We Love Entrepreneur Stories!

We love stories about entrepreneurs – like Charles E Phillips – their trials and tribulations, and their first of many exciting yet challenging steps toward success, and the reason we try as much as possible to tell their stories.

That’s why we’re always extremely glad when find others who share that same passion – our latest friends are the folks from Entrepreneur Stories (www.entrepreneur-stories.com). Founders Connor Ritchey and Josh Haynam – fellow sophomores at UCLA – started the site as a place where they interview entrepreneurs and small business owners “who have never been interviewed before”. In fact their inspiration for starting it  is pretty similar to Young Upstarts – Ritchey and Haynam wanted to start their own business, but had no idea where to start. They couldn’t find any stories of entrepreneurs who had gone from a normal life to being their own boss  – perhaps they hadn’t managed to stumble onto our site – and so decided to find out for themselves. Four months and 50 interviews later, Entrepreneur Stories is thriving.

And because they’ve spoken to so many entrepreneurs, I asked them for some insight into what kinds of challenges do most entrepreneurs commonly face. Here is what they said:

Pressure to make products “just for fun” and not practical. With tech, it’s very easy to change your product into pure entertainment which may seem like a good idea, but is not sustainable or scalable. The entrepreneurs we’ve talked with that are the most successful have stayed true to their original business models.

Picking up “shiny pennies” along the way. There are opportunities to sell out or make some quick cash in the early days, but often this leads to the demise of young companies. Startups have to push hard and grow quickly – and then think about monetizing.

Being to confident in their own opinions. The entrepreneurs who are the most successful let the customers guide the direction of their products – not their own egos. It can be tough to put your own agenda on the backburner, but it’s necessary if you want to build a product that will grow into a brand.

Ultimately, Entrepreneur Stories wants to inspire and empower young entrepreneur to achieve success. We can so relate – all the best, guys!