Make a Fortune with Tips from These Surprising Corporate Wizards

Follow their advice, and success—and maybe Mark Zuckerberg—will beat a path to your door

BY ALEX GARDNER, APRIL 22, 2014

The economy has changed considerably in recent years, but wealth is still attainable for the innovative, spirited, and hardworking entrepreneur. These men, while offering profitable pointers, remind us that a brilliant idea and solid execution are still the keys to becoming the next modern mogul.

Nick Friedman

President and Co-Founder, College Hunks Hauling Junk

Friedman and friend Omar Soliman turned their strategy for making money during summer vacation into the fast-growing College Hunks Hauling Junk brand. After a successful summer helping people move their possessions and remove their “junk” (basically anything that could fit in the van), Friedman completed his senior year of college and got a corporate job before quickly leaving it in 2005 to operate College Hunks full time.

Friedman’s advice: Remove yourself from your business. Ditching the driving and heavy lifting helped Friedman and Soliman take a step back from their company in order to focus on executive tasks. “Entrepreneurs start their businesses and spend all their time doing the technical work of the business,” says Friedman. “They become indispensible employees of themselves.” So when you have enough dough to hire some help, select a capable employee and manage your company from a little farther away.

Fraser Doherty

Founder and CEO, SuperJam

At age 14, this boy from the U.K. began making jam with his Irish grandmother. He soon experimented with his own recipes, packaged them, and sold them at local markets. Positive feedback inspired him to partner with a 100-year-old jam factory and Doherty, now 24, rules 2 percent of the U.K. jam market. His creation, SuperJam, will be launching on our side of the pond and in Japan later this year. (Our favorite part of SuperJam: no added sugar.)

Doherty’s advice: Enlist critical experts. You don’t have to be a 14-year-old boy to still require business guidance, and you don’t always have to pay for pointers. Even though you’re the boss, you can’t succeed alone. “Contact people who have done something similar and ask how they did it,” says Doherty. Who knows? They may be willing to meet you for lunch or show you around their company. Ask! Many people like sharing wisdom, and their particular business experience may reveal a key to your own endeavor’s success. You could even gain a mentor out of one phone call and avoid the expense and hassle of hiring another employee. “Find someone who can coach you and hold you accountable to what you say you’re going to do,” says Doherty.

Brendan Iribe

CEO, Oculus VR

You’ve probably heard the name Palmer Luckey, developer of the Oculus Rift virtual reality goggles that Facebook just snagged for $2 billion. Iribe is the business brains supporting him. The opposite of a one-hit-wonder, Iribe has hit the startup jackpot three times. Iribe’s other ventures, Scaleform and Gaikai, lead to purchases of $42 million and $380 million respectively. 

Iribe’s Tip: Scare off prospective recruits. Recruiting has been crucial in building strong businesses, says Iribe. He strives to hire only candidates who are fully psyched to join his company. Iribe’s tactic to discover the most enthusiastic: “We see if we can turn them off, kind of scare them away, by telling them how much effort we all put into it and what the expectation is,” he says. Share your company’s work ethic, issues, and expectations with potential employees. Those who are still asking for a job will be pumped to work with someone who takes their work seriously.

Jim Koch

Founder and CEO of the Boston Beer Company

Following in the footsteps of his great-great grandfather, his great grandfather, his grandfather, and his father, Jim Koch, a three-time Harvard grad, decided to brew beer. Using his great-great grandfather’s recipe that established the Louis Koch Brewery in St. Louis, Missouri in the 1870s, Koch traded his management-consulting job in 1984 to brew what he called Samuel Adams beer in his Boston kitchen. Selling at restaurants and bars around the city, Samuel Adams won countless awards and after 30 years, became a popular choice among beer connoisseurs. He became a billionaire in 2013.

Koch’s tip: Ignore the numbers. Although Koch jokes about spending another 30 years to earn one more percentage of the U.S. beer market, his goals aren’t numerical. “Don’t dream in numbers,” says Koch. “I think it’s a mistake to say, ‘I’m going to measure myself by hitting this number.’” He is simply concerned with making beer in the good ol’ U.S.A. that pleases his seasoned taste buds. When running your business, take Koch’s advice. Don’t judge your progress based on how much money you’re pulling in. Your profits will pour in gradually if your focus is the product or service.

John Jacobs

Co-founder, Life Is Good

Jacobs understands that life isn’t always stellar, but that never stopped him and his brother from spreading a memorable message through apparel with the phrase “Life Is Good.” The brothers started in 1994 by driving from college campus to college campus selling T-shirts featuring their own artwork. Their character, Jake, and the slogan “Life Is Good” propelled their business to success. Life Is Good is expected to hit revenues of $117 million in 2014.

Jacobs’ tip: Project positivity. Life Is Good makes sure to practice what they promote. To begin meetings, Jacobs asks his employees to share one good thing that has happened to them that day, the same tactic Jacobs’ mother once used every night at the dinner table. “This doesn’t mean we ignore issues,” says Jacobs. But the emphasis on the positive adds momentum to meetings and highlights what the company is doing well. So, the next time you’re in a meeting with employees or anyone that works for you, share your own happy/success-filled news and ask others to do the same. It will remind everyone of the progress they have made and will energize them to tackle new challenges.