The 2013 has been a great year for entrepreneurs worldwide. With the economy on a slow recovery, more and more entrepreneurs had the opportunity to stand out and make bigger moves. Today, we would like to present you with a list we have compiled of the top 6 entrepreneurs in 2013. All of the entrepreneurs who made the cut showed a keen business sense, innovative ideas, and inspiring leadership skills.
Curious to see who are the best of the best in the world of entrepreneurship? Let’s take a look at the countdown.
No. 6: Bre Pettis
Thanks to Bre Pettis and his company, MakerBot Industries, 3D printing is no longer a sci-fi notion of the future. The company specializes in manufacturing do-it-yourself 3D printing kits for the average consumer, making this technology accessible to the public. In addition, Pettis announced earlier this year that the company will start providing 3D printing services as several locations throughout the country. If you were eager to have something 3D printed, look for MakerBot locations in Boston, New York, and Greenwich, Connecticut.
No. 5: Evan Spiegel
The 23-year old took a big risk when he dropped Stanford University just a few credits away from graduation. But judging by the overwhelming success of his company, Snapchat, it appears that Spiegel made the right choice. Spiegel made the headlines in 2013 when it was reported that he turned down a purchase offer from Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), amounting to $3 billion. Regardless, it has still been a good year for Snapchat, as 2013 ended with a $50 million investment. The company is now valued at $2 billion but is expected to increase in the months to come, so only time will tell if Siegel made the right choice when he decided not to sell out.
No. 4: Tim Ferriss
Thanks to his role as an investor, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and public speaker, Tim Ferriss seems to be everywhere. And we will be seeing a lot more of him, as he just landed his own show on HLN, The Tim Ferriss Experiment, in November of 2013. In addition, his book, The 4-hour Workweek continued to be on the New York Times Bestseller list in 2013 as well. That’s 6 years in a row now.
No. 3: Mark Zuckerberg
The young Zuckerberg showed that his social network could stand the test of time, unlike previous attempts, such as MySpace. In 2013, he upped the ante, by making advertising a lot more intense and aggressive. The gamble paid off, as the company surpassed its earning expectation for the year.
No. 2: Howard Schultz
Howard Schultz’s impressive managerial skills helped Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) weather the storm during the financial crisis. Now that the recession has finally dwindled down, Schultz focused on reinforcing and expanding his brand even further. He expanded his reach well beyond the walls of his coffee shops, by beginning to distribute brand packaged goods in grocery stores and retail shops.
No. 1: Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos has been a leading entrepreneur ever since he founded Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). Nowadays, even as the mega store continues to struggle to turn a profit with its retailing, Bezos’s company made some very big waves in 2013, largely thanks to the Amazon Web Services. AWS has impressed investors worldwide and it is located at the forefront of the cloud revolution. As more local devices and services will switch to the cloud, the success of AWS is expected to increase even further.
