail as one reason for his success.

Also make sure to check out the interview with Black Rock president Robert S. Kapito, towards the end of the program.

Not surprisingly a tech company was the #1 fastest growing company. But you will just have to watch the video to see who it is. A hint: it is a Canadian company.

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TheRisetoWealth.com interviews Scott Shane

December 9, 2010 By Clark Leave a Comment

Scott Shane is the A. Malachi Mixon III Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western Reserve University. He has also written or edited ten books on business and entrepreneurship.

His book Illusions of Entrepreneurship: The Costly Myths That Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Policy Makers Live by (Yale University Press, 2008) was one of the top ten business books of the year for Amazon.com. His 2005 book Finding Fertile Ground: Identifying Extraordinary Opportunities for New Businesses won the 2006 Golden Book Award for best business book of the year and has been translated into eight languages.

Additionally, Shane was the 2009 winner of the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research, hosts a column at BusinessWeek, and is an angel investor and member of the Northcoast Angel Network.

Mr. Shane has a wealth of knowledge on entrepreneurship, which he has generously shared with TheRisetoWealth.com in this interview below:

TRTW:What would be one of the first, or most fundamental, lessons you would teach your students in one of your classes at Case Western Reserve University? What advice would you like to offer to anyone considering starting a business or becoming an entrepreneur?

SS:Most of the focus in entrepreneurship is on the entrepreneur – what characteristics the person has that make them good at starting and running a business. Often overlooked is the importance of the business idea. In my books Finding Fertile Ground and Illusions of Entrepreneurship I point out that the aspects of the business idea – the industry people enter, the business model they have, the nature of their competitive advantage (if they have one at all) – actually account for more of the variation in [Read more...]

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The Person behind Oliver Peoples: Larry Leight

November 23, 2010 By Clark Leave a Comment

Below is a great brief interview of Larry Leight as he describes the beginnings of upscale eye wear brand Oliver Peoples. Larry basically started as an apprentice, networking and learning the intricate design components that piece together metal eye wear. As a salesman for retailers, he eventually knew what sold to customers and what didn’t. So after being continually frustrated by seeing designers creating models he knew would not sell, he decided to branch out. Most importantly, Leight explains why his brand, in a very competitive market, continued to spread and maintain growth.

You may have to hit the “play” button twice on the video player below.

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World’s Wealthiest Man Carlos Slim interview: No Scarcity for Slim

November 22, 2010 By Clark 2 Comments

Everyone has heard of Zuckerberg and Gates, but not as much is known about the wealthiest man in the world, Mexican entrepreneur Carlos Slim. In the links below I have included an excellent Wall Street Journal profile, and another link which has an extensive interview on Slim.

In the interview, Carlos explains his business model, reasons for success, and how to deal with mistakes that are outside one’s control.

Slim is primarily the Mexican telecommunications king, but also owns many various other businesses from hotels [Read more...]

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Building a Skateboarding Enterprise: The Rob Dyrdek Story

November 18, 2010 By Clark Leave a Comment

Rob Dyrdek grew up in Ohio (not the typical skateboarding Mecca), and after discovering the skateboard became ingrained in the small but passionate local skate scene. Quickly becoming a pro, he moved to San Diego to engulf himself in the real skateboarding Mecca at the time, San Diego, and received lucrative sponsorships.

Most interesting about Rob’s rise to wealth is that during his early career he would negotiate a small equity stake in his sponsors (similar to Jay Z’s approach when dealing with interested record labels). After this, Rob began to branch out his business enterprise but was unsuccessful in his first few ventures, one of which was a skateboarding retail store (similar to Mark Cuban’s first few ventures failing).

In this video below from Inc., Dyrdek describes his upbringing, and also some of the important lessons he learned while pursuing different business opportunities.

One of the first ventures to really burst Rob’s popularity and exposure was [Read more...]

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Ready for a Fight: Carl Icahn!

November 14, 2010 By Clark Leave a Comment

Shortly after losing a bid for MGM, Carl Icahn is back at it again. In the MGM deal he was battling against Spyglass chiefs Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum. This time he goes up against heavyweights The Blackstone Group for Dynegy. Carl is always ready for a good hostile takeover, and his story is an interesting one. Before he started his firm Icahn & Co in 1968, supposedly he originally wanted to be an opera singer, and also attended 3 years of medical school (so don’t feel bad if you’re feeling off path). He also got a degree in Philosophy from Princeton (so Economics is not the end all be all for Wall St.).

Above is an excellent in depth biography video from 60 minutes which [Read more...]

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