Heroes of Capitalism

Message to the Readers

2009-07-27T07:00:00.004-04:00

Dear Readers,

First, let me thank you for reading Heroes of Capitalism. While I still believe that honoring true heroes who have used private property to create wealth is valuable, I have come to believe that there is something of greater value to which I must dedicate my private time and resources.

The past year has brought about risks to our liberty that cannot be ignored. The call for socialized health care, the blame of free markets for the financial crisis and the renewal of reliance on government to fix all evils is only the short list of concerns. It has weighed on my heart that Heroes of Capitalism as a blog is simply not doing enough to promote and protect liberty.

Let me assure you that as Heroes of Capitalism stops production, as an individual I will continue to promote and fight for liberty. Let me encourage you to take stock of the present and ask what future you want. The U.S. is at an important crossroads, and we as citizens can (and must) do more to defend our basic liberties. So let me leave you with a challenge. I challenge you to do more. I challenge you to take stock of what resources you have and what you are doing with them. I challenge you to hold on to your precious liberty while you still can.

In liberty,

Ann

Ann Zerkle

Concerned Citizen

Founder of HeroesofCapitalism.com

George Nissen

2009-07-13T09:00:00.000-04:00

Like Kerry last week, I also looked at summer fun to find inspiration for today's Hero of Capitalism. I had to look no farther than my neighbor's backyard to find our hero; today, we honor George Nissen for his contribution to modern trampolines.

Nissen first developed the idea for the trampoline in 1934. While visiting a circus, he saw trapeze artists use their safety net as a type of elastic board on which to perform tricks. Nissen was a gymnast and saw the trapeze artists altered net as a way to train for tumbling.

Along with the help of his coach, Larry Griswold, Nissen experimented to develop a similar elastic board. The two men began to use their new invention to help in training with tumblers and in entertaining children at the gymnastic camps they hosted.

Nissen and Griswold began to make trampolines commercially in 1942 when they founded Griswold-Nissen Trampoline & Tumbling Company. The trampoline began to be used to help in training with the military's pilots and navigators as well as the space program's astronauts. New games like Slamball, a game similar to basketball, and Bossaball, a game similar to volleyball became popular competitive sports.

Not only did Nissen invent the modern trampoline, but he also holds over 40 patents for the other contributions he has made to the sport and fitness world. With the success of the trampoline, Nissen and his partner continued to expand their business and began producing other gymnastic equipment. The men sold the business in the 1980s, but the work Nissen did continues today. Not only is the trampoline successful as training equipment or a fun backyard activity, but the sport of trampolining became an Olympic event in 2000.

Today we honor Nissen for recognizing a potential sport and new way of training while attending the circus, for developing that idea into a new product, and for successfully marketing that product to consumers. Not only did Nissen find a new way to train in gymnastics for himself, but he helped to transform ideas about tumbling and opened up new possibilities for aviation training, sports training, and recreation.

Sources:
Wikipedia: Trampoline
Wikipedia: George Nissen
MIT Inventor of the week: George Nissen

Clayton Jacobson II

2009-07-10T09:00:00.000-04:00

With the holiday weekend just behind us, I looked to summer fun for inspiration for today’s hero. Clayton Jacobson is credited as the inventor of the personal watercraft – best known as the JetSki. Jacobson’s inspiration came from his time as a dirt bike rider. He took his love for that activity and tried to figure out a way to transfer it to the water. His original idea worked well enough that Jacobson quit his job as a banker to pursue improvements to the design on a full-time basis. By 1968, Jacobson had a deal with the Bombardier Corporation to manufacture a version of his invention that became known as the Sea-Doo.

The Sea-Doo met with limited success and Jacobson eventually moved on to work with Kawasaki on a new version of the person watercraft. Improvements were made and the Jet Ski found its niche. Kawasaki went on to sell over a billion dollars worth of Jet Skis over the next two decades, but a dispute over ownership of the patents led to a split between Jacobson and the corporation and an eventual lawsuit in which Jacobson received a significant financial settlement, acknowledging his part in the evolution of the concept.

So for his contributions to summer fun and to the creation of a tremendous amount of wealth along the way, Clayton Jacobson is a Hero of Capitalism.

More on Clayton Jacobson

Don't try this at home....

Peter Schiff

2009-07-08T09:21:00.002-04:00

Today we celebrate Peter Schiff, renowned author, economist, and CEO of brokerage firm Euro Pacific Capital, Inc. (EPC).

After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in finance and accounting, Schiff acquired a position at the brokerage firm Shearson Lehman Brothers. Less than a decade later, in 1996, he purchased his own brokerage firm, EPC – originally a Florida-based firm, Schiff purchased and reincorporated in California.

Euro Pacific Capital, Inc. operates in accordance with Schiff’s economic views. Schiff is well versed in Austrian Business Cycle theory and applies this logic to many of the investment recommendations provided by EPC.

Schiff began making a name for himself in the public eye in 2006 when he made claim that the U.S. economy was headed for disaster, stating: “the U.S. economy is like the Titanic and I am here with a lifeboat trying to get people to leave the ship… … I see a real financial crisis coming for the United States.” He went further to predict a crash in the U.S. housing market that same year. His ideas on the financial crisis and investment strategies to cope can be found in his book, Crash Proof: How to Profit from the Coming Economic Collapse (first ed. Feb 2007, 2nd ed. , titled Crash Proof 2.0, Sept. 2009). While many commentators debated Schiff’s claims (some outright laughing at his suggestions), few can now disagree that Peter Schiff was right in his assertions.

Today Schiff continues to spread his ideas via tv appearances and his daily blog. Schiff is currently considering a challenge in the political arena, an endeavor which will put him against current Connecticut senator Christopher Dodd in the next election. Schiff most recently served as Ron Paul’s economic advisor during Paul’s 2008 Presidential campaign.

We honor Peter Schiff as a Hero of Capitalism for his commitment to liberty and freedom, and for his entrepreneurial contributions – EPC and Crash Proof – which work well to promote his ideas.

Sources:

Peter Schiff at Wikipedia
EuroPac.net (Euro Pacific website)

Fusajiro Yamauchi and Hiroshi Yamauchi

2009-07-06T07:07:00.006-04:00

Today we honor Fusajiro Yamauchi for founding Nintendo and Hiroshi Yamachi (Fusajiro's grandson) for making Nintendo an international brand. A native of Kyoto, Japan, F. Yamauchi started Nintendo playing cards in 1889. The handmade cards were so popular that the elder Yamauchi had to keep adding more and more employees and open another shop in Osaka.

However, it was Fusajiro's grandson, Hiroshi, that really made Nintendo the international force that it is today.

It was Hiroshi that realized

that the playing card market was limited and began to invest in other avenues. Hiroshi was the president of Nintendo from 1956 to 1975. Under his leadership,

Nintendo started to move into electronics, like this picture to the left.

Today Nintendo is a force in the market. Last year it had $16 Billion in sales and is considered by many to be the leader in electronic gaming. So, today we honor Fusajiro and Hiroshi Yamauchi for taking their private property and making Nintendo into the economic powerhouse it is today. I didn't have time to aggregate all the monetary wealth Nintendo has contributed, but I know Nintendo has brought me and millions of others great joy!

Sources:

Nintendo on wikipedia

Nintendo's Official Page

Nintendo Financial Snap shot

One of my favorite Nintendo-inspired Clips:

George M. Cohan

2009-07-03T10:00:00.004-04:00

Known as the father of American musical comedy and as "the man who owned Broadway", today we honor the great American entertainer, songwriter, actor, dancer, singer, composer, and producer George M. Cohan.

Cohan was born on July 3 1878, though his family claimed that he was "Born on the Fourth of July!".

Throughout his lifetime, Cohan published over 1500 original songs, produced over three dozen Broadway shows, and also invented the "book musical", helping to close the gap between drama and musicals. Cohan was an actor on Broadway, a producer of multiple shows, was a composer, and also a star in film. A commanding presence, Cohan changed the landscape of American theater.

Today, I would like to highlight the contribution Cohan has made to the American community's patriotic songs. Cohan famously wrote "The Yankee Doodle Boy" in his first Broadway hit show Little Johnny Jones. Too old to join in the war effort of World War I, Cohan focused again on writing patriotic songs to help moral, composing "Over There" as well as "You're A Grand Old Flag". The movie Yankee Doodle Dandy is a biographical film about his life.

In 1936, President Roosevelt honored Cohan by presenting him with the Congressional Medal of Honor for his contributions to WWI moral.

Cohan made great contributions to the entertainment world, creating wealth not only for himself but also for the people around him. Today we honor Cohan for being a good business man, a great entertainer, and for the work he proudly did to honor his neighbors through song.

Sources:
Wikipedia: George M. Cohan
Musicals101.com

Burt Shavitz and Roxanne Quimby

2009-06-30T09:08:00.001-04:00

Today we celebrate Burt Shavitz – a beekeeper – and Roxanne Quimby – a candle maker – for their business creation, Burt’s Bees.

The story goes that Burt was a bit of a recluse, living in an old turkey coop and selling honey from a pickup truck. He first met Roxanne while she was hitchhiking along a highway in Maine in 1984. He stopped to pick her up and the two bonded immediately.

The two combined talents and began making beeswax candles to sell at craft fairs throughout New England. In 1988 Burt and Roxanne decided to expand production, as larger orders of their candles were beginning to sell – most notably to a New York boutique which ordered hundreds at a time. Around that time, according to the company website, Roxanne stumbled upon a 19th century book of homemade personal care recipes. And the rest is history.

In 1991, Burt’s Bees incorporated embarked on a campaign to bring several new products to market – including the beeswax lip balm, which is still their best-selling product – and expand their production facility. They relocated to North Carolina where the company resides today.

In 1999, Quimby bought Shavitz’s stake in the company for an estimated $4 million. In 2003, Quimby sold 80% of the company to AEA investors for roughly $146 million. In 2007, she sold the remaining portion to Clorox when they reportedly bought the entire company for $925 million.

Today Shavitz’s face is somewhat a familiar one – his is the bearded man pictured on each of the Burt’s Bees products. Burt’s Bees is available in nearly every big box department store and grocery chain – Target, Walmart, Whole Foods, etc. We celebrate Shavitz and Quimby as today’s Heroes of Capitalism for their outstanding rags-to-riches success.

Sources:
BurtsBees.com
LA Times
Wikipedia

Earle Dickson

2009-06-29T09:04:00.000-04:00

Many of the inventions, innovations, and discoveries made by the heroes to whom we pay daily tribute have folk origin stories. Whether they were truthful, fabricated for marketing purposes, or merely popular legends, the stories often resonated with buyers and readers because they told of everyday limitations that were overcome by the new idea or product. Housewife stories are common, for example, not only because of the endearing subject matter, but because many Heroes of Capitalism have, through various contributions to society, made life easier for housewives. Ultimately, theirs has become a diminished role to be shared by both partners in a household. Social changes share the credit for this with technological change, generated by the productive powers of capitalism.

I thought of this while reading about the background of Band-Aid brand adhesive bandages. Not only the Johnson & Johnson website, but every history of Band-Aids mentions the housewife Josephine with her myriad cuts and scrapes. Her dutiful husband Earle, armed with gauze and tape, would bandage her wounds but the bandages were clumsy and prone to falling off her hands. Earle was inspired at some point to cut little gauze squares onto strips of tape, which Josephine could cut and apply herself. The tape was adhered to a similar-sized strip of crinoline, allowing it to be rolled into a spiral for future use.

Earle Dickson (1892 - 1961) happened to be a cotton buyer for the popular medical supplies manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, where he advocated his invention to management in the early 1920's. The company began hand-producing a crude sticky bandage that was 18 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide. There weren't many early sales, but after automating the process and creating bandages of varying sizes, J&J had a wild commercial success on their hands (pun not intended). Adding to the folklore, the sales of Band-Aids were supposedly kick-started after a free sample campaign with the Boy Scouts. Ironically, Boy Scouts are among the few children these days who still know what to do with the old gauze and tape.

Band-Aids became so successful that Johnson & Johnson's marketing label for the product is by far the most popular term used by the general public. I confess to not realizing the brand-distinction myself. Important improvements to the Band-Aid brand include sterilization in 1939 and vinyl tape in the late 1950's. Then there is, of course, the introduction of decorative Band-Aids and the Band-Aid as fashion statement (see below). While Dickson certainly had no idea what the Band-Aid would become, his early invention and entrepreneurial spirit started it all. Whether the story about his wife was true or mythical, he is a genuine Hero of Capitalism.

About.com: History of the Band-Aid
Wikipedia: Band-Aid
Lemelson-MIT: Inventor of the Week: Earle Dickson
Money.CNN.com: Story about entrepreneurialism at Johnson & Johnson
75 Years of Band-Aid

Michael Jackson

2009-06-26T09:00:00.002-04:00

Today we honor Michael Jackson for entertaining so many. For those of you who haven't seen the news lately, Jackson passed away yesterday, so today we celebrate his private wealth creation. His popularity cannot be disputed; his Thriller album is the best selling album worldwide. Wikipedia reports that Thriller made more than $100M.

Jackson started entertaining as part of The Jackson 5 when he was only 11 years. However, most people associate the height of his popularity with the 1980s. While most people say that he was a singer, I emphasize that he was an entertainer. Jackson sang, danced and played several instruments.

Jackson's list of achievements is long. It includes 13 Grammies, 13 number one singles and many other music industry related awards. Despite Jackson's accomplishments, his legacy will remain mixed. Some people associate him with the strange behavior in his later years. Jackson was famous for veiling his children while they were out in public, having an ever changing appearance and being suspected of molestation.

Regardless of his personal life, Jackson created great wealth for many people. While I did not take the time to aggregate all the sales attributed to Jackson's work, I can assure it is large. I also cannot aggregate the joy he brought many above and beyond just monetary wealth. Today we honor Michael Jackson for using his private property to create wealth.

Sources:

Wikipedia: List of best-selling albums

Michael Jackson

List of Michael Jackson's Achievements

A Video of Michael Jackson Moonwalking:

David Cerny

2009-06-25T09:00:00.008-04:00

Too shocking. Offensive. Wonderful. Provocative. Fresh talent. Highly Original. These words have all been used to describe the work of internationally known Czech artist David Cerny. His work has been praised, banned, censored, loved, imitated, simply hated, and simply adored.

Today we honor David Cerny for using his intellectual property to produce wealth. Specifically, we honor him for his famous sculptors.

He became famous in 1991 when he painted a Soviet war memorial, a tank, pink. Rejoiced and seen as a cultural moment for the young Czech Republic, Cerny was thrown into the spot light. Much of Cerny's work today remains very political.

Some of his most famous sculptors are the "Tower Babies", a series of cast figures of crawling infants attached to Žižkov Television Tower. He was asked to do this by the city of Prague, but it is seen as a way to change the Communist era TV Tower. One of his other works is entitled "Piss" and is two men peeing onto a small pond, shaped as the Czech Republic.

Recently, his most controversial piece was "Entropa", a pieced commissioned by the European Union. In this peice, Cerny created a work that depicts all the countries in the EU, however, they are not shown in a favorable light. Romania is represented by a vampire, Italy by a soccer pitch with gay soccer players, France is shown only by the French word for strike, and the UK is missing entirely.

Cerny has created problems with his work also. The painting of the tank saw him arrested for vandilism. His Entropa work found him in trouble not only by offending multiple countries, but also for the work not being a collaboration between artists from each of the member states as promised, but rather for being a work by Cerny and his friends.

A slightly controversial choice for today's Hero of Capitalism, we honor Cerny for the joy he has brought to those who follow and like his work and for the new fans he receives from unsupecting Prague tourists who stumble upon his work.

I suggest doing a google image search to see more photos of Cerny's work, it is well worth your time!!

Sources:
Praguenet.com - "David Cerny, the Shape of Rebellion"
PragueTV - David Cerny
Wikipedia - David Cerny

Andrew Nestle

2009-06-24T08:43:00.004-04:00

In the 1930’s, a dietician named Ruth Wakefield made cookies to sell to road weary travelers who passed through the Toll House Inn that she and her husband owned. One day, Wakefield found herself without the Baker’s chocolate she needed to finish making her locally famous Butter Drop Do cookies. So instead she broke up a semi-sweet chocolate bar given to her by a friend. These chunks of chocolate did not melt like the Baker’s chocolate, but the result was not unappealing. The chocolate cookie was invented.

But we are not here to celebrate Ms. Wakefield’s ingenuity, but instead to pay tribute to the friend who gave her the chocolate; a man named Andrew Nestle. At the time of Wakefield’s discovery, Nestle had a chocolate company. When Betty Crocker featured Wakefield’s recipe on her national radio program, the idea took off and Nestle began selling more and more of his semi-sweet chocolate bars. In an effort to capitalize on this new-found popularity, he first began scoring his chocolate bars to make them easier to break up, and then be began packaging them with a little cutting tool to make it easier to turn the bars into chips.

But Nestle’s real stroke of genius came after he made a deal with Wakefield for the rights to her recipe. Nestle received the rights to the chocolate chip cookie recipe in exchange for chocolate for life for Wakefield, and placed that recipe on the package of his new product – the chocolate chip. To this day, the recipe remains on the packages of Nestle’s Chocolate Chips.

Today Nestle’s company is a diverse food products provider, offering everything from Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream to Hot Pockets. And they of course still sell those chocolate chips that I love soooooo much. With a market capitalization of over $130 BILLION, it is one of the largest corporations in the world. Obviously, not all of this wealth came directly from chocolate chips. But you've got to start somewhere, right?

More on Chocolate Chip Cookies

Some fun with Hot Pockets

Josiah Wedgewood

2009-06-23T10:00:00.002-04:00

Today we honor a prime mover of the early English Industrial Revolution. Josiah Wedgewood (1730–95) was born into a family of potters and he apprenticed into the trade at a young age. Young Josiah was a quick study and his technique and mastery of the trade soon led his innovative designs demanded by such luminaries as Catherine the Great of Russia and Queen Charlotte of England.

Through investment from family, Wedgewood was able to transform his process from craft to true factory production, vastly increasing the availability and decreasing the cost of pottery for the growing working class of Manchester, England. As a supporter of industrialization, Wedgewood was an investor in canals in England. In addition to his characteristic glazes, Wedgewood also developed new techniques in marketing and in the science of pottery. He developed one of the earliest pyrometers as a way of monitoring temperature in his kilns. He was also a member of the Lunar Society in Birmingham and a strong advocate for the abolition of slavery (the famous abolitionist image above was originally designed in his pottery works and was used by Wedgewood in cameo form to promote his ideas).

In addition to the aforementioned accomplishments, it should be noted as well that the fortune amassed by Wedgewood directly enabled the scientific pursuits of Charles Darwin, his grandson, by allowing him the leisure and wealth to pursue his indefatigable investigation of evolution.

Sources:

Wikipedia entry

Ceramics Today profile

The Wedgewood Museum

BBC profile

Dan Wiesel and Alysa Binder

2009-06-22T08:05:00.000-04:00

Most often at Heroes of Capitalism we celebrate “heroes” who have brought about great social wealth and prosperity as a result of one or many successful ventures. Today I’d like to present the hero(es) from a different angle – the risk-taking entrepreneur who has yet to realize the successes or faults of their endeavor. These individuals are the foundation to building the quality of every good and service we consume. By trial and error these individuals bring valuable information to the market necessary to provide, ultimately, exactly what the consumer wants – be it exactly what s/he is selling, something more or less than what is offered, or none of the good or service at all.

On that note, I introduce Dan Wiesel and Alysa Binder. Dan and Alysa are a husband and wife duo who’s personal interest and compassion for animals fostered their idea for an innovative new business, Pet Airways - an airline that transports pets exclusively. The service will officially launch July 14, 2009 and offer only a handful of weekly flights from five U.S. airports: Baltimore/Washington International, and non-commercial airports in the Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, and New York City areas.

Dan and Alysa’s motivation for Pet Airways stems from their dissatisfaction with current means of transport for our closest companions. According to Dan and Alysa at the company website:

“There was simply no safe way for Zoe [ a Jack Russell Terrier] to comfortably fly with us. She's not a big dog. Just a little one. But a little too big to fit under the seat. Of course, there's one thing Zoe is certainly not, and that's cargo. As we're fond of telling our neighbor Janet, her boxer Samson isn't Samsonite, and she agreed. In fact, we met lots of neighbors, friends and even complete strangers who felt exactly the same way. So we got to thinking. Maybe Zoe was trying to tell us something. Maybe there was a travel solution that would suit her perfectly, and everyone else out there too.”

Being a pet owner, I am personally excited by this idea. I’ve always heard horror stories of mishaps and injuries to animals kept in the cargo area of passenger planes. As a result, I’ve always been hesitant to “ship” my boy Charlie – a five-year old chocolate lab – whenever I travel and often end up driving long distances instead of flying myself. As Dan and Alysa point out: on Pet Airways, the “pets aren’t packages, they’re ‘pawsengers.’” In fact, aside from the flight crew and “pet attendants”, all passengers will be four-legged.

Though not much can be said about the company's success at this point, I applaud Dan and Alysa's effort and acknowledge each of them as a Hero of Capitalism.

Sources:

PetAirways.com
Articles about Pet Airways at:
USAToday
LA Times

Willis Carrier

2009-06-19T09:00:00.001-04:00

As I sit and stew in the early summer heat in my stuffy, upstairs apartment, I can't help but think about an invention that everyone can appreciate: the air conditioner. Air conditioning has existed in rudimentary forms for centuries, but the modern air conditioner made its first appearance in 1902 as the brainchild of a 26 year-old engineer in Syracuse, NY.

Willis Carrier (1875 - 1950) was hired out of college into a heat and ventilation research department for the Buffalo Forge Company. One of his early clients was a printer whose paper was deforming because of humidity fluctuations. Carrier determined the optimal moisture level and invented a machine that would cool and regulate the air to the temperature that corresponded with the proper humidity. The air conditioner, first described in Carrier's patent application as an "Apparatus for Treating Air," gained quick a popularity with manufacturers, food processors, and stores.

Carrier remained at the forefront of the burgeoning industry for years; engineering principles he explained in 1911 are still used in the industry.
After more than a decade with Buffalo Forge, he formed Carrier Corp., which focused on his air conditioners. The company developed new air conditioning technologies that helped spread their use from the commercial world to the retail and recreational world before entering homes. The first home model by Carrier was made in 1928. Those ubiquitous, window-anchored air conditioners appeared in the 1950s, making living in the south bearable to more people (as well as summer apartment living). For better or worse, we can credit air conditioning for the southern population boom of the latter 20th century.

Willis Carrier's contributions to society are impressive. The perils of temperature and moisture variability endanger perishables, wear out machinery, and make working environments inhospitable. It would be difficult to measure the impact on efficiency and productivity air conditioning has had, even before we consider the benefits of personal comfort. For making life more bearable to us all, Carrier is today's Hero of Capitalism.

American Heritage
Willis Carrier Wikipedia entry
History of Air Conditioning
Time 100 profile
A Short History of Air Conditioning

Clifford Ashley

2009-06-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

Today we honor Clifford Ashley (1881-1947) for chronicling over 2,000 knots in his The Ashley Book of Knots, which contains over 7,000 illustrations and almost 4,000 entries. Ashley worked for 11 years on the book. It is still widely used by knot tyers, which is actually a pretty big contingent (see link below). He also invented the Ashley Stopper Knot.

There is not all that much information about Ashley himself, but type the name of his book into Google and page after page refers to it. It seems to be the ultimate reference book for knot tyers. I saw a clip on CBS' Sunday Morning (see link below), where his daughter speaks about him as having a huge board where he worked out knots so that he could illustrate them.

So, we honor Clifford Ashley for taking his personal passion and talent for knots and creating an all-around reference book that is still relevant today. I highly suggest you watch the clip I linked below if this interests you at all.

Sources:
Ashley Book of Knots on Amazon
The Ashley Book of Knots on Wikipedia
Clifford Ashley on Wikipedia
The International Guild of Knot Tyers

Here's a link to the clip that inspired this post.

Here's a clip about how to tie an Ashley Stopper Knot:

Maxine Clark

2009-06-17T09:00:00.002-04:00

Today we honor Maxine Clark, a woman who found a way to make the lovable teddy bear even more popular with children across the world. In 1997, Maxine Clark founded the wildly successful company, Build-A-Bear Workshop.

Clark is a true innovator, building on a love of the teddy bear that had already existed for 100 years. The idea for the Build-A-Bear Workshop first came to Clark when she was shopping with her 10 year old friend Katie. The two could not find the Beanie Baby Katie was searching for and when Katie suggested they make their own, Clark's idea for Build-A-Bear was born.

Already familiar with the retail world, she was President of Payless Shoe Source at the time, Clark began to take the steps to form her own empire. While other adults were skeptical of the idea, kids were excited about the fact that they would be able to build their own best friend.

Clark opened her first Build-A-Bear Workshop in 1997 at the Saint Louis Galleria in St. Louis, Missouri. Her store quickly expanded, and today there are over 400 stores worldwide, including stores now in Major League Baseball Stadiums and zoos. There are also over 70 million Build-A-Bear best friends and Clark's business idea appears to only be strengthening as they expand onto the web and into new arenas.

Maxine Clarks's idea for a new interactive shopping experience for children and her savvy business skills have created a new addiction among not only children, but also adults wanting a carefree afternoon. Clark's desire to make shopping once again a fun experience has not only made Clark richer, but has also enriched the life of all of her customers.

Sources:
Build-A-Bear Workshop Website- Our Company. Our Story
BusinessWeek- Build-A-Bear Workshop, Maxine Clark

Jack Crawford Taylor

2009-06-16T09:00:00.001-04:00

It’s past Memorial Day, schools are letting out, the wedding season is beginning…and America is on the road. I know I certainly am. For those who are able to fly to their destination, transportation once they arrive will likely be in the form of a rental car. Jack Crawford Taylor created a huge family fortune (est. value $14 billion) and a perennial spot on the Forbes 400 with Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

Enterprise started primarily as a provider of replacement cars for those who lost access to their cars in accidents. Insurance companies would negotiate a contract with Enterprise to provide those cars at reasonable rates, and Taylor’s business took off in the 1970’s when the courts ordered insurance companies to provide this service as a standard part of the insurance contract.

Although Enterprise is a common sight at airports around the country now, they have also retained this relationship with the insurance companies and many analysts cite this as the reason that Enterprise has not suffered as severe a downturn as many of the other major rental companies. As long as cars break down and people get into accidents, demand for Enterprise’s services remains strong.

Enterprise Rent-a-Car has frequently been cited as a top provider of customer service within the rental car industry and a one of the top places to launch a career. Today Enterprise is valued at over $9 billion, making it one of the largest privately owned companies in America. Crawford has created a great deal of wealth for himself and his family through his arrangement with the insurance companies and through his attention to strong customer service in an industry where product differentiation can be difficult. As a frequent Enterprise customer during my time as a business traveler, and as one who has benefitted from an Enterprise rental after a breakdown of my own, I can attest to the high quality of the Enterprise approach and to the value that was added to both of these circumstances. Given Enterprise’s rapid growth and strong reputation, it appears that I am not alone in seeing the value that Taylor’s company creates.

Jack Crawford Taylor on Forbes 400

James Watt

2009-06-15T10:00:00.001-04:00

James Watt (1736–1819) is today's hero of capitalism for his invention of the modern steam engine and his improvements on previous designs.

Watt began his career as a home-schooled tool and instrument maker. At the University of Glasgow, where he had set up a shop when the local guild rejected his membership, Watt discovered a Newcomen Engine, a basic forerunner of his steam engine. After years of experimentation and tinkering, Watt perfected his engine and then spent massive sums securing a patent before teaming up with Matthew Boulton to manufacture them.

Watt had helped to unleash new forces on the world, revolutionizing the weaving, milling, grinding, and sawing industries. Between 1794 and 1824, Boulton & Watt made over 1,000 engines with a capacity of over 26,000 total horsepower. Eventually, the steam engine transformed not only the manufacturing industries, but it also sparked the Transportation Revolution with the advent first of steamboats and then railroads. A whole new approach to work spread across the globe as men suddenly could harness the power and energy of steam instead of relying on their own muscles—in effect, Watt helped unleash brain power to conquer muscle power for good.

Sources:

Wikipedia entry

How Stuff Works Steam Engine

About.com profile

Full text of Andrew Carnegie's biography of Watt

John Pemberton

2009-06-12T08:48:00.000-04:00

Today we honor John Pemberton (1831-1888), pharmacist and inventor of the world-famous beverage Coca-Cola.

Pemberton first concocted "coca-wine" in 1884 to serve as a remedy for nervousness and headaches. While his recipe proved to be a success - most druggist in Georgia sold Pemberton's wine - the product recipe would soon change to become the first version of the cola that we know today.

In 1886, Georgia enacted a prohibition law that prompted Pemberton to remove the alcohol from his recipe and, instead, add sugar and carbonated water. Thus, Coca-Cola was born (also known as Coke).

Named for one of its main ingredients - coca leaves - the "original" Coca-Cola recipe was claimed to serve as a cure for morphine and cocaine addiction and was sold as a patent medicine.

The rights to Coca-Cola were sold to Asa Candler in 1887, who would create the Coca-Cola Corporation one year later. Pemberton died the same year.

Candler would later change the name to the Coca-Cola Company before embarking on an aggressive marketing campaign. For the first quarter-century of the company, Coca-Cola would grow in popularity exclusively in the U.S. In 1924 the company began marketing its product abroad. And the rest is history.

The Coca-Cola Company still resides today in Atlanta, Georgia and continues to maintain the leading role in the soda industry.

Sources:

Wikipedia
A History of Cola Marketing

Pete Rozelle

2009-06-10T09:00:00.001-04:00

Professional football is wildly successful and profitable, even by professional sports standards. With $20.4 BILLION in combined revenue due from their 4 television deals (3 of them run through 2011, and the 4th through 2013), sold out stadiums across the league, a successful website and a growing network dedicated solely to the sport, it’s fair to say that the NFL has never been in better shape. The popularity and financial stability of the National Football League finds its origins in the era led by former league commissioner Pete Rozelle.

Rozelle became the commissioner of the NFL in 1960, and his first major success may have been his most important contribution to the well-being of the league. In 1961, Congress passed the Sports Broadcasting Act, which allowed the league to pool its broadcast rights into a single package which would then be negotiated with the networks as a single commodity. Prior to his promotion, Rozelle was the league’s main man in Washington, lobbying for the act. The massive television deals that the NFL currently is able to negotiate are in no small part due to Rozelle’s efforts.

But Rozelle’s contributions did not stop there. When a rival league (the AFL) rose up to challenge the NFL’s superiority, Rozelle embraced the challenge and designed a championship matchup between the leagues – now known as the Super Bowl (a mildly successful venture, to say the least). With the success of the AFL and the Super Bowl, Rozelle successfully navigated a hugely successful merger of the two leagues in 1970.

After this episode, Rozelle opened the owners eyes to the power of expansion as a way of limiting competition. As the league’s popularity grew, Rozelle began a slow growth in the league’s size by adding teams. This served two functions – it limited the talent pool available for any rival leagues, and it placed teams in cities that would have made strong homes for franchises in a rival league. Since the AFL merger, the NFL has weathered two high profile challenges; the USFL in the mid 1980’s and the XFL in the early 2000’s, and has retained its place at the top of the football world.

When Rozelle took over as commissioner, the NFL had just 13 teams, no national television deals, and was arguable less popular than college football and professional basketball. By the time Rozelle retired from his position in 1989, he left the NFL with 28 teams, multi-million dollar deals with two networks, and the title of the fastest growing sport in North America. Since Rozelle’s time, media revenues for sports programs in general have skyrocketed, and the NFL has benefitted as much as any sport. Pete Rozelle brought a CEO’s mentality, a lobbyist’s influence and a fighter’s toughness to his role as the head of the NFL, and transformed the league into an international phenomenon that still generates obscene amounts of wealth for its owners and players, as well as hours of entertainment for its fans.

More on Rozelle

Leo Moranz & Harry Axene

2009-06-09T09:45:00.002-04:00

Today we celebrate Leo Moranz and Harry Axene, creators of the Tastee Freeze. While now known as a fast food restaurant, the Tastee Freeze started as a revolutionary new soft-serve pump and freezer.

The new soft-serve pump and freezer used the newest technology and far exceeded the other available options, allowing for a faster and higher quality product. Moranz and Axene also created a special nozzle to be used on Tastee Freeze ice cream, creating the five star point known today.

Moranz and Axene first allowed walk up stands to use the Tastee Freeze name in the 1950s in exchange for rent paid on the soft-serve pump needed to operate each freezer. Shortly after, they also franchised the company and saw Tastee Freeze expand from selling only ice cream to a whole menu of breakfast, lunch, and dinner fast food. In 2003, Tastee Freeze was acquired by Galardi Group Franchise & Leasing, owners of Wienerschnitzel hot dog restaurant.

Today we honor Moranz and Axene for their contribution to America's sweet tooth and for their work in improving soft serve ice cream everywhere.

Sources:
Tastee Freeze Official Website
Wikipedia: Tastee Freeze

Dolly Parton

2009-06-08T09:00:00.000-04:00

Today we honor Dolly Parton (born 1946) for her work on the musical 9 to 5. Though Ms. Parton might be best known for her famous physique, her adaptation of movie 9 to 5 to the Broadway show is why we honor her today. I personally saw the show over Memorial Day weekend and it is flat out a good time. Parton kept true to the movie while appropriately updating portions. I honestly forgot that I was watching a musically because the entire thing was simply captivating.

Parton was born in Tennessee, the forth of twelve children. She's been performing since she was a young child. There are recordings of her singing when she was nine years old! Of course, she went on to a huge career. Parton has won Grammys, an Oscar, and world known for her performances. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about her is that she has remained likable and relevant through a long career.

Though Parton has used her personal talent to create wealth in many ways, today we honor for her work on the musical 9 to 5. I am certain you will see her name on this blog again in the future!

Sources:
Dolly Parton's Wikipedia page
Dolly Parton's Offical Website
9 to 5 Offical Website

Here's a preview clip of 9 to 5:

Richard Warren Sears

2009-06-05T10:00:00.000-04:00

Although the company he started has been experiencing a fair bit of trouble lately, Richard Warren Sears stands as a giant hero of capitalism.

Richard Sears was born in rural Minnesota, and like so many of the titans of the late nineteenth century, started his career in telegraphy (the dot-com, Silicon Valley industry of its day). As part of his job, he moved into being a freight agent, handling products ordered by rural retailers from urban wholesalers or manufacturers and delivered by rail. When a shipment of watches was refused, Sears contacted the company to return them, but they offered him a deal instead. Take the watches at a reduced price and sell them for whatever he could. He hit immediately on the facilitation that the telegraph communications network could provide. He began selling the watches to other freight agents along the rail line for a slightly higher price, inducing them to sell them to the ultimate customers in their communities.

Within months, Sears had become a part-time watch salesman, netting several thousand dollars in income. After he moved to Chicago to start a full-time business, he teamed up with Alvah Roebuck, a watch repairman, to begin a big operation. He relied upon trust—he offered money back guarantees, allowed COD to ensure customers could inspect his product before remitting payment, and he offered low prices—all of these helped reassure a public who had not yet become accustomed to buying products from distant merchants.

By the mid-1890s, Sears and Roebuck had expanded to hundreds of products. They began printing catalogues (much like competitor Montgomery Ward) and sending them through the mail to hundreds of thousands of Americans.

Sears particular genius lie in writing product descriptions in florid and detailed language. Modern readers of the old Sears catalogues are surprised to find pages filled not only with illustrations but also thousands of words of small-print text. Sears had a knack for discerning the mindset of rural customers—the same people he had known growing up in Minnesota. He was a consummate salesman, and his unbridled energy eventually helped the company expand, with the business organization help of Julius Rosenwald, into the premier mail order company in America. By the time Sears retired from the company in 1908, he had helped increase its sales from $138,000 per year in 1891 to $50 million annually when he left.

Other heroes of capitalism, to be profiled in the future, helped the company that Richard Sears start become a world leader, but it was the genius of the boy from Minnesota that started it all.

Sources:

Sears company profile

Wikipedia entry

Profile by Lori Liggett

Boris Emmet and John Jeuck, Catalogues and Counters: A History of Sears, Roebuck & Co.

Gordon Weil, Sears, Roebuck, USA: The Great American Catalog Store and How it Grew

Jeff Lebesch and Kim Jordan

2009-06-04T08:07:00.003-04:00

Today we celebrate Jeff Lebesch and Kim Jordan, a husband and wife duo that turned a vision into reality working from the basement of their home.

It all started in 1989 when Jeff Lebesch, electrical engineer and homebrewer, decided to take a trip to Belgium to explore some of the finest breweries in Europe. He made his rounds via a fat tire bicycle – which inspired his trademark brew, “Fat Tire Ale” when he returned to the states – sampling all of what Belgium had to offer. Upon returning to his basement brewery – constructed of old dairy equipment – he attempted to re-created his favorite brews from Belgium.

With the help of his wife, Kim Jordan, and having passed the taste test of several friends and neighbors, Jeff took his brew to the streets. New Belgium Brewing officially went commercial in 1991 and at the time offered the only Belgium-like beers in the U.S.

Today the brewery thrives in Fort Collins, Colorado. New Belgium is an employee-owned company – each employee earns their portion of the business after one year of service – and operates with an open-book management policy – i.e. complete fiscal transparency. New Belgium also sells its product on the promotion of sustainability. It is the first wind-powered brewery in the United States. A trip to the tasting room will reveal a building full of furniture constructed of recycled bicycle parts.

While New Belgium Brewing doesn’t distribute nation-wide (yet!), it does serve nearly every state in the west and mid-west. Until recently, the farthest state east on its distribution list was Tennessee – North Carolina now takes the prize, and will soon be joined by South Carolina and Georgia.

New Belgium Brewing, and the micro-brew industry in general, is an interesting study of entrepreneurial growth in light of relaxed regulation. A little over 25 years ago, laws prohibited the manufacture and sale of homebrew/microbrew. Today the microbrew industry is fierce competition for the old staples in America’s beer diet – Miller Co., Coors, etc. In fact, we have seen in recent months, buyouts and merges among many of the traditional names in American brewing – and consequently, many attempts by these “older” manufacturers at creating brews that cater to the consumers of microbrew.

Jeff and Kim are honored as heroes of capitalism for their entrepreneur ability and innovative effort. Their – and other microbreweries – have continued to promote new and innovative techniques in the world of brewing and consequently fostered a fast-growing industry. Cheers to Jeff and Kim.

Sources:

www.NewBelgium.com

Forrest Mars

2009-06-03T10:15:00.003-04:00

Today we honor the hero of sweet-toothed consumers everywhere: Forrest Mars. Mars (1904 - 1999) was responsible for developing his father's chocolate company from a regional success into a multinational seller of candy and other food products. Besides creating Uncle Ben's rice and the Mars Bar, Mars hooked the world on one of the most famous candies of the last century: M&Ms.

Mars started his career by taking a modified version of his father's famous Milky Way bar to England. There in 1932 he set up shop and produced his new bar, named after himself, which has been produced in much the same manner at the same location ever since. Later during his travels in Europe that same decade, Mars came across candied chocolates and was inspired to create M&Ms.

When Mars returned to the US, he had chocolate candies on the mind but not the resources to operate a plant. He went in to business with the son of a Hershey executive to produce the M&Ms (named after the proprietors Mars and Murrie). Since Hershey had a contract with the government during the war and chocolate was being rationed, M&Ms were made exclusively for the troops.

Forrest Mars is a great example of the entrepreneur as transmitter of ideas. No, he didn't invent sugar-covered chocolate candies. They may have been common in some region of Spain or wherever it was he found them. But without him, how long would it have been before the masses enjoyed such a treat? Five years, 30 years? Heroes of Capitalism don't have to offer profound insights - or originality. We celebrate them because they made notable contributions to societal well-being. Luckily Forrest Mars knew a good idea when he saw it, and his efforts make people like me happy every time we rip open a bag of those milk chocolate goodies.

MIT Inventor of the Week
NYT Obit
Mars, Inc Wikipedia

Gustav Holst

2009-06-02T09:00:00.001-04:00

Today we honor Gustav Holst (1874-1934) for creating his orchestral suite The Planets. I think anyone who has played a brass instrument has played or at least heard the "Mars" piece of this suite, but the whole thing is lovely.

Holst spent most of his life in England. His family had a history of composition and musical talent; both his father and grandfather were paid musicians and composers. Holst started to learn the piano as a young child, but due to a nerve condition, he gave it up for the trombone.

Holst seems like he was quite unusual for his time. As an adult, he became interested in Socialism and Hinduism. He was a vegetarian and passionately translated works from their original language to English. If he did not know a language, Holst learned the language by attending college classes. For instance, he translated four Sanskrit works to English and at least one Greek piece to English too.

So, today we honor Gustav Holst for making us all richer with his orchestral suite The Planets. Though I cannot aggregate the monetary wealth he's brought with his music, when I typed his name into Amazon, four pages of items came up. That's some serious value. Not only has the joy of good music made us richer, but the ongoing commercial use (see below) has made some of us richer on a monetary level as well!

Sources:
Gustav Holst on Wikipedia
Holst's music on Amazon
Gustav Holst

This Reese Cups commercial features the "Jupiter" portion of The Planets. Personally, I cannot argue with the combination of candy and good music!

Arthur Nielsen

2009-06-01T10:03:00.001-04:00

Today we honor one of the pioneers of market research whose name has become synonymous with the idea of tabulating what people want—the controversial but hugely influential Nielsen rating.

Arthur C. Nielsen (1897–1980) founded the ACNielsen company in 1923 to conduct marketing research. Prior to the advent of modern market research, firms had to gauge consumer interest in products only after they had manufactured and attempted to sell them, relying on inventory numbers and sales figures to estimate product popularity. Nielsen helped pioneer the system whereby businesses could "test market" their products to selected groups before putting them into mass assembly, distribution, and marketing. He also helped create the idea that you could use random statistical sampling at selected stores to determine a product's market share. All of this information created a revolution in marketing, allowing businesses to understand their markets more accurately and, in the end, to save huge amounts of money that might have been wasted on failed products.

Nielsen's most noted accomplishment was the developed of radio and television audience measurements, the so-called Nielsen Ratings. Though these have been criticized from various angles (potential for response bias, emerging media is more difficult to measure, executives being too quick to cancel shows based on ratings, etc.), broadcasters and advertisers nevertheless get enormously valuable information from the service and create new wealth as a result. By the time he died, twenty-nine years ago today in 1980, his company had revenue over $390 million.

Sources:

Wikipedia entry

Scripophily website

Article from Journal of Marketing (July 1962)

Jack Kilby

2009-05-29T09:31:00.002-04:00

There are many heroes of the information age. The technology that drives our lives today, making them simpler and more efficient than could have even been dreamed of a mere 50 years ago is a compilation of the best ideas of many of the best thinkers of the time. Today’s hero comes from this group. Jack Kilby was a researcher with Texas Instruments in the late 1950’s. At this time, a computer was a huge entity, filling a room in order to be capable of performing relative simple computations. And it was certainly cost-prohibitive for even the wealthiest of households.

Kilby changed this with the invention of the integrated circuit (a.k.a. the microchip) in 1959. This chip replaced the bulky vacuum-tube design that had been used as the “guts” of these mammoth computers, and allowed more processing power in significantly less space. (To be fair, Robert Noyce completed work on an integrated circuit of his own within months of Kilby and they are today recognized as co-founders of the technology.)

The integrated circuit was first used in creating affordable hand-held calculators, but as I’m sure you are all aware, such circuitry is now common in a staggering array of devises, from high-tech toys like cell-phones and laptop computers to modernized versions of older technologies like refrigerators and automobiles.

Texas Instruments became a household name on the strength of the circuit invented by Kilby, becoming a leader in calculators and an early producer of home computers as well. Kilby left Texas instruments in the 1983 to continue to work on engineering projects of his own choosing and also spent time teaching a new generation of engineers at Texas A&M University.

Kilby passed away in 2005, and many of the stories written about him at the time describe a humble man, who deflected much of the praise directed his way regarding his greatest accomplishment. But as I type this entry on my tiny laptop, listening to music on my iPod, while my microwave oven warms my coffee, I join those who wish to make a big deal about Kilby’s life.

Frank McNamara and John Biggins

2009-05-28T10:00:00.002-04:00

Because the credit card companies are currently being unfairly demonized in the media, by the President, and by Congress, I thought today we could celebrate the modern credit card as the wealth-creating and life-promoting innovation that it truly is. (For a great debate on the current issue, see here.)

Throughout the history of business, customers and merchants have depended on credit accounts to facilitate transactions. Prior to modern credit accounts, merchants would have to look up records of payments and assess credit risks on an per transaction basis with their customers. The development of the credit card facilitated an automatized means of offering a set amount of credit to the bearer of the card. Although individual stores and oil companies had issued their own company credit account cards for major clients in the early twentieth century, the first modern credit card was the Diners Club card.

Invented by Frank McNamara, who, when he was out to dinner with friends realized he had forgotten his wallet, realized how convenient it would be to have a credit account at his favorite dining spots, the Diners Club was recognized at multiple locations. Originally a cardboard wallet-sized card, the Diners Club was a charge card that required a full payment upon receipt of the monthly bill. Soon, banks entered the market and offered revolving credit lines to compete with the existing cards.

At about the same time that McNamara was developing the Diners Club, John Biggins, a banker in Brooklyn, started to offer a bank card that could be used with local merchants. The bill for the items purchased with the card would be forwarded to the bank, which would then pay the merchant and collect payment from the bank customer on agreed-upon terms.

By the 1960s, American Express, Bank of America (BankAmericard later known as Visa), and the Interbank Card Association (later MasterCard) had entered the business and the modern, general purpose credit card had taken off. Heavy Congressional regulations would follow in the 1970s, but as modern processing systems and computerized communications took off, more Americans turned to the use of credit cards and the use of personal checks and cash declined. In 1995, there were 49.5 billion checks paid in the United States and 15.6 billion credit card transactions. By 2003, that ratio had changed to 36.6 billion checks and 19 billion credit card transactions. Credit and debt cards have expanded from 33% of non-cash payments in 2000 to more than 43% in 2003, and likely even more today.

Now, as banks offer debit cards as a means of competing with credit cards, offering better rates to merchants and more limitations on spending (for those customers without impulse control), the genius of a little piece of plastic to facilitate transactions has revolutionized the customer-merchant relationship. Further, credit card companies now vigorously compete for business by offering cash back, bonus points, airline miles, and other perks for the customers.

By facilitating a quick, easy transaction model and by providing credit to those who merit it, the modern credit card, along with McNamara and Biggins, stand as giant heroes of capitalism.

Sources:

About.com article

Wikipedia entry on McNamare and Diners Club

Brief history of credit cards

Joseph Armand Bombardier

2009-05-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

Today we celebrate J. A. Bombardier(1907-1961), pioneer of personal recreational vehicles. Every since 1942, Bobaardier's company has made its name inventing recreational vehicles for all terrain and conditions - land, water, and snow.

Bombardier's interest in recreational vehicles stemmed from a fascination with mechanics and travel. As a native of Canada, an early goal of his was to invent a way to travel easily in the snow. In 1937, Bombardier invented the first snow mobile - a vehicle propelled by tracks (much like a tank), and guided by a pair of skis attached to a steering column.

Probably the most popular of Bombardier's products is the Sea-Doo personal watercraft (PWC). The PWC was first introduced in 1968. Due, however, to limitations on engine development, production of the watercraft was discontinued a year later and put on hold for nearly 20 years. In 1988 Bombardier began production of the PWC for the second time. Since then, the popularity of the vehicle has exploded. Engine limitations are no longer an issue. In fact, Bombardier is the leading innovator and manufacuturer of personal watercraft engines. The company maintains over half the market share for water vehicles.

Besides watercraft, Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) is also the leading producer of snow mobiles - Ski-Doo and Lynx - and large competitor in the market for all terrain vehicles (ATVs), sports boats, and roadsters.

Bombardier's vision and subsequent success led to the development of an entire industry for recreational vehicles.

Sources:
www.Sea-Doo.com
Wikipedia: Sea-Doo, Bombardier Recreational Products
BRP Company Website
www.canada-heros.com

John A. "Bud" Hillerich

2009-05-26T10:00:00.001-04:00

Today we honor Bud Hillerich, founder of the Louisville Slugger. The Louisville Slugger celebrates its 125 year of production this year.

Though the origin of the first bat made by Hillerich is debated, the most popular story involves baseball great Pete Browning of the Louisville Eclipse, Louisville's major league team. In 1884, Bud Hillerich was watching Pete Browning play when Browning's bat broke. Hillerich invited Browning back to the woodworking shop that Hillerich's father owned. There Hillerich crafted Browning a baseball bat from a long piece of wood, and the next day Browning went 3 for 3. Shortly after orders for bats came flying in from professional baseball players across the country.

Hillerich's father, J. F. Hillerich, originally did not want to produce the bats, actually turning away some baseball players in the beginning, thinking the woodworking company would be more successful producing stair railings, porch columns, and similar items. Bud continued to be interested in producing the bats and later convinced his father that baseball bats had a large market.

In 1894, Bud registered the name "Louisville Slugger" with the U.S. Patent Office. Bud became a partner in his father's company in 1897 and the company J.F. Hillerich and Son (later changed to Hillerich & Bradsby Co.) is still a family company today.

Not only did Bud recognize the market for quality produced baseball bats, he was also a keen business man. His company was the first company to have a professional player endorse an athletic product and encouraged players to autograph the Louisville Slugger baseball bat. Hillerich & Bradsby Company also produced amateur baseball bats, a big seller since people could then use the same bat as their favorite player.

Over the years, the company has expanded the line of products they sell, but baseball bats remain a staple of the company; they have sold over 100,000,000 bats and supply over 60% of the bats for Major League Baseball players.

Today we honor Bud Hillerich for the contribution he has made to America's pastime, baseball.

Sources:
Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory
Louisville Slugger

Walter Reed

2009-05-25T09:00:00.001-04:00

Today we honor Walter Reed (September 13th, 1831-November 23, 1902) for spearheading the effort that confirmed that yellow fever was transmitted by mosquitoes. This scientific discovery is sometimes credited as the reason the Panama Canal was completed and moved forward the boundaries of epidemiology and bio-medicine.

Reed grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia. He graduated from the University of Virginia at age 17. In 1875, Reed earned his commission into the Army. Reed traveled to Cuba and saw first hand the terrible diseases (including yellow fever) that, much to the embarrassment of the US government killed more men than the enemy did during the Spanish-American War.

Reed led The Yellow Fever Commission. This group of men discovered that contrary to other researchers' claims, yellow fever was in face transmitted by mosquitoes, not bacteria. Reed is also credited with discovering that a mosquito has to bite an infected yellow fever patient during the three day yellow fever incubation period and can spread the disease for up to 12 days afterward. These discoveries eventually led to yellow fever becoming a non-threat throughout Cuba.

Today we honor Walter Reed for using his skill and talents to create great wealth for so many.

Sources:
Walter Reed on Wikipedia
A cool little video about Walter Reed
Walter Reed biography

Rose Totino

2009-05-22T09:00:00.003-04:00

While working in the pizza store that Rose Totino (1915-1994)owned and ran with her husband, Rose first developed the idea for making a crisp crust frozen pizza. Today we honor Rose for her ingenuity, business skills, and for inventing the crisp crust frozen pizza.

Rose was born into an Italian family in Minneapolis. She became well known in her neighborhood for the small Italian pies, pizzas, that she would make. This skill became her livelihood when she married Jim Totino and the two opened a pizza store together. Rose made a pizza and brought it into the bank to demonstrate its quality and to help secure the loan.

The couple's small pizza shop was a huge success, and was expanded from a take-out only shop to a sit down restaurant on customers wishes.

In 1962, the couple formed the business Totino's finer foods and sold frozen pizzas that could be sold at home. The new idea became a national phenomenon and the nation's love for frozen pizza was formed. While their pizza was a huge success, Rose was unhappy with the quality of the crust and continued to work to improve it.

The Totino's sold their business to Pillsbury Company for $22 million (raised from the original offer of $16 million, which Rose refused). Rose continued to work on the recipe for the pizza crust, and with Pillsbury Company discovered the pizza's quality improves if the dough is first fried and with that discovery, Totino's Crisp Crust Pizza was invented.

Rose was an innovator and an entrepreneur who introduced the world to frozen pizza and then worked to make that pizza better. She successfully realized the potential for her invention and worked to develop her idea into becoming a money making reality.

Rose is a prime example of how someone working for their own self interest can benefit multitudes of people. Not only is the world richer for having a quick late night snack or no fuss dinner, Rose and her husband were also generous philanthropists, giving away millions of dollars throughout the years to charities and educational institutions.

Sources:
The New York Times Obituary
Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame
MIT Inventor the of week

Robert Maurer, Donald Keck and Peter Schultz

2009-05-21T09:31:00.002-04:00

While working for Corning Glass, Robert Maurer, Donald Keck and Peter Schultz invented fiber optic wire. Fiber optic wire carries up to 65,000 times as much information as copper wire and was a transformative technology in the world of communications. Without this breakthrough, the current “information age” would have been severely limited by the bandwidth limitations of the older technologies.

Corning remains one of the six major fiber optic companies operating today and nearly all of the fiber optic cable distributed across the United States is based closely to the Maurer, Keck, Schultz design. It is impossible to estimate the total wealth generated by this revolutionary technology, but over 1/3 of Corning’s $5 billion in annual revenues comes from its telecommunications division. Verizon’s plans to spend nearly $23 billion between 2004 and 2010 on installing their own nationwide fiber optic network gives another small glimpse into the incredible wealth generating capabilities of this technology.

Today, over 80 percent of the world’s long-distance communications are transmitted using fiber optic cable. The improvement in communication efficiency provided by fiber optics was a key driver of the worldwide economic expansion of the 1990’s. For their scientific achievements, Maurer, Keck and Schultz received many awards and accolades including the National Medal of Technology, the nation’s highest honor. For the enormous contribution to the growth of the worldwide economy, today they can add one more accolade: Heroes of Capitalism (I’m sure that one is almost as important to them as that National Medal of Technology)

More on Fiber Optics

Craig Barrett

2009-05-20T10:00:00.003-04:00

Today we honor Craig Barrett, who marks his official retirement from Intel Corp. today. Barrett served as Intel's CEO from 1998 to 2005, and as its Chairman of the Board since then. He has been at Intel since 1974, having come to the company from Stanford University's Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

When Barrett rose to the top of Intel, he had many legendary sets of shoes to fill, including those of former CEOs Robert Noyce (co-inventor of the integrated circuit), Gordon Moore (author of Moore's Law), and Andy Grove (who oversaw a 4,500% increase in the company's market cap as CEO).

When Barrett took over at Intel, he faced significant challenges. When the company persisted in manufacturing Pentium IV chips "too long," he witnessed rival AMD expand its market share. He immediately set the company on the task of re-gaining a leading position in the marketplace. By continuing the company's level of capital investment during the dot-com bust (a technique of spending pioneered by Andrew Carnegie in the nineteenth century), Barrett was able to bring Intel out of the hard times in a much more favorable position, allowing them to ramp up capacity when demand returned. Paul Otellini, the current CEO, has followed suit and recently announced a $7 billion projected outlay by the company in this tough economy.

As a former manufacturing manager, Barrett also knew the value of keeping manufacturing principles simple and repeatable. He implemented a "copy exactly" concept for his facilities so that everything the company did right in chip fabrication would be the same at every facility, and also so that every problem that was solved could be fixed at every location. As he told the Wall Street Journal, "I got the idea from McDonald's, "I asked myself why McDonald's french fries tasted the same wherever I went. That's what I told my guys, "We're going to be the McDonald's of semiconductors."

That level of consistency is what has helped Intel to regain the leading position in chips in the world today, so much so that the company now faces a massive (and massively unjust) $1.45 billion fine from the EU's antitrust prosecutors. Because of the great achievements he has helped Intel make, we celebrate a living hero of capitalism today, on his official retirement from the company he helped make so great.

Sources:

Intel bio

Wikipedia entry

CNN/Fortune interview

Wall St. Journal Profile

"Farewell" Interview in Forbes

Rick Rubin

2009-05-19T08:42:00.000-04:00

Today we celebrate Rick Rubin, award-winning producer and musical "guru." Rubin is best known for his creation, Def Jam Records - though he has moved on to create other now-well-known production companies, such as American Recordings, and produce for other big name production companies, such as Columbia Record.

Rubin founded Def Jam during his senior year in high school. The first album the company produced was one of Rubin's creations - a band called "Hose." After arriving at New York University, Rubin discovered a passion for hip hop. More importantly, hip hop artist found an interest in Rubin's ability to mix and produce. Through the 1980s, Rubin and Def Jam Records would be responsible for introducing such artists as the Beastie Boys, Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, and Public Enemy.

Following the success of Def Jam in New York, Rubin took his skills to the west coast and founded another production company, Def American. There he would sign and produce such artists as Slayer, Danzig, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Rubin later changed the name of this venture to American Recordings and continued to produce big names - Johnny Cash, Mick Jagger, Tom Petty, and more.

Rubin's affiliation with Columbia Records has continued to attract the largest names in the industry. His work with the Dixie Chicks, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Justin Timberlake, Johnny Cash, and more won him the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, 2007.

Rubin's interest in music, specifically his musical imagination has not only contributed to his success, but the success of many musical talents. He continues to encourage and produce new and up-coming artists (see the Avett Brothers)- often leading instant fame for the artist, and an outstanding representation of their talent. Rick Rubin is certainly considered a hero of the music industry, today we recognize him as a true hero of capitalism.

Sources:

Wikipedia
Time
The New York Times

Maurie and Flaurie Berman

2009-05-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

Hot dogs may be universal, but the Chicago dog is an icon that rivals the Philly Cheesesteak. You'll find mustard, pickles, relish, tomatoes, onions, and celery salt on a Chicago dog, but don't ask for ketchup. Hot dogs have been in Chicago since the 1893 World's Fair, where they were introduced by Austrian immigrants. Nothing was particularly new about the sausage; what makes a frankfurter a hot dog is the bun, a novel concept at the time (earlier introduced in St. Louis and NYC). In the century since, the Chicago dog has been honed to include the toppings mentioned above by thousands of hot dog vendors. I believe they are all Heroes of Capitalism, but today I'll highlight one particularly famous stand I pass on my bike every week: Superdawg.

Superdawg was opened in 1948 by the newly married Maurie and Florence Berman. Maurie was a WWII veteran who was said to have noticed many of his fellow vets opening hot dog stands in the city. Believing this to be a great idea, and wanting to differentiate themselves, Berman and his wife founded a stand at the end of the Milwaukee streetcar line with two massive hot dogs on the roof. Their hot dogs were unique as well; in fact, they've never been called hot dogs - or frankfurters - at all. They were named "Superdawgs," spicier than the traditional Vienna Beef-brand frankfurters common around the city.

Superdawgs retain much of the Chicago traditional toppings, save the celery salt. They come on a poppyseed bun. Ketchup is available, but do you really want to draw attention to yourself, outsider? The stand celebrated 60 years in the business last year and has cautiously opened a second location at Midway airport with plans for a third. They also offer another Chicago staple, the Italian Beef sandwich (named the "Superbeef"), as well as a polish sausage (the "Whoopskidawg") and hamburgers.

One of the reasons I love Chicago is the dynamism found in its neighborhoods. Chicagoans are very entrepreneurial; concepts may sweep the city but brands rarely do. Hot dog stands come and go and no-one dominates the market, so it's quite remarkable to have (until recently) a single joint with national appeal. For 61 years of serving Chicago dogs with a twist, The Bermans are today's Heroes of Capitalism.

Superdawg history
Superdawg menu
Favorable review
Average review
Image taken from here

Gary Erickson

2009-05-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

Today we honor Gary Erickson for founding Clif Bar Inc. Erickson started selling Clif Bars in his Emeryville, CA bakery when he did not like the energy bar options on the market. Erickson wrote that he and a friend were biking all day and simply could not eat another bite of energy bars. Thus, Erickson took his private property and started producing Clif Bars.

Erickson named Clif Bars after his father, Clifford. Later, he started Clif Bars Inc. Erickson also created Luna Bars, which are specifically aimed at women. Founded in 1992, Clif Bars caught onto the demand for organic products early. Clif Bars are vegan and 70% organic. Clif Bars Inc has a distinct food philosophy that many of its patrons recognize and appreciate.

So today we honor Gary Erickson for taking his private property and starting Clif Bars Inc. He's brought great wealth to energy bar eaters everywhere!

Thanks to the Dangerous Economist for the suggestion.

Sources:
Clif Bar on Wikipedia
Clif Bar's Official 'Who We Are' Page

John Schnatter

2009-05-14T10:00:00.007-04:00

Today we honor John Schnatter, business man and founder of Papa John's Pizza. Like many of the people honored, Schnatter started a small business and through careful and innovative practices lead that business to become a national leader.

Schnatter began selling his first pizzas in 1984 when he gutted a broom closet in the back of Mick's Lounge, his father's tavern. The pizza was a success and in 1985 he opened the first company restaurant.

Under his leadership, Papa John's Pizza has expanded to include 3,330 restaurants in the US and 30 international markets. Schnatter's success in such a crowded market is remarkable. Papa John's is now the third largest take-out and delivery pizza chain in the United States. The company was the first pizza chain to offer online ordering and was also the first to offer dipping sauce with all of their pizzas (a personal favorite).

Papa John's logo, "Better ingredients. Better Pizza." has become a model that Schnatter strives to maintain in his business. He credits his dedication to this logo to his business's success. Schnatter is now the Chief Executive Officer of Papa John's and maintains an active role as the company's spokesman.

Like many of our other heroes, Schnatter also gives back heavily to his community in Louisville, Kentucky, supporting the university, helping to build bike trails, and supporting the zoo. What started as a small pizza place in a broom closet has become a national leader due to smart business practices and the self interested behavior of one Schnatter. Thanks to Schnatter for founding a company that delivers some of my favorite pizza for Saturday football games.

Sources:
Papa John's Pizza- History
Wikipedia: John Schnatter

Frank Batten

2009-05-13T09:48:00.000-04:00

It is going to be clear with a high of 62 degrees in Huron, OH, where I am today. In Clemson, SC (where I’m from) it will be partly cloudy with a high of 79. I know these things thanks to Frank Batten, Sr. and weather.com.

Batten is a veteran newsman who built his wealth though the acquisition and running of several newspapers starting with his work as the publisher of The Virginia-Pilot in the 1950’s. But when he teamed with weatherman John Coleman to launch the first 24-hour all-weather television network, he made the leap from rich guy to Forbes 400 worthy super-rich guy.

The Weather Channel was initially met with a great deal of skepticism, as most people could not envision the need for such an entire station dedicated to 24 hours of weather related programs. But from his time as a newspaperman, Batten recognized that the weather section of his paper was one of the most consistently read sections of the paper. The Weather Channel was a surprising success and its empire eventually included the incredibly popular weather.com, which gets over 300 million hits per month. Batten cashed out at an opportune time, selling his Weather Channel empire to to NBC Universal for $3.5 billion, just prior to the collapse of the stock market last year.

Batten is often quoted regarding the importance of his education in his development as a successful entrepreneur. Like so many of our other Heroes, Batten has become increasingly well-known as a philanthropist in recent years and fittingly his focus has been education. He has given large sums of money to Harvard Business School, the University of Virginia and Old Dominion University.

See if this sounds familiar. Frank Batten recognized an opportunity to provide a much desired service more creatively and efficiently than anyone else previously had attempted. As a result, his Weather Channel is a regular feature on most people’s basic cable package and a frequent stop during morning coffee for millions of Americans, and Frank Batten is an extremely wealthy man.

Batten Profile

Aleksandr Borodin

2009-05-12T10:00:00.001-04:00

Today we celebrate the unique contributions to capitalism of Aleksandr Borodin.

Outside of specialists in chemistry, most people today, if they know him at all, know Borodin primarily from his career as a composer of classical music. Borodin was a member of "The Five" aka "The Mighty Handful," a group of late nineteenth century Russian composers (including Cui, Balakirev, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov) who focused on producing a distinctively Russian form of romantic music instead of imitating salon styles of contemporary Europe. Borodin wrote some of the most moving music, including the Polovstian Dances, the opera Prince Igor, and what I think is one of the most moving pieces in the classical chamber repertoire, his String Quartet No. 2 (see below for the stunning third movement played by the Pacific Strings).

Despite the immense aesthetic contribution Borodin made, which can inspire other heroes of capitalism and give them spiritual fuel, he also made important contributions to chemistry, which forms the basic foundation of dozens of industrial applications today.

Borodin made his living as a research chemist, having received a Doctorate in Medicine from the Medico-Surgical Academy in St. Petersburg and served as a post-doctoral fellow at Heidleberg University (the oldest university in Germany and one of the premier research centers for centuries) where he befriended and worked with Dmitrii Mendeleev, originator of the periodic table of the elements, and in many private labs. Borodin was known for his work on aldehydes, the aldol reaction, and the detection of urea in urine.

Though Borodin's achievements were not earth-shattering in themselves (see this article in the Journal of Chemical Education), his work did contribute the basis of much modern chemistry. For example, the aldol reaction he reported observing in 1872 (simultaneously discovered by Charles-Adolphe Wurtz, with subsequent work being halted by Borodin in favor of Wurtz as was the custom at the time) forms the basis of much pharmaceutical industry developments (including the production of stereochemically pure drugs) in everything from immunosuppressants and statins to tetracycline antibiotics and antifungals. Borodin is also credited with having developed the first organic fluorine compound through nucleophilic displacement. His music and his wife's ill health gradually drew away from his original chemical research, he emphasized the need to overhaul chemical education at his alma mater in St. Petersburg (including advocating the scientific training of women). Later students at St. Petersburg Medico-Surgical Academy would make important advances in medicine and chemistry that would help further advance both fields.

For his contributions to modern chemistry and for his beautiful music, we honor Borodin as a hero of capitalism.

Sources:

Borodin the chemist

Wikipedia entry

Grove biography (mostly on his musical career)

Rick Bayless

2009-05-11T08:20:00.000-04:00

Today we celebrate Rick Bayless, award-winning chef and owner of Chicago's Frontera Grill. Rick and his wife opened the restaurant in 1987 following Rick's intensive 6-year culinary study in Mexico.

Rick also hosts a PBS cooking show, Mexico: One Plate at a Time, which is in its sixth season, and has authored six cookbooks. Following the success of the Frontera Grill, in 1989, Rick and his wife decided to try their hand at gourmet Mexican cuisine. They opened Topolobampo across the street from Frontera in Chicago.

Today consumers around the world can enjoy Rick's delicious foods. In 1996, due to popular demand, Rick began mass-marketing some of his most famous salsa recipes, chips, and grilling rubs under the umbrella of a newly created Frontera Foods Inc.

Rick's interest in researching and developing new and traditional Mexican cuisines has led to a very successful career. His PBS series continues to grow in popularity as do his delicious recipes.

Sources:

RickBayless.com
Wikipedia

Linus Yale, Jr.

2009-05-07T09:00:00.002-04:00

Today we honor Linus Yale, Jr. for his innovation, which made the combination lock a reality. There are records that suggest the basic premise of a cylinder lock had been invented thousands of years before Yale (by the Egyptians), but he was the first to make a practical lock from the idea. Before combination locks, all locks were based on keys, which Yale believed were innately unsafe due to the possibly of lock-picking. This quote from Wikipedia.com explains the invention's usefulness:

"Yale stated 9 peculiarities for his Yale Magic Infallible Bank Lock that separated it from its peers: [1] 1. Being without springs, there are none to fail; it is impossible to damage by fire, dampness, or neglect. The design rid itself of the vices of the springs that become rusty or softening by heat or moisture. 2. The lock has a head that is detached from its key-bits, thus leaving a space between the head and the key-hole, making it virtually impossible to be picked. 3. When the key is withdrawn, all print or record of its action is obliterated, and no tell-tale left for duplicate keys to be made 4. Powder proof. No powder can possible be introduced into the lock itself, which eliminates the threat of gunpowder explosions. 5. Permutation lock has the ability to rearrange new key combinations. 6. In the event of a lost key, a duplicate key can be set up to unlock the lock, and upon changing the arrangement of the lock, the lost key will be powerless to open the lock. 7. The portability of the key conveys a vast advantage over traditional bank locks’. 8. Every motion of the lock is derived from movement of the hands rather than elements beyond the operator’s control, such as dirt, rust, or memory. 9'. The lock is not liable to get out of order, having been made by first class machinists.

Before Yale decided to join the family lock business (his father held patents on locks as well), Yale was an artist. Those skills came in handy as he left detailed drawings of his intricate inventions. Ultimately, he was more than inventor; Yale went on to manufacture, market and sell his locks with his partners, John and Henry Towne. Yale's combination lock mechanism is still used to secure safes today. We honor Yale today for taking his private property and creating great wealth for himself and others.

Sources:
Linus Yale, Jr.'s Wikipedia page
Linus Yale, Jr. on Biography.com

Brook Lundy & Duncan Mitchell

2009-05-06T09:00:00.006-04:00

Brook Lundy and Duncan Mitchell created a free online e-card service, but the messages on the cards are somewhat different than other ecards, a semi warped version of traditional ecards. Their ecards cover all occasions, birthdays, weddings, graduations, get well cards, but they also have cards for break-ups, for flirting, and for awkward thinking of you moments.

Their website, someecards.com describes the company as follows:

Someecards may or may not be the greatest thing since ecards. It was created by Brook Lundy and Duncan Mitchell and a dollar and a half-assed dream. New cards, categories, and features will be frequently added until everyone involved with the site dies.

Their dream is certainly paying off. Lundy originally pitched the idea for Someecards to Mitchell as "the lamest idea I've ever pitched you". Mitchell loved the idea and the two set to work to form a "funny ecard site". They set the site up, found some investors, hired some writers and a Director of Sales all in hopes to make the site a "successful business", a full time job. The site has become such a huge success that Lundy and Mitchell recently decided to quit their day jobs and work on Someecards full time. As of October 2008 the site had 1.5 million unique visitors a month and 10 million pageviews a month.

Someecards now also allows customers to create their own ecards and they also have a very fine blog.

Lundy and Mitchell are heroes of capitalism for taking their private property and founding a profitable website that is free for users. They have successfully met their dream of creating a "success business" and continue to expand their company. They wanted a site where people not only set ecards, but also went to just read. I have spent many hours procrastinating on their site.

A closing thought, their most popular card is vintage black-and-white illustration of a little boy sitting on a stack of books, bearing the message: “When work feels overwhelming, remember that you’re going to die."

Sources:
Someecards - about
The New York Times - Don’t Care to Send the Very Best?
The Huffington Post - Interview with Brook Lundy
Wikipedia - Someecards

Rupert Murdoch

2009-05-05T08:30:00.002-04:00

Today, Rupert Murdoch is best known as the media mogul who owns and runs the Fox Network. This empire reaches well beyond Fox however, and in total it has made Murdoch one of the richest men in the world with a net worth of an estimated $4 billion.

Murdoch’s empire rose not from a long-held family fortune, but instead from ownership of a single newspaper in his native Australia. Murdoch converted Perth’s Sunday Times into a tabloid and in doing so, found a successful formula that he repeated throughout Australia before moving into international markets. But Murdoch is not just a one-trick pony. He found a great deal of success in generating tabloid headlines for his papers, but as his holdings expanded, he also found value in innovation within the newspaper industry. Murdoch’s pioneered electronic production processes in the newspaper industry in Australia, England and the U.S. and achieved significant savings through this innovation. As with many innovations, this automation reduced the need for labor, and Murdoch was an unpopular figure with labor organizations as a result. He weathered the storm however, and his production techniques are copied through the newspaper industry today. Given the dire financial straits of many of these papers in today’s electronic media age, there is no question that this innovation has been critical in the survival of many of these papers thus far.

Also in the 1980’s, Murdoch began to expand his reach into the television market. His initial efforts with a British satellite TV company led Murdoch into enough debt that he had to sell off many of his Australian magazine holdings, but as a good businessman, Murdoch recognized that there was money to be made in television and continued to work to perfect his efforts in this medium. With his Fox Network, Murdoch found a winner. With a national network in the U.S., a 24-hour news network and a rapidly expanding regional sports network, Fox has become a major player in multiple media channels and has become a legitimate 4th network in a market that had been long controlled by just the big 3 (ABC, CBS and NBC).

Murdoch has not always been a popular figure. Some contend that his relationships with British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair afforded his preferential treatment from that government. Others have claimed conflicts of interest between him various news holdings, and as many sports fans remember, his brief ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers was not about building a winning baseball teams as much as it was about building a regional sports network to rival ESPN. Regardless of your opinion about his tactics, it is clear that Rupert Murdoch has built a tremendous amount of wealth for himself and for the tens of thousands of employees he has working for him worldwide. And this makes him a Hero of Capitalism.

Harvey and Bob Weinstein

2009-05-04T14:58:00.004-04:00

Harvey and Bob Weinstein are the brother team that owns the Weinstein Company, one of the more successful production companies producing movies in Hollywood today. The brother became famous (and rich) after founding Miramax films. Under the Miramax umbrella, the Weinstein ran off a string of successes, starting with The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball in 1982, and included hits like sex, lies and videotape, The Crying Game, Shakespeare in Love and Pulp Fiction.

Miramax was purchased by Disney in 1993 and the Weinsteins stayed on to guide the division to successes like Clerks, Beautiful Girls and Rounders, but Disney’s control of what the studio could and couldn’t release (Disney refused to allow the Weinstein to release Fahrenheit 9/11, for example) led to the Weinstein’s departure, and the creation of a new studio, the Weinstein Company. Estimates of the studio’s value to Disney were as high as $1.5 billion at the time of the Weinstein’s departure. In the 4 years that the Weinstein Company has been doing business, they have produced over 40 films (and Project Runway, Ann!).

According to imdb.com, Miramax is listed as the production company on over 200 films, though roughly 15-20 of those came after the Weinstein’s departure from Disney. Many of these films have been quite profitable for those involved. So for generating more than just a few entertaining moments in a movie theatre, the Weinstein Brothers are Heroes of Capitalism. Of course, being part of Hollywood and their strange value structure, I wonder exactly how proud they would be of this accomplishment.

There are more exciting clips, but not many that I could show and still keep this site "family friendly" (or even "safe for work").

Details on the Fahrenheit 9/11 issue

Bill Bowerman

2009-05-01T07:00:00.000-04:00

Kerry honored Nike co-founder Phil Knight a month ago, so I thought it would be appropriate to highlight the contribution made by the other half of the original Nike team: Bill Bowerman. Bowerman (1911 - 1999) had an illustrious career that included running one of the nation's most successful track programs, popularizing jogging in the US, and developing the waffle-soled running shoe. And before his success as Phil Knight's business partner, he had success as Knight's running coach.

William Bowerman knew a lot about shoes as a track coach for the University of Oregon, where he would individually shape his runners' shoes. His Oregon programs, through a 24-year tenure, finished in the NCAA top ten 16 times and won four titles. During this time he was also involved with the '68 and '72 Olympics. So it was no surprise that when former Oregon athlete Phil Knight showed up in 1964 with a pair of Japanese sneakers and a business idea, Bowerman wanted to get involved.

Knight and Bowerman formed Blue Ribbon Sports to distribute shoes for Onitsuka Tiger, the Japanese company with which Knight had entered a sales agreement a year earlier. Bowerman offered suggestions for improvements to the shoes, which consequently became top sellers for the manufacturer. The two entrepreneurs sold shoes out of the trunk of a car for several years before opening a retail store and eventually designing shoes for themselves. Their first line, the Nike line of shoes, inspired the company name change to Nike in 1978.

Bowerman's most famous shoe design was the waffle-soled running shoe he developed out of his home using a waffle iron and rubber compounds. He was aiming for a winning combination of weight and grip, with Oregon's new synthetic rubber track in mind. The simple but smart concept was Blue Ribbon's first major success and today a variety of shoes make use of the waffle outsole.

Nike's future growth made it a powerhouse in sportswear and as Kerry described, the marketing successes of Phil Knight were tremendously important to that growth. Bowerman's improvements on shoe design are the other half of this success story and make him today's Hero of Capitalism.

Guardian Obituary

NYT Obituary

Wikipedia Entry for Bowerman

Oregon Experience Timeline and Bio

Helium Profile by Lucas Smith

Blake Mycoskie

2009-04-30T08:28:00.000-04:00

Today we celebrate Blake Mycoskie for the success of his creative endeavor - TOMS Shoes.

A world traveler, Blake came up with the idea for TOMS Shoes during a visit to Argentina. While there, Blake found two things: a shoe he adored - the Argentinian alpargata - and thousands of children without shoes. His business goal is to fix the latter with the former.

TOMS Shoes (short for "Tomorrow's Shoes") is a company that operates with a rather extraordinary business model. That is, Blake's ambition is to give away a pair of shoes for every pair he sells - "one-for-one" - to a child in need. What seems an unlikely feat, has turned out to be both productive and profitable.

Blake returned to the U.S. to start his operation. In 2006 Blake constructed a couple hundred pairs of his ideal shoes in his apartment and sold them to a single Los Angeles, CA boutique. Customers quickly bought Blake's cause, and, most importantly, his shoes. The press reported his success at the local boutique. The next day orders were made for over 2200 pair of TOMS.

Blake has since achieved recognition among the stars. You'll now find celebrities, and the like, sporting TOMS world wide. Blake admits his struggles in the beginning with retailing his shoes at approximately $40 while production costs were nearly $9 a pair - making total cost roughly $18 in order to keep his "one-for-one" promise. Blake, however, has since expanded the variety of TOMS shoes with prices now ranging from $35 to $75. The success of TOMS Shoes has brought licensing deals with the likes of Ralph Lauren and Whole Foods.

And Blake has kept his promise. According to the TOMS Shoes website, the company has given away over 140,000 pairs of shoes.

Blake is a true hero of capitalism. His self-interest (helping shoeless children) spawned a corporation that benefits all. From a single apartment and single-employee venture, Blake built a company that employs over 50 individuals world-wide, offers a unique product that consumers actually want, and sponsors a very successful and worthwhile charity. Cheers to Blake!

Sources:

TOMS Shoes
Blake Mycoskie's Blog
TriplePundit.com

Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin

2009-04-29T09:00:00.000-04:00

Today we honor Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin for taking their private property and creating Wham-O Inc. While many of you are probably scratching your heads wondering where you have heard Wham-O before, some of you probably recognize the fad-making machine. Wham-O Inc is responsible for toy fad after toy fad.

While Knerr and Melin rarely are credited for creating toys, they sought out neat ideas and marketed them. Wham-O brought the hula hoop to the US from Australia in 1958. Wham-O is also responsible for marketing the Slip 'n' Slide, the Super Ball, the Hacky Sack and the Frisbee. Many articles remarked that the most amazing aspect of the company was the ability to harness the power of fads over and over again.

Knerr and Melin decided to start the company 1948 after facing disappointment in their jobs. While both had degrees from the University of Southern California, they quit their jobs and started working on toys in Knerr's garage. Needless to say, they outgrew the garage. Knerr and Melin were noted for testing the products themselves and being open to the zaniest ideas. The company website mentions some failures right along with the successes. Some of the failures are more fascinating than the successes!

While aggregating the wealth Knerr and Melin created is probably well beyond any one's ability (how do you add up the joy these products have brought children in the US?), in 2006 the company sold for about $80 million. So, today we honor Richard Knerr and Arthur "Spud" Melin for taking their private property and creating Wham-O Inc.

Sources:
Wham-O on Wikipedia
Wham-O Corp Site
Wham-O's official history
Knerr's Obit in The New York Times
Melin's Obit in The Independent

Here's an old school Wham-O commercial:

Merv Griffin

2009-04-28T09:00:00.005-04:00

Tony Griffin once described his father as a visionary with a love for business. Merv Griffin (1925-2007) was a visionary, an entertainer, and an entrepreneur. He was always seeing new opportunities, and always taking new risks; he made a huge impact in the television and entertainment, in horse racing, and in real estate.

During his life Merv Griffin started many business ventures and enjoyed success in multiple sectors, but today we honor him for his contribution to game shows. Griffin is the creator of Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, and Merv Griffin's Crosswords.

Griffin created and produced Jeopardy! in 1964 after his wife came up with an idea for a game show where the question and answer part of the show was switched so the constants gave the questions. Griffin developed this idea and took his concept to NBC. The network bought the show without seeing a pilot episode. The original Jeopardy! ran for 11 years and was hosted by Art Fleming.

When NBC canceled the show in 1975, Griffin produced the shows successor Wheel of Fortune. Like Jeopardy!, the show enjoyed modest success with Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford as hosts.

Both shows became huge successes once they reached syndication, Jeopardy! in 1984 with Alex Trebek as host and Wheel of Fortune in 1983 with Pat Sajak and Vana White as hosts. These are the two most successful game shows in television syndicated history.

Griffin sold his production company, Merv Griffin Enterprises for $250 million to Columbia Pictures upon his retirement in 1986. That year, Forbes Magazine listed Griffin as the richest Hollywood performer in history. Not only did Griffin create these shows, he also wrote the theme song for Jeopardy!, still used today, and wrote the theme music "Changing Keys" used by Wheel of Fortune from 1983-2000.

Griffin was developing a new syndicated game show through Merv Griffin Entertainment when he became ill in 2007. Merv Griffin's Crosswords was in its first week of production when Griffin died. He is listed as the shows creator and posthumously as the executive producer.

Today, Griffin is celebrated as a hero of capitalism for the entertainment his shows bring to millions of people every night, for his keen business sense, for his clear, distinctive, and specific goals for the future, and for his love of game shows. Celebrating the other great gifts Griffin has given to us through being an entrepreneur will have to wait for another day, for they are numerous.

Sources:
Merv.com - About Merv
MSNBC Entertainment - Merv Griffin, 82, dies of prostate cancer
Wikipedia - Merv Griffin

David Sarnoff

2009-04-27T11:12:00.005-04:00

Sarnoff was a pioneer of both radio and television. In 1921, while working for the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), Sarnoff set out to try to get more radios into more homes in America by changing the content broadcast on these radios. Instead of focusing on just local news and content, he sought to deliver programs that held national interest. By developing such programs, Sarnoff lit the spark of national interest that turned radio into a national sensation. By using new technology to reach a much larger audience, the process of selling advertising became more lucrative for both the radio stations and the companies who advertised on them. This of course led to more money, more programs and better technology in the radio market.

The popularity of radio soon led RCA into television and Sarnoff again led the charge into this new technology. As president of RCA, Sarnoff invested significant resources into improving the television, even during the Great Depression, when research money was especially hard to come by. By 1941, Sarnoff’s hard work paid off and the National Broadcast Company (NBC) was launched as the first national television network

David Sarnoff was not a technology guru, nor was he the product of an Ivy League business program. His training was on-the-job training and he quickly recognized the value of the audience in any media endeavor. Sarnoff is credited with Sarnoff's law, which states that the value of a broadcast network is proportional to the number of viewers. This seems like an obvious concept now, but back when accessing additional customers was an extremely difficult undertaking, Sarnoff recognized that the benefits outweighed the costs before any of his rivals did.

Sarnoff bio
Sarnoff featured as one of Time's 100 most important people of the 20th Century

Rihachi and Rizo Mizuno

2009-04-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

Today we honor Rihachi and Rizo Mizuno for using their private property to create The Mizuno Corporation. The Mizuno website reports that the company was founded in 1906 by the Mizuno brothers. At the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, Japan began embracing traditionally western sports, and the Mizuno brothers filled the demand for baseballs and other equipment.

A year after the company began, Mizuno Corp began to produce personalized equipment, something it is well-known for today. In 1911, Mizuno began sponsoring baseball championships in Japan. In 1933, the company produced the first Japanese-made golf clubs. While personal information about the Mizuno brothers is limited, professionally, Rihachi Mizuno led the company to great achievements. In 1969, the Mizunos brought their company to the United States of America.

Today Mizuno employees almost 2,000 people and makes a variety of sports equipment. Masato Mizuno is the current president and helps the company pursue its vision of "Contributing to society through the advancement of sporting goods and the promotion of sports." Today we honor Rihachi and Rizo Mizuno for using their private property to create The Mizuno Corporation, which has brought great wealth to many.

Sources:
Mizuno Corp on Wikipedia
Mizuno's Official History
Mizuno USA

Here's a promotional clip about Mizuno USA:

Sam and Anna Mary Carty Shoen

2009-04-23T08:40:00.000-04:00

Today we celebrate Sam and Anna Shoen for their brilliant idea and contribution to the wealth of society - the U-Haul Co. Sam and Anna's company began with the purchase of a combination of small trailers either pre-owned or manufactured from local welders. Their scheme: rent the trailers to movers. When the movers were done with them they would simply park the trailers on the lot of a service station in their new hometown with a "for rent" sign attached. And the rest is history. The company website explains the motivation behind U-haul:

Since 1945, U-Haul has been serving do-it-yourself movers households. Like many other successful ventures, the concept for U-Haul was generated out of need. After World War II, there existed the widespread need for do-it-yourself moving equipment that would be available on a one-way, nationwide basis. U-Haul co-founders L.S. “Sam“ Shoen and his wife, Anna Mary Carty Shoen, recognized that need and acted upon it. Their visionary approach spread the cost of ownership among many users, facilitating the mobility of the populations of the U.S. and Canada. The covered wagon of the pioneers morphed into orange U-Haul trailers. In the process, an industry was born.

Discharged from the Navy in the summer of 1945, 29-year-old Sam and Anna Mary tried to rent a utility trailer to move their possessions from Los Angeles to Portland, Ore. It couldn't be done. They had to take only what they could fit in the car
“Small luggage-type passenger automobile trailers were being rented from 'rental lots' in Los Angeles. Each lot had from 20 to 40 trailers which were rented locally for approximately $2 per day,” recalled Shoen in his book “You and Me.” “I recognized that here was an item with considerable utility value which had not been exploited at all in the Northwest or in the San Francisco-Oakland area. I was intrigued with the business potential of this idea, especially from the standpoint of one-way rentals.”

The Shoens reasoned that many other families had a need similar to theirs: the short-term availability of a trailer that could be rented “here” and left “there.” No one, at that time, seemed ready or willing to serve that need.

The company's philosophy leaves little doubt that the founders of U-Haul are true Heroes of Capitalism:

"The division of use and specialization of ownership are good for both our customers and the environment."

Sources:
www.uhaul.com

Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and Gerald Pearson

2009-04-22T08:01:00.003-04:00

Today we note the contributions of three Bell Laboratories researchers who first demonstrated the ability of solar cells to power electrical devices. Experiments with photovoltaic technology had been on-going since the discoveries of A.E. Becquerel in 1839, but it wasn't until 1954 that the world was introduced to functional photovoltaic technology after a major breakthrough with silicon transistors.

Daryl Chapin was a Bell Labs engineer working on a solar energy project in the early 1950s. He was experimenting with selenium and he couldn't surpass a minimal level, 1% or so, of efficiency (internal combustion provides efficiency in the area of 20%). Calvin Fuller and Gerald Pearson were working on a separate project to develop silicon transistors when they discovered that one of their transistors, when exposed to light, created electricity. Not only had they stumbled across their own version of a solar cell: it was more effective than any known selenium cell.

Fuller and Pearson joined with Chapin to create a solar cell that surpassed the frontier of 1% energy-to-electricity efficiency. When they introduced their “solar battery” to the world in 1954, powering a toy windmill and a radio, the efficiency had reached 6%. Solar power was technologically, if not yet commercially, viable.

Incidentally, a silicon solar cell had been developed and patented by a Bell Labs researcher in the 1940s, but it had not surpassed 1% efficiency and was not commercially exploited. Even in the couple of years after 1954, solar cells weren't common because of their prohibitive cost; early implementation was limited to militaries and space agencies. But as energy efficiency has improved, so has the manufacturing efficiency and affordability.

Solar panels are used today in thousands of applications and mobile devices where power from electrical utilities, chemical batteries, or combustion is unavailable or undesirable. Efficiency levels are in the 40's. And as you've likely noticed, the desire for clean energy technology is growing. Once built, solar panels create electricity with no emissions. For kick-starting the truly fascinating solar industry, Chapin, Fuller, and Pearson are today's Heroes of Capitalism.

Wikipedia entry on Solar Cells

American Heritage - "Solar Power: The Slow Revolution"

American Physical Society - "This Month in History"

A solar power timeline

Simon Cowell

2009-04-21T09:00:00.001-04:00

Yes, today we honor the man we love to hate: Simon Cowell. Let me assure you, this man is more than just sassy judge on American Idol. Today we honor Cowell for founding Syco, a TV, film and music production company. Cowell founded Syco in 2002. It is responsible for producing many of the shows we've come to associate with Cowell, including and The X-Factor, America's Got Talent and Britian's Got Talent. Syco Music has been the production house behind the American Idol winners as well as performers, like Leona Lewis.

Cowell was born in 1959 to a family already involved in entertainment. His father was a music industry executive and his mother was a ballet dancer. But his path was not easy. After leaving Dover College without completing his degree, he (surprisingly) did not get along well with bosses at a series of menial jobs. Finally, Cowell's father got him a job in the mail room at EMI Music Publishing.

After working his way up at EMI, he took a risk and left the company to go to a start up. From 1984 through the early 1990s, Cowell experienced the ups and downs of being in the entertainment business. He dabbled in TV, film and music. In 1989, it all came crashing down, and he was forced to move back home with his parents. Needless to say, Cowell fought his way back to the top. In 2002 he founded Syco, and the rest is history.

Cowell claimed that in 2006 Syco accounted for 40% of its parent company's profit. If that's so, then in 2006, Syco made about 1.7 million pounds. Cowell has created wealth for so many people. From the Syco owners to the Cowell haters, today we honor Simon Cowell for taking his private property and creating great wealth.

Sources:
Syco on Wikipedia
Simon Cowell on Wikipedia

And now (drum roll please), Simon Cowell at his best:

Simon Cowell on imdb

Jamie Hyneman

2009-04-20T09:00:00.004-04:00

Today we celebrate Jamie Hyneman for founding M5 Industries Inc. While Hyneman is best known for co-hosting Discovery Channel's hit show Mythbusters, he is also the founder and CEO of the visual special effects company M5 Industries, now a producer of Mythbusters.

Hyneman was raised in Columbus, Indiana and earned a degree in Russian language and literature. He has had a number of different careers before settling into his current passion including scuba diver, wilderness survival expert, boat captain, linguist, pet shop owner, chef, machinist, and concrete inspector.

His company M5 does visual effects for movies and commercials and has created almost a thousand visual effects over the last 20 years. This work was all done on a free lance basis.

M5 no longer does special effects, but it is busy with all the work it does for Mythbusters. Many of the people on the show are employees of M5 and much of the filming takes place at M5. The company still does do a small amount of research and development and consulting work, but that is limited to the projects Hyneman just cannot say no to.

Today we honor Hyneman for creating a company that helps keep as wowed as we watch television and movies, for continuing to invent, explore, ask questions, and think critically, and for still playing with toys, fire, and explosions.

M5 Industries website is a neat site to visit, the company's history is told with Hyneman's wit. Also here is a link to a video tour of M5 Industries by Hyneman.

Sources:
M5 Industries
Wikipedia: Jamie Hyneman
Wikipedia: M5 Industries

Jess Oppenheimer, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez

2009-04-16T09:00:00.003-04:00

Today we honor Jess Oppenheimer, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez for innovating a TV process that we take for granted: filming with multiple cameras (diagram to the right) in front of a live studio audience. While some shows filmed before live audiences and other shows used multiple cameras, the producers of I Love Lucy were the first to put both processes together at once.

This may seem trivial, but the innovation had several implications. First, the multiple cameras allowed for faster, cheaper filming. Since the multiple cameras minimized the number of takes, the live studio audience fed into the energy of the actors without sitting through numerous takes. In my opinion, I Love Lucy's comedic energy is a hallmark for sit-coms, and surely some of that had to do with this innovation.

As producers, Oppenheimer, Ball and Arnez made the decision to allow this innovation to flourish. The method was so successful that many of the beloved American sit-coms, like The Cosby Show and Seinfeld, used the same method for filming. Oppenheimer, Ball and Arnez took a risk, which paid off in great wealth that many of us continue to enjoy today.

Sources:
I Love Lucy on Wikipedia
Multiple Camera Filming

Check out one of my favorite clips from I Love Lucy.

Jann Wenner and Ralph Gleason

2009-04-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

Today we celebrate Jann Wenner and Ralph Gleason for their 1967 creation - Rolling Stone magazine. Rolling Stone is a magazine founded in San Francisco, now based in New York, NY, that is devoted to pop culture, music, and politics.

Wenner is credited with the financial backing for the founding of the magazine in 1967. The story goes that Wenner borrowed an estimated $7000 from future in-laws to cover start-up costs. Together with music critic Ralph Gleason, Wenner published what turned out to be a gold mine. Rolling Stone magazine hit the scene in the midst of a cultural and musical revolution.

Through the 1970s Rolling stone introduced us to many, now iconic, individuals, including: journalist Hunter S. Thompson, photographer Annie Leibovitz, and many rockstars before they made a name for themselves. Thanks to Gleason's excellent nose for musical talent, Rolling Stone was the first to acknowledge the importance of the work of such musicians as Lenny Bruce, Bob Dylan, and Miles Davis.

Neither Wenner nor Gleason stopped there. Gleason is also well know for having co-founded the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1958. The festival still runs yearly in Monterey, California, attracting the biggest names in Jazz as well as thousands of spectators. Wenner, on the other hand, has continued to expand his publications. Since Rolling Stone, he has founded, co-founded, and published other now-well-known titles such as: Outside magazine, Men's Journal, and US Weekly. Wenner also co-founded the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1983, an institute to which he was later inducted in 1997.

Sources:

Wikipedia: J. Wenner, R. Gleason
and Rolling Stone
RollingStone.com

George Lerner

2009-04-14T08:00:00.003-04:00

Did you know that the original Mr. Potato Heads were actual potatoes? Perhaps your parents knew from firsthand experience, even though they implored you not to play with your food. George Lerner, the inventor of Mr. Potato Head, liked to play with food as a child. His early adventures with fruits and vegetables were the inspiration for the famous plastic adornments, long since attached to potatoes of a less perishable nature.

Lerner, from New York City, first sold plastic facial pieces to a cereal company that wanted to give away the toys in cereal boxes. Mr. Potato Head himself didn't arrive until two years later in 1952 when Lerner partnered with the Hassenfeld brothers to put similar toys into pencil boxes. Lerner approached the Hassenfelds after he saw their success filling the boxes with themed toys. School supplies were the original focus of the brothers but Mr. Potato Head transformed their company, which became Hasbro, into a toy powerhouse,.

One reason for Mr. Potato Head's success: it was the first toy to be advertised on television. The Mr. was followed by a Mrs. in 1953, and the Potato Heads started coming with plastic bodies in 1964. By the time I was playing with toys, Mr. Potato Heads were everywhere. I'm a little sad I didn't think to use real spuds. Oh well. For such a simple but enjoyable idea, Lerner is today's Hero of Capitalism.

George Lerner Wikipedia Entry

mrpotatohead.net

Hasbro Wikipedia Entry

Ewing Marion Kauffman

2009-04-13T09:00:00.000-04:00

Today we honor Ewing Marion Kauffman for taking his private property and creating great wealth. Though Kauffman is famously known for establishing the Kansas City Royals and directing his private philanthropy, today we honor him for starting Marion Laboratories (former building pictured to the right). Kauffman grew up in Kansas City. As a young man he served in the Navy and is honored as a Distinguished Eagle Scout Award winner. Kauffman made a successful living as a pharmaceutical salesman. When his company cut back on his earning potential, he struck out on his own.

In 1950 Kauffman started his own pharmaceutical company in his basement with $4,000 in capital. As the only employee of Marion Laboratories, Kauffman did it all from packaging calcium supplements to selling a finished product. Eventually, he moved his company out of his basement and started doing some major expanding. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Marion Labs made a nice profit.

In 1974, Marion Labs Inc. reported $12 million of earning on sales. Perhaps most fascinating is that the research budget was $0. Kauffman spent most of the company energy repackaging and reformulating products other companies ultimately rejected. Kauffman kept the company focused on products that related to calcium. Marion Labs Inc. continued to grow until it was bought in 1989. Then known as Marion Merrell Dow Inc., it is now part of Aventis. When Kauffman sold his company in 1989, it was worth almost $1 billion and employed more than 3,400 people.

It is Kauffman's use of his private property to create Marion Labs and produce great wealth that we honor him today. I highly recommend that interested readers check out this video about Kauffman on his Kauffman Foundation website.

Sources:
Kauffman Foundation Biography
Marion Merrel Dow, Inc. on Answers.com
Kauffman on Wikipedia

Allen Stoltzfus and John Fairfield

2009-04-10T08:00:00.002-04:00

Today we honor two men who have helped to make learning a new language easier, Allen Stoltzfus and John Fairfield, founders of Rosetta Stone.

Stoltzfus first developed the idea for Rosetta Stone while trying to learn Russian in a classroom. Years earlier, he had learned German through emersion and wished that the classroom learning for Russian could also be as enjoyable, quick, and easy. Stoltzfus formed the idea of using a computer program to develop language skills naturally and without translation, similar to an immersion experience.

He enlisted the help of John Fairfield, a computer scientist, to develop the program in the late 1980s. The computer technology was not yet advanced enough, but by 1992 the men had developed a successful program and founded Fairfield Language Technologies. Along with the companies new president the three men developed the name "Rosetta Stone", named after the artifact that had unlocked the secrets of Egyptian hieroglyphics for linguists.

Rosetta Stone now offers language programs in 29 languages and in 2006, their company had had a five year growth of 368 percent.

Stoltzfus and Fairfield have greatly improved language learning in the United States and around the world. Their program is used by small companies trying to enter the global market, fortune 500 companies, the US Military, and households around the world. Through Stoltzfus and Fairfield's success, transaction costs and language barriers for countless numbers of people of been greatly reduced. We are all richer for their success.

Sources:
Rosetta Stone- Our History
Wikipedia- Rosetta Stone Software
Daily News Record - Private Equity Firms Buy Majority Share Of Fairfield Language

Phil Knight

2009-04-09T10:09:00.003-04:00

As a child of the 1980’s, I grew knowing just one thing about fashion. The shoes had to be Nike. Phil Knight is one of the co-founders of Nike and under his leadership (and with an assist from several great advertising campaigns starring Michael Jordan), Nike became the undisputed leader in athletic shoes throughout the 1980’s. Today, Nike’s empire has expanded greatly, covering all types of sports apparel and even branching into sports equipment – like golf balls. Even before Tiger Woods’ dramatic chip-in at the Masters in 2005 – when his golf ball hung dramatically on the lip of the cup, prominently displaying the Nike logo to the world’s largest golf audience – the Nike logo was one of the most widely recognized and powerful corporate logos.

Through the use of skillful marketing campaigns, Knight led Nike from its founding in the late 1960’s, through its huge successes in the 1980’s before retiring in as CEO in 2004. Along the way he built a company that is now a major presence in the sports apparel market worldwide and boasts a market capitalization of over $24 billion. Knight was certainly not the first to use athletes in marketing campaigns, but his decision to center his marketing around Michael Jordan in the late 1980’s was nothing short of genius as Jordan quickly became the most famous basketball player ever. Air Jordan’s remain an iconic name in athletic shoes, and have spawned dozens of copycat efforts attempting to tie a big name athlete to a shoe. As Jordan began to fade from the spotlight in the mid 1990’s, Knight found his next superstar in Tiger Woods, committing to a 5 year, $40 million dollar contract before Woods had even swing his first professional swing of the golf club.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the rest of the advertising world has been flattering Knight and Nike for the past two decades, as more and more advertising campaigns aggressively compete for the next superstar from the world of sports. Knight stuck gold twice and build a sporting goods empire in the process.

Bob Hurley

2009-04-08T09:00:00.004-04:00

Today we honor Bob Hurley for producing wealth with his private property: his talent. Hurley is famous for being the basketball coach at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City. While most people think of him as the coach that has won 23 state championships in 37 years of coaching, today we honor his personal investment in his players.

Hurley's program at St. Anthony has produced 5 first round NBA draft picks and has sent over 200 players to college on scholarships. While I could find little information about non-basketball professionals that Hurley's teams have produced, I suspect that many went on to have successful careers in other industries. Hurley's coaching has been called old-school, and he is known for instilling discipline in his players. They are expected to meet the highest standards on and off the court.

Perhaps the most amazing part of this story is that Hurley only makes $9,000 a year coaching. He works as a probation officer, but it is clear that his passion is coaching. Hurley is a prime example of a Hero of Capitalism. He used his talents to increase the wealth of his community. His personal reward is not typical, he is noted for turning down million dollar coaching contracts so he can continue to help young men to better lives. The wealth he created cannot be quantified in dollars, but it is real nonetheless. It is for Hurley's use of his personal talents to create wealth that we honor him as today's Hero of Capitalism.

Sources:
Bob Hurley on Wikipedia
"A Basketball Miracle" on Forbes.com
"Holding Court and Performing Miracles" on CBS

Check out Hurley giving coaching tips. I think you'll understand his coaching style if you watch this.

William Rosenberg

2009-04-07T08:20:00.000-04:00

Following World War II, William Rosenberg put his money together to found Industrial Luncheon Services (ILS) - a small business serving coffee, sandwiches, and pastries to factory workers. The ILS soon morphed into a mobile catering business. In a short time, Rosenberg had over 100 trucks, 25 in-plant outlets, and a vending operation. Being the bright entrepreneur, Rosenberg realized that over 40% of ILS revenue came from donut and coffee sales. So in 1948, on the heels of the success of the ILS, Rosenberg opened another business, The Open Kettle, serving coffee and donuts. In 1950 he changed the company's name to Dunkin' Donuts.

Rosenberg discovered a nearly untapped market and decided to expand variety. Instead of the "typical practice of selling four varieties of donuts [he] sold 52 kinds." Dunkin' Donuts was an instant hit. By 1954, Rosenberg owned and operated 5 Dunkin' Donuts locations. Upon opening the sixth location the following year he decided to sell the newest store as the first franchise.

Today, Dunkin' Donuts is the leading retailer of coffee, donuts, and bagels with over 6000 Dunkin' Donuts stores across 37 countries.

A description of Rosenberg from the company website sums up today's Hero of Capitalism:

Mr. Rosenberg embodied the American spirit of hard work and passion. He came of age during the depression and despite a limited education, his hard work and spirit brought wealth and fame enabling him to become a philanthropist in his senior years.

Sources:

DunkinDonuts.com
The New York Times
the Let's Talk Business Network

Dave Thomas

2009-04-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

Today we note another entrepreneur who started a popular food chain in Ohio. Dave Thomas (1932 - 2002), founder of Wendy's, was born in New Jersey and adopted by Lebanese immigrants. His adoptive mother died when he was five and his father moved the family often to find work. When Thomas was 12 he started his first restaurant job and never left the industry - even when he enlisted in the army during the Korean war. Through some luck and a lot of initiative, Thomas went from successful forays in the enterprises of others to founding his own company, now the third largest hamburger chain in the US.

At the age of 15, when Dave Thomas's family was on the verge of moving to yet another town, he decided to stay where he was in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. He dropped out of school and worked at the Hobby House restaurant in Ft. Wayne until he enlisted with the army at the age of 18. After a stint in Germany where he ran a mess hall, Thomas was discharged and returned to Indiana.

The owner of the Hobby House appreciated Thomas's talents and offered him opportunities of increasing challenge. First they opened a new restaurant together, with Thomas as the manager. Then Thomas moved to Columbus, Ohio, to turn around a group of failing Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises. It was during this time that he was mentored by, and helped in turn, Colonel Sanders himself. When he succeeded at this task, his boss sold the franchises back to KFC and Thomas received a handsome profit share. A year later, in 1969, Thomas opened his first hamburger restaurant in Columbus.

Wendy's was a fast success with its fresh hamburgers and milkshakes. Within three years, the company was selling franchises. In seven years Wendy's went public. Thomas is famous for his commercials (over 800 of them), but he didn't get involved in marketing campaigns until well after he had left the helm of the company. He also promoted child adoption and numerous health and education causes.

One of Thomas's mottos was that "profit is not a dirty word," and his success embodies that spirit. As a successful entrepreneur at the head of a very successful chain of restaurants, Dave Thomas profited from making millions of people happy. Not bad for a high school dropout.

Wikipedia entry for Dave Thomas
A remembrance by Lea Davis of QSR Magazine (2007)
Independent Obituary (2002)
Wendy's company bio
Ohio History Central

Norman Borlaug

2009-04-03T09:00:00.006-04:00

Today we honor Norman Borlaug (born March 25, 1914) for his innovations in farming that allow us to feed more people than we have at any other time in history. While I probably would need a doctorate in genetics to understand the full connotations of Borlaug's inventions, the beauty of the market means I don't have to understand the details to reap the benefits. Put simply, it is Borlaug's innovations that allow us to produce enough food to feed billions of people.

Borlaug grew up in Iowa. His education at the University of Minnesota included forestry, planet pathology and genetics. Borlaug's Nobel Prize Biography puts his early years of research succinctly:

"In 1944 he accepted an appointment as geneticist and plant pathologist assigned the task of organizing and directing the Cooperative Wheat Research and Production Program in Mexico. This program, a joint undertaking by the Mexican government and the Rockefeller Foundation, involved scientific research in genetics, plant breeding, plant pathology, entomology, agronomy, soil science, and cereal technology. Within twenty years he was spectacularly successful in finding a high-yielding short-strawed, disease-resistant wheat."

Borlaug worked during an extremely dismal time. Famous doom-sayers, like Paul Ehrlich and Lester Brown, wrote books and actively promoted the idea that millions of people were going to die because of a lack of food. But Borlaug kept pursuing his academic work. He merged the practical application of his science with the practical realities of the world to spread The Green Revolution throughout the world and feed millions.

Borlaug went on to win the Noble Peace Prize in 1970 because of his fantastic innovations. And even today, at 95 years old, he still is working to improve agricultural production. Norman Borlaug is today's Hero of Capitalism because his pursuit of personal desires has led to great wealth for millions today.

I highly suggest that readers check out the sources below. I don't think the few paragraphs here do justice to the amazing circumstances of Norman Borlaug's contribution. I am truly richer today for learning about him and The Green Revolution.

Sources:
"Billions Served" from Reason
Normal Borlaug on Wikipedia
Norman Borlaug Nobel Prize Biography

Thanks to Lea for the tip!

Here's a clip from YouTube where Borlaug himself explains what he did:

Erie Sauder

2009-04-02T09:00:00.006-04:00

Erie Sauder (1904-1997) was a very successful business man, founding Sauder Woodworking Company in 1934, now the world's leading manufacturer of Ready-To-Assemble Furniture. But today, we honor him not for his woodworking company or for inventing the first assemble-it-yourself pieces of furniture, but rather for the historic village he founded.

Sauder founded Historic Sauder Village outside of the town of Archbold in northwest Ohio in 1976. He developed the idea for the historic village while giving a tour of his woodworking company. While explaining the automatic machines in his modern factory, he considered how easy new technology had made our daily lives. Not wanting people to forget the hard work of their ancestors in this new age, Sauder decided to create a historic village to pay tribute to those who drained the Great Black Swamp, farmed the land, and worked in northwest Ohio during the 1800s.

Sauder bought new land and worked towards creating his village. He began collecting and purchasing cabins, tools, and farm implements left behind by those who had transformed the swamp. Historic Sauder Village was opened to the public in 1976.

Today, families and school children visit the Village to get a taste of the past. Workers dress in historic dress and explain the process of sheep shearing, farming, cooking, blacksmithing, and old printing techniques to those who want a hands on experience to history. The Historic Sauder Village is now run by third generation of Erie Sauder's family and has continued to expand and grow over the years.

Sauder not only created wealth for himself and others through his factory, but also through creating a living museum of an area's history. The Historic Village was my favorite field trip spot when I was in grade school. My classmates and I were definitely enriched as we learned about Ohio's history. Sauder embraced new technology in his business dealings and knew new technology was vital to his continued success, but he also honored the work and entrepreneurship of his ancestors through his village.

Sources:
Historic Sauder Village

Elvis Presley

2009-04-01T11:39:00.003-04:00

Sorry – no April Fools joke for you. I thought about putting Karl Marx out here or something, but just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Instead, today we’ll celebrate the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. Elvis was more than just a successful recording star – though he was staggeringly successful at that – with 17 #1 hit singles, and over 500 million records sold. He was also a prolific movie star, starring in 31 critically panned, but mostly popular motion pictures. He remains a cultural icon today, more than 30 years after his death.

As wide-reaching and lucrative as these direct impacts were, Elvis’ contribution goes well beyond that. His combination of talent, charisma and musical innovation helped launch Rock and Roll as a dominant force in the music industry. The music industry today is almost immeasurable, as it extends well beyond simple music sales (though rock music sales were estimates at $32 billion last year). Concerts, video, video games (Guitar Hero, anyone?), MTV, and so many other avenues of celebrity generate a staggering amount of wealth for the musicians, manager, producers and industry insiders.

Elvis was an innovator, an entrepreneur and a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. His influence generated a tremendous amount of wealth for himself during his life and for the thousands of individuals who have benefitted from his influence in the 50+ years that have passed since he first got paid to record a song.

Georges de Mestral

2009-03-31T08:00:00.005-04:00

Today's hero was an inventor who found inspiration in a common problem for those who walk off the beaten path. But instead of trying to combat the burrs that stick to one's pants, Georges de Mestral (1907 - 1990) sought to mimic their stubborn ability to cling. After years of toil, de Mestral invented separable hook and loop fasteners and created the Velcro brand.

The story behind Velcro starts with a walk in the woods in 1941. De Mestral was interested in how the burrs from a burdock plant stuck to his clothes and his dog's fur. Using a microscope he noticed how the tiny hooks on the burdock seeds would snag onto fibers, particularly the looped strands in clothing. De Mestral was intrigued by the possibility of mimicking this phenomenon with fabrics, so he set about a process that culminated in a patent for separable fasteners 14 years later.

De Mestral first experimented with cotton. It worked, but the fibers stretched after moderate use. Through trial and error de Mestral discovered that nylon was the best alternative. Velcro emerged sometime in the late 40's ("Velcro" being a portmanteau of "velour" and "crochet"), but it took several more years to master the mass-production of the hooks and loops. Patents were granted and production began in the mid 1950's, but Velcro was slow to catch on. It gained prominence after use by NASA in their spacesuits and in the first artificial heart surgery.

Today we know of Velcro and non-Velcro brand fasteners predominantly from their use in shoes and clothing accessories, but the fasteners have many applications. One famous example was David Letterman adorning a Velcro suit and attaching himself to a wall. For improving upon nature's design and creating a product that has made life easier for millions of people, Georges de Mestral is very much a Hero of Capitalism.

Velcro Wikipedia entry
De Mestral NYT Obit 1990
SwissInfo.org
American Physical Society

Trey Parker and Matt Stone

2009-03-30T09:00:00.003-04:00

Today we celebrate Trey Parker and Matt Stone for their animated creation, South Park. Stone and Parker first met in 1992 as film students at the University of Colorado. When they agreed to collaborate on a class project - a film short titled: Jesus vs. Frosty - the main characters of South Park - Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny - were born.

Parker and Stone were commissioned to create a second film in 1995 with the same characters - the characters resembling those of today's episodes only with the names re-arranged - as a video Christmas card for a fee of $2000 - titled Jesus vs. Santa. The popularity of these two initial videos over the internet eventually led to talks of an animated series. In 1997, episode 1 of season 1 aired on Comedy Central. South Park is now in its 13th season and remains the highest rated series on Comedy Central.

South Park has won a series of awards including: the CableAce Award for best animated series, two Emmy Awards - backed by seven Emmy nominations - , and more. The success of the series led to production of a full-length movie in 1999. It has also expanded to a successful market for South Park merchandise - video games, toys, clothing, etc.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone are both fine examples of Heroes of Capitalism: they combined their intellectual and artistic abilities to create world-wide wealth in entertainment.

See South Park's take on the financial crisis (the Margaritaville episode) here.

Sources

Wikipedia - South Park
South Park Studios
xepisodes.com

Elias Howe

2009-03-27T10:00:00.000-04:00

Elias Howe invented the basic tool—the sewing machine—that took the world from wearing mostly similar, rough, handmade clothes to the almost endless variety of machine-made modern clothing that we enjoy today.

Howe had worked as a machinist and had extensive experience in repairing precision instruments. Many others had tried to invent a practical sewing machine but had failed. In 1846, while working for Ari Davis in Boston, Howe developed and patented the first lock-stitch machine and proved that he could outpace five experienced seamstresses in a head-to-head competition.

After he demonstrated his device in America, he attempted to license its use in Britain. When he returned to the United States, he found many imitators, including Isaac Singer. Eventually, after a series of lawsuits, Howe prevailed and came to an agreement with Singer, then the leading seller of home-based sewing machines.

For contributing to the mass-production of clothes, which ironically made possible the elite limited-production haute couture fashion industry, Elias Howe is today's hero of capitalism.

Sources:

Inventor Hall of Fame entry

Wikipedia entry

Profile at Rochester University

Idea Finder entry

Ely and Jules Klapman

2009-03-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

Today we honor Ely and Jules Klapman for their contributions to root beer lovers every where. Ely Klapman started a bottling company in 1937. This company went on to develop Dad's Root Beer. After Ely's retirement his son, Jules Klapman, took Dad's Root Beer from largely a Chicago known brand to a nationally recognized brand. Today the Dad's brand includes about nine different flavors. The brand is named for Ely's father, who brewed his own root beer at home.

Even for non-root beer lovers, Dad's has had a major impact on how we enjoy soda in general. According to the Dad's Root Beer website, Dad's was the first brand to adopt the six pack format we know today. Also, Dad's was the first to offer a half gallon option. In 1971, Jules Klapman sold the company to IC Industries. He stayed on as an executive until 1980.

Today the Dad's brand is owned by Hedinger Brands, LLC. It is because of Ely and Jules Klapman's pursuit of personal profit that we enjoy a great soda: Dad's Root Beer. We also enjoy market innovations (like 6 packs) as a result of the Klapmans' use of their private property.

Sources:
Klapman Obituary
Dad's Root Beer on Wikipedia
Dad's Root Beer
Beverage World

Did I inspsire you to drink some root beer? Why not make your own?

Marion Donovan

2009-03-25T09:00:00.002-04:00

If necessity is the mother of inventions, today's Hero of Capitalism quickly became inventive. Marion Donovan was a new, young mother when she became tired of cloth diapers that would immediately become soaked through.

Donovan began work on developing a waterproof diaper cover in 1946. Using a shower curtain and innovation, she developed a diaper cover that was reusable and leak proof. The new cover also did not create diaper rash, an improvement over the rubber baby pants. In 1949, Saks Fifth Avenue began selling her new product, now made out of parachute cloth and with the added invention of snaps to replace safety pins. Donovan's diaper cover was named the "Boater" because it helped babies stay afloat and was an instant success.

While Donovan had found a solution to her initial problem, she continued to work on developing a more user friendly diaper and invented the first disposable paper diaper. Donovan's second diaper invention was slower to sell. Her disposable paper diaper was seen as "unnecessary and impractical". Donovan worked to further develop the product herself and eventually sold the idea of disposable paper diapers to Victor Mills, the creator of Pampers.

Donovan's invention has made life simpler, cleaner, and more enjoyable for millions of parents. Her invention is just one of many in the history of the diaper, but the diaper and Donovan's inventions show that innovation is ever present in our daily lives and something that seems silly and unneeded now might soon seen like a God send and an example of "How did people ever live without this?" in a year.

Sources:
MIT Inventor of the week: Marion Donovan
About.com - Marion Donovan

Daniel Okrent, Robert Sklar, Steve Wulf and Glen Waggoner

2009-03-24T09:21:00.003-04:00

With the close of the World Baseball Classic (congrats to Japan) and with baseball’s opening day looming, nearly every sports website is aggressively promoting their own web service to manage your Fantasy Baseball league. So today we celebrate some of the men who have been credited with the creation of the phenomenon that is now called Fantasy Baseball.

Daniel Okrent, Robert Sklar, Steve Wulf and Glen Waggoner are the four more well-known names associated with the first such league. The four men were sportswriters and friends who would often engage in the male-bonding ritual of endlessly discussing their favorite ballplayers (From my experience, women LOVE it when you do this…having trouble with the ladies? This can’t miss!). The really fun part about discussions like this is that, without any way to quantify the discussions, there was no way to discern who the “winner” was. So these four gentlemen decided to come up with a way to try to quantify each person’s stock of knowledge in order to best measure who was really the most knowledgeable sports fan.

Their idea was to have each person in the discussion put their money where their mouth was. Instead of discussing who the best players were, each member would be challenged to put together a team, like a real General Manager of a baseball team, by bidding on the best players. Each team was given a cap of money they could spend ($260 in the original version of the game). Using a relatively simple ranking system the real world performances of the players on an individual’s team would be measured against the rival teams’ performances, and at the season’s end a winner would be crowned.

The first such competition occurred in 1980 and the league was named the Rotisserie League, after the restaurant at which the league members would typically meet, La Rotisserie Francaise. Rotisserie Baseball (since renamed Fantasy Baseball) was born.

Over the last three decades, the game has grown phenomenally, and many variants on the basic format have emerged. The internet was a major driver of growth for the game, as the compilation of statistics and day-to-day management of the league was made exponentially simpler. Estimates vary, but most seem to indicate that the audience for Fantasy Baseball has swelled to over 30 million players in the U.S. and Canada as of last year. The websites that offer to manage your leagues and compile the necessary statistics typically charge around $100 per league to do so, and leagues are often no more than 10-20 teams. As you can see, this represents a staggering amount of revenue for the websites which provide such services. Estimates of this revenue are also varied, but typically are in the neighborhood of $1.5 billion per year – for baseball leagues alone. With the popularity of Fantasy Baseball, variants have sprung up for every sport imaginable, with Fantasy Football being far and away the most popular. Player volume and revenue for Fantasy Football have surpassed those of baseball, and estimates of revenues from football leagues are upwards of $3 billion.

There are a few problems associated with this phenomenon. Purists of the sports involved like to complain that it is changing fans and the way that they root for the sport, causing them to cheer for individual players instead of teams. This may or may not be true, but it is difficult to argue that it is a problem. Fan interest in the major sports has never been higher, and those involved in leagues will often tell you that it has renewed or increased their interest in the sports that they loved as children. As an avid Fantasy sports player and sports fan in general, I can support this latter view.

Like most intellectual property, protecting ownership of the idea turned out to be tricky. Even if the founders had been able to patent the original idea, the thousands of varients that have since emerged would have eroded the property rights of these writers. Consequently, the founders are not able to claim part of the profits from this incredible surge in popularity. But they did not go away penniless. A series of books about the game and specifically about the Rotisserie League itself was published. In the days before the internet, these books were the main source of information about how to play the game and some basic strategic elements crucial for being a winning Rotisserie owner. As a result, these books were relatively popular and generated some wealth or these founders.

Other attempts to stake a claim to some of the revenues being generated through fantasy sports have also been unsuccessful. For example, Major League Baseball recently lost a lawsuit, seeking compensation from the websites that use their statistics for providing support to Fantasy leagues. (Somehow, this lawsuit made it all the way to the Supreme Court!)

Fantasy sports are another example of a relatively simple idea which found a niche and then combined with technology to become a phenomenon. Tremendous wealth opportunities are created for the websites who manage the game for its players, for the people who write about the sports in question, and for the players and owners in the sport who experience a surge in the popularity of the sport. For the creation of such wealth, Daniel Okrent, Robert Sklar, Steve Wulf, Glen Waggoner and any of the other contributing members of the original Rotisserie League should consider themselves Heroes of Capitalism.

Elisha Graves Otis

2009-03-23T10:00:00.002-04:00

Elisha Graves Otis is the man who helped make skyscrapers possible. He contributed to capitalism by finding a way to make safe a concept that had been around for centuries—the elevator.

Although primitive elevators go back to the third century BC, it was Elisha Otis who made them the safe, convenient forms of transport that we all know today. The primary problem with the old pulley-and-rope systems was the danger that the ropes would break (which they often did) and the elevator compartment would plummet down the shaft.

Otis had been working as a mechanic and laborer in New York when he and his sons hit upon an idea that would revolutionize the primitive elevator system. At New York's 1853 Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, in the Crystal Palace Exhibition, Otis demonstrated his spring-loaded governor and toothed guide rail system. So confident of his invention, Otis undertook to demonstrate it by rising up an open elevator shaft in a "safety elevator" and then ordered his assistant to cut the ropes, and, much to the watching crowd's amazement, he didn't plummet to his death—his device worked. He began taking orders for his devices immediately, and by 1857, had installed the first passenger elevator in New York. Though he died in 1861, his sons carried on his legacy and the world began building taller and taller buildings.

Sources:

MIT Inventor of the Week profile

About.com profile

Wikipedia entry

Idea Finder profile

Elevator Museum profile

PBS "Who Made America?" biography

Robert Swanson and Herbert Boyer

2009-03-20T11:58:00.002-04:00

When a paradigm-shifting event can happen over a couple of beers, we’ve got the makings of a couple of Heroes of Capitalism. In 1976, a venture capitalist and a scientist got together for a couple of beers and tried to design a way for this entrepreneur to invest in the scientist’s research into recombinant DNA. The objective was to develop an environment where a profit motive could accelerate research where a commercial application seemed likely.

The capitalist, Robert Swanson, believed that commercializing genetically engineered drugs was possible in the near future, as opposed to typical estimates that placed such applications as being at least a decade away. Herbert Boyer was a biochemistry and biophysics professor who had pioneered a technique to genetically alter DNA that seemed promising.

Swanson and Boyer sat down for a few beers and began to work on a business plan that would dramatically alter the way the pharmaceutical drugs would be produced. In that bar, the Biotech industry was formed. Swanson worked as CEO, marketing the idea to investors and Boyer managed the scientists. The company that Swanson and Boyer formed was called Genentech and it created the first genetically altered drug to receive FDA approval, human insulin. The basic idea of the Biotech firm is to develop the idea and do the preliminary research and testing before selling the idea to a firm that specializes in production and marketing of pharmaceutical drugs.

The idea was hugely successful for both Boyer and Swanson and was quickly copied by hundreds of small research-minded firms. The Biotech industry currently boasts over 1400 firms and represents over $40 billion in annual revenues in the US alone. Biotech firms have been responsible for over 200 new drugs and vaccines, including products to treat cancer and HIV/AIDS. Over 180,000 people worked in the Biotech industry as of 2006, and the U.S. portion of the industry is estimated to have spent over $27 billion on research and development in 2006 alone.

The moral of the story is clearly that we should all go out tonight and brainstorm while drinking a few beers. What could it hurt?

More on the Biotech industry today
Biotech facts

Murray Rothbard

2009-03-19T14:53:00.004-04:00

Today we celebrate Murray Rothbard (1926-1995) for his life-long devotion to capitalism. Rothbard's defense of capitalism is best know as anarcho-capitalism - "...a political philosophy which advocates removal of the state and the elevation of the sovereign individual in a free market. In an anarcho-capitalist society, law enforcement, courts, and all other security services are provided by voluntarily-funded competitors such as private defense agencies rather than through compulsory taxation."

Rothbard contended that "the difference between free-market capitalism and 'state capitalism' is the difference between 'peaceful, voluntary exchange' and a collusive partnership between business and government that uses coercion to subvert the free market."

Rothbard completed his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D in Mathematics and Economics at Columbia University. He also studied under Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises at New York University during his graduate years - much of his influence evolving from Mises' Human Action.

Among his major contributions to history, economics, and political philosophy are: For a New Liberty; Man, Economy, and State; and Power and Market.

For more on Murray Rothbard and other Austrian scholars see the links below.

Sources:

Wikipedia
Mises.Org
LewRockwell.com

Links

The Austrian Economists

Charley Shin

2009-03-19T07:00:00.000-04:00

Ohio is the birthplace of many popular restaurant chains thanks in part to its entrepreneurial immigrants. I can only honor one at a time, so I'll start with the founder of one of my favorite chains: Charley's Grilled Subs. Charley's is known in Ohio and beyond for grilling Philly Cheesesteaks in malls, airports, and gas stations. According to company legend, it all started when an Ohio State student had his first cheesesteak on a trip to the east cost.

Charley Shin immigrated with his mother and sister to Ohio from South Korea in the 1970's. His mother set up a Japanese restaurant in Columbus while he attended school, eventually enrolling at Ohio State. At some point his family is said to have taken a trip to visit family in New York when they found themselves in Philadelphia by mistake. That's when Charley had his first Philly Cheesesteak. The experience was apparently unforgettable; he didn't wait to graduate before convincing his mother to loan him money so that he could establish a sandwich shop next to campus in 1986.

After his first shop, Charley opened new stores in malls close to Columbus. Five years later, he began franchising the chain. Malls, gas stations, and airports were the target markets for Charley's. In recent years they've also had success on Air Force bases. Charley says he likes "captive audiences," but the brand is starting to appear in stand-alone locations.

I've lived in Philadelphia and can attest to the heart-palpitating tastiness of an original Philly Cheesesteak. In my humble opinion, Charley's steak subs are a good substitute. Not as greasy, of course. The service is less... abrasive. And Charley's kiwi lemonade is unmatched by other fast food, or "fast casual," establishments. I'll admit to having gone with a friend to the Columbus airport for the sole purpose of ordering a Charley's sub; I ordered subs from the food court while he drove around the loop. Charley Shin is an obvious Hero of Capitalism because of his entrepreneurial drive and remarkable success, but he deserves special note because those subs are so delicious.

Fast Casual magazine profile
Columbus Business First article
Distinguished Asian American Business Leaders - Charley Shin bio

Matt and Jessica Flannery

2009-03-18T09:00:00.002-04:00

Today we honor Matt and Jessica Flannery for their wealth creating organization: Kiva. This husband and wife team found a way to connect micro-financiers with entrepreneurs. Kiva.org is a website where individuals can lend to entrepreneurs all over the world for small amounts of money that make a big difference.

Let me assure you, Kiva is no longer a small organization. According to Wikipidea, "As of December 18, 2008, Kiva has distributed $52,624,535 in loans from 383,042 lenders. A total of 75,681 loans have been funded. The average loan size is $443.16. According to Alexa, Kiva's website typically ranks well into the top 25,000 websites on the Internet." I especially appreciate Kiva's simplicity. An individual can choose from a list of businesses and loan all or part of the requested money. Kiva does a nice job of explaining micro-finance and explaining the risks to lenders.

They took their private property and created wealth. We honor Matt and Jessica Flannery for using their private property to create wealth all over the world. Their particular wealth goes far beyond material possessions. It comes in the form of empowerment, good feelings and capital accumulation.

A special thanks to "The Dangerous Economist" for the tip!

Sources:
Kiva.org
Kiva on Wikipedia

I had a little trouble finding written information about the Flannery's, so here is a youtube clip:

Arthur Guinness

2009-03-17T09:00:00.010-04:00

On this holiest of days, St. Patty's Day, we honor the father of the Guinness Beer, Arthur Guinness, as a Hero of Capitalism.

Arthur Guinness (1725-1803) was born in Celbridge, County Kildare. He first learned the art of brewing from his father who worked as a land steward for Dr. Arthur Price. In 1755, Guinness leased his first brewery in Leixlip where he specialized in brewing ale.

Shortly after he opened this brewery, he left his brother in charge and moved to St. James Gate Brewery in Dublin. Guinness signed a 9000-year lease in 1759 with St. James Gate Brewery for an annual rent of £45. The site was only four acres and was in disrepair, but it had a good water supply.

When Guinness began his brewery, there were over 70 similar small breweries in Dublin. Guinness began work to make his brewery unique. While he started brewing ale, Guinness also began brewing a new type of dark English beer, porter. His porter was so successful that he decided to specialize and in 1799 stopped brewing ale. His young company began exporting beer to England within 10 years of its founding and the English quickly embraced his new porter. He was also made the master of the Dublin Corporation of Brewers in 1767.

Guinness and his wife Olivia Whitmore had 21 children, 10 of whom survived to adulthood. The Guinness Brewery was managed by a Guinness for six generations. His dry stout is the best selling alcoholic drink in Ireland of all time.

Today we honor Guinness not only for brewing a fantastic beer, but for recognizing the benefits of specialization, for successfully exporting his product even when the taxes of the time favored breweries in England, and for creating a company that is still thriving today.

Sources:
Guinness Storehouse History
Wikipedia: Arthur Guinness

Jim Koch

2009-03-16T07:29:00.003-04:00

In 1983, Jim Koch was working as a business consultant, making a good living telling other people how to make profits. But he decided to drop it all to “make and sell quality beer ,” like 5 generations of his family before him had done.

Koch’s father had been driven out of the beer business by the giant brewerys (Anheiser-Busch, etc), and thought Koch’s decision was destined to fail. Using a recipe developed in 1860 in St. Louis, Missouri by his grandfather, Louis Koch, Koch began producing Samuel Adams brand lager. Koch’s strategy was to NOT complete with the big guys – and the only way to do that was to make a superior product. Innovation rules again. Within months of its release, Samuel Adams was recognized as the best beer in America at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. By 2001, Sam Adams beers enjoyed $200 million in sales, and Koch employed 350 people.

In a 2001 interview, Koch said his goal was to grow Sam Adams into "the No. 1 better beer in the United States.” Not only has he done that, but thanks to a series of mergers in the beer industry, including Anheiser-Busch’s merger with InBev, a Belgian-Brazilian company, Samuel Adams is now the largest independent, American-owned brewery left!

According to the Boston Beer Company’s Annual Report, Samuel Adams beers generated over $380 M in revenue in 2007, with profits of S189 M. Despite recent losses in the stock market, the Boston Beer Company still has a market cap of over $270M and employs nearly 500 people. Plus they make a quality beer. You’ve got to root for that.

For demonstrating that by making a quality product, even a little guy can survive (and thrive) in an industry populated by giants, Jim Koch has made his parents proud – and earned the designation as a Hero of Capitalism.

Koch Profile

Nikola Tesla

2009-03-13T10:00:00.001-04:00

Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) was one of the leading figures of the electrical revolution. His innovations, inventions, and contributions to the fields of electricity, magnetism, power generation, and radio cannot be underestimated. He is often called the "man who invented the twentieth century."

Born in Serbia to Croatian parents, he studied electrical engineering in Austria. After leaving school he took up work on the first telephone company in Hungary, later transferring his life to Paris to work for the Edison company. In Paris, he developed the idea for an induction motor, one of the most important applications of alternating current to the problem of power generation.

Tesla came to the United States in 1884 to work for Thomas Edison. Though he contributed to solving many of Edison's problems in electrical generation, the two clashed over wages and, more importantly, whether AC or DC was a better source of power. Tesla eventually left the Edison company and worked for himself, when he joined Westinghouse. There he developed hundreds of innovations and received many patents for the crucial parts of our present electrical system, including polyphase motors and electrical transmission systems. He and Westinghouse demonstrated the usefulness of AC power when they used it to illuminate the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.

Tesla made more accomplishments than I can possibly list and describe here, but among them are the first proof of radio communication, which antedated Marconi's demonstration, and a functioning spark plug. Among his other areas of theoretical research were the wireless transmission of power, a directed electric force weapon, and ionic flying machines.

Sources:

PBS resources

Wikipedia entry

Margaret Cheney, Tesla: Man Out of Time

Mark Seifer, Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla (and David Hatcher Childress), Fantastic Inventions of Nikola Tesla

James Naismith

2009-03-12T08:06:00.000-04:00

Today we celebrate James Naismith (1861-1939) for the wealth created as a result of his famous invention - the game of basketball.

Dr. Naismith was born in Canada and attended McGill University in Montreal. It was his job as an physical education director at the university, and later at the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts, that inspired him, in 1891, to invent a game that could be played indoors with a limited number of players. His first "court" lacked boundaries and made use of peach baskets as goals and soccer balls. The first formal rules of the game were established in 1892. The hammock-style goals, similar to what we know today, were invented a year later.

Naismith move to Denver, Co where he earned a medical degree in 1898. Shortly thereafter, he accepted a faculty position at Kansas University at Lawrence where he remained until his death. Of Naismith's accomplishments and thoughts on the game, The Kansas State Historical Society explains:

Dr. Naismith regarded his invention of the game as just an episode in a long career devoted to the improvement of the physical condition of succeeding generations. He thought wrestling was better exercise than basketball and one reporter said he drew as much pleasure from watching gymnasts as he did from K.U. basketball. When one of his former students, Forrest "Phog" Allen, told him he was going to Baker University to coach basketball Naismith said, "Why, basketball is just a game to play. It doesn't need a coach."

In 1936, the first year basketball was included in Olympic competition, money was raised to send Naismith to Berlin so that he could see his game played internationally. When he returned he commented that seeing the game played by many nations was the greatest compensation he could have received for his invention.

Dr. Naismith's basketball rules took one page and less than 600 words. Today, there are more than 30,000 words in the rules. The game is far more complicated than when Naismith hung up the peach baskets in Springfield in 1891.

Sources:

Naismith at About.com
Wikipedia
KSKS.org

Adolf "Adi" Dassler

2009-03-11T08:00:00.001-04:00

I return to the subject of footwear for today's hero: Adolf "Adi" Dassler, the founder of adidas. Adidas is today a ubiquitous brand of shoes and apparel, but its origins are found in the small laundromat of a German cobbler's wife.

Adi Dassler was one of the cobbler's sons. He was quiet, deliberate, and passionate about sports, particularly soccer. In the 1920's, Adi joined with his brother Rudolph to fashion and sell shoes to athletes, forming Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik. Adi was the designer while Rudi handled marketing. Their first shoes were made for runners but they branched out to make shoes for soccer players within five years. The Dassler shoes were first worn by Olympians in 1928; Jesse Owens won gold medals in their shoes eight years later. Of course, being a German manufacturer, the Dassler factory supplied the German military with shoes during the Second World War. Adi ran the factory while Rudolph was drafted into the army.

The war and differing political views seem to have strained irrevocably the brothers' relationship. In 1948 Rudolph started his own plant across the river in the same town (his company would become Puma). Adi then renamed the original enterprise "adidas" and didn't skip a beat. The brothers' companies competed vigorously for sponsorships with German athletes, but adidas likely won the marketing war with the "Miracle of Bern." It was the 1954 World Cup and the underdog West Germans managed to defeat the Hungarian team while wearing adidas shoes. The team wasn't merely stylish with those stripes; they had an advantage on the rain-soaked turf with removable studs on their regular shoes.

The removable studs were Adi Dassler's innovative idea. The Miracle endeared the company to Germans and soccer fans around the world and merchants everywhere demanded the adidas shoes. Since then adidas has progressed from making quality, stylish shoes to become a marketing master. They've sponsored hundreds of notable athletes such as Spitz, Zidane, and Agassi, and inspired copycat designs by popular shoemakers. On a personal note, I'm happy to say that I've purchased a couple of pairs of adidas shoes myself. Because of his contribution to the worlds of sport and footwear, Adi Dassler is today's Hero of Capitalism.

Adi Dassler Wikipedia entry
About.com entry
The History of Adidas and Puma (Newsweek)

A tale of three stripes and family strife (ESPN)

German feud inspires boot town (BBC)
Rediff News profile

Sneaker Wars - book about the Dassler brothers

Joseph Rosefield

2009-03-10T09:00:00.000-04:00

Today we honor Joseph Rosefield for creating non-separating peanut butter. Though Rosefield did not create peanut butter, he created peanut butter as we know it. Before his unique method of making peanut butter, the oil would separate from the peanut "grit." The trick was to use hydrogenated peanut oil. Also, this process meant that peanut butter lasted longer, sometimes for more than a year.

Rosefield's company, The Rosefield Packing Co., helped packed brands like Peter Pan and Skippy Peanut Butter. Some places even give Rosefield Packing Co. credit for the first wide mouth peanut butter jar.

It is for Rosefield's creation of modern peanut butter that we honor him today. He created wealth for himself, many companies and all peanut butter lovers in the world!

Sources:
Joseph Rosefield on Wikipedia
Joseph Rosefield in Time
Joseph Rosefield on Skippy's Website

Here is a video about how peanut butter is made:

Al Copeland

2009-03-09T09:00:00.002-04:00

Al Copeland (1944-2008) may seem like an unusual hero of capitalism. His famous company, Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits, had to file for bankruptcy under his leadership and he is often criticized for his outlandish lifestyle. However, Copeland created wealth for large numbers of people throughout his lifetime by using his own skill and talent.

Copeland was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He took this regions idea of spicy food and in 1972 added it to his chicken recipe to help his young restaurant Popeyes become a favorite in Louisiana. In 1976, Copeland began franchising his restaurant. Over the next 10 years, 500 outlets were added and an additional 200 outlets were added later. By end of the 1980s, he owned or franchised over 800 restaurants.

Popeyes was the third largest chicken fried chain when Copeland decided to borrow heavily and purchased the second largest chicken fried chain, Church's Chicken. Shortly after acquiring the new chain the debt became too large and Copeland filed for bankruptcy.

Copeland lost Popeyes in the bankruptcy, but he did keep rights to many of the company's recipies and products. He began producing the spices in his plant, Diversified Foods and Seasonings. Copeland also owned multiple upscale restaurants, three hotels, and improv comedy clubs.

He was also known for his power boat racing teams, extravagant weddings, multiple divorces, and his large Christmas light displays. While known for his brash style, Copeland also used his wealth to enhance education programs, giving generously to Louisiana State University, Delgado Community College, and the National Food Service Institute.

Copeland was unsuccessful in a major business risk he took, but he did found a large, successful business. He rebounded after facing bankruptcy and continued to operate ate many successful businesses. Copeland is an example of both the successes and failures experienced in capitalism and he is a great example of the benefits of capitalism. Popeyes and Copeland's other companies have created jobs, opportunities, and good food for people since the 1970s and continue to do so today.

Sources:
New York Times: Al Copeland, a Restaurateur Known for Spice and Speed, Dies at 64
Wikipedia: Al Copeland

Bill Veeck

2009-03-06T08:01:00.000-05:00

Before baseball was a multi-billion dollar industry, and before national television deals and internet gamecasts provided hundreds of millions of dollars to baseball’s owners, the lifeblood of a baseball franchise was the revenue generated by fans showing up at the park. No one did a better job of getting fans to the ballpark than Bill Veeck.

Veeck owned three different Major League Baseball franchises from the 1940’s through his death in 1984, and the one common thread of all of these organizations was that their promotions were outrageous. Veeck was the person who arranged for 3 foot, seven inch Eddie Gaedel to appear as a pinch hitter for his St. Louis Browns. Other gimmicks Veeck used to attract fans included Grandstand Manager’s Day – where he allowed fans to plot strategy with the team’s manager through the use of cards distributed to a specific section, and the significantly less successful Disco Demolition Night – in which he invited fans to burn their disco records on the field… which led to a riot that caused his team to forfeit the game.

But not all of Veeck ideas were passing gimmicks (or dangerous flops). He integrated the American League, by signing Larry Doby to be the AL’s first black player, he introduced the concept of putting player’s names on the backs of their jerseys so the fans could more easily identify them and he introduced the “exploding scoreboard,” a scoreboard with electronic effects that were unleashed when the home team hit a home run. Fireworks displays at the ballpark and fan-appreciation nights are also Veeck originals.

But regardless of how successful his ideas were in the long run, Veeck was a genius at getting fans into the stadium. In 1948, over 2.6 million fans paid to watch Veeck’s Cleveland Indians, a staggering total for that time period, and better than several franchises can manage today.

Veeck’s spirit continues in baseball today through his son Mike, who is part owner of several minor league franchises, including the Charleston Riverdogs. The Riverdogs have gained notoriety for putting on unique promotions like “Nobody Night,” where fans were asked not to enter the park until after the 5th inning, so that the team could set a record for the lowest attendance.

More on Veeck

Malcom McLean

2009-03-05T10:00:00.003-05:00

Malcom McLean is a classic story of an American capitalist hero. He rose from humble beginnings as a truck driver to become someone who literally helped change the world. The Baltimore Sun ranked him "next to Robert Fulton as the greatest revolutionary in the history of maritime trade." Forbes called him "one of the few men who changed the world."

For all of the dramatic influence of his career and his accomplishments, McLean is almost unknown to most Americans. Yet the whole world has felt the changes he helped bring to international trade. It would be no mistake to say that without McLean's contributions, "globalization" would not be the same as what we know it to be today.

McLean began in the Great Depression as a co-owner and driver for McLean Trucking Co., a North Carolina firm that specialized in driving tobacco up and down the East Coast. The company would eventually become the second largest trucking concern in the United States. McLean used numerous innovations to facilitate the growth of his trucking company. He converted to diesel before his competitors, he used company accounts at preferred gas stations to negotiate discounts, he built an automated terminal in Winston-Salem, NC, and he deftly maneuvered around onerous ICC regulations to achieve massive efficiencies in the trucking business.

When McLean faced increasing transit times due to traffic congestion in the 1950s, he began thinking about a way to get his trucks loaded onto coastal shipping vessels to have them bypass the busiest sections of his routes. He figured that by loading a loaded truck onto a ship, say from New Orleans to New York, he could achieve a cost reduction by not having to unpack and repack it at each point. After much trial and error, McLean and his engineers came up with the forerunner of the modern shipping container—a uniform size, prepackaged, interchangeable freight package that could be loaded onto ships, trains, and trucks with ease.

As he began to perfect the containers themselves and to build the necessary infrastructure, McLean also had to fight the rent-seeking behavior of rail shippers and other maritime shippers, as well as continued harassment from the ICC and the Justice Department's Antitrust division. In the end, the concept caught on and the shipping world adopted McLean's idea. Although others had created some form of shipping containers before McLean, it was his innovations in standardization, in adopting a uniform business model, and in promoting the concept that ultimately made containerized shipping the force that it is today. He hired the engineers who invented the crucial components of the containers themselves, the massive cranes that load and unload the container ships, and the computers and programs that help facilitate the whole process.

Before McLean, the biggest expense in intercontinental trans-oceanic trade was the massive expense and duration involved in loading and unloading cargo by the piece (actual at-sea transit was only 15% of total cost). Longshoremen had been a frequent bottleneck with worldwide labor disputes and irregular working conditions. Shipping companies themselves had to struggle to load and unload ships in the proper order and with the cargo in the right compartments (some refrigerated, some with hazardous material, some with more or less ballast weight). McLean's standardized container revolution made it possible to speed up and reduce the cost of loading and unloading maritime ships dramatically. As a result of this innovation, Americans today import four to five times as many varieties of goods as they did in the 1970s. The container revolution also helped Asian economies to boom and grow as suppliers of goods for America and Europe.

For all of his contributions to this globalization revolution, McLean is today's hero of capitalism.

Sources:

Marc Levinson, The Box

Wikipedia entry

Forbes excerpt of Levinson's The Box

Driver's Magazine profile

Patrick Meiering

2009-03-04T08:04:00.000-05:00

Today we celebrate an entrepreneur who's product has succeeded in raising the standard of living - for our pets. Patrick Meiering's official title is "Head Bone Maker." He acquired this title after founding, in 1995, Zuke's - a company that manufactures and distributes "healthy treats for active [pets]."

As the story goes, Zuke's was founded "during a hike in the mountains of Durango, CO" when Patrick stopped for a break and a refreshing energy bar and his "tired chocolate lab named Zuke asked, 'Where's my energy bar?' He had a point," Patrick attests, "so we responded with an innovative line of super-healthy, pet-pleasing treats and edible chews." (see full story)

As a fellow pet lover - My girlfriend and I have two Labradors, Charlie (chocolate) and Ellie (black) - I fully appreciate Patrick's ambition to develop a product that promotes a healthy lifestyle for our greatest companions.

**This post was inspired by Ellie - today is her birthday, she's 8 (and loves the Hip Action treats).

Source:

www.Zukes.com

Howard Schultz

2009-03-03T08:00:00.001-05:00

Today's hero is Howard Schultz, CEO and founder of the modern-day Starbucks. Starbucks started out in early 1970's Seattle as a coffee roaster and retailer for enthusiasts. Schultz managed to land a marketing job with the company in 1982 after he came across them in his job as an appliance salesman. Schultz was inspired by Italian-style espresso bars and wanted Starbucks to offer coffee drinks, but the company's founders weren't interested. After starting his own chain of cafes, Schultz raised money to buy out the owners of Starbucks and consolidated his stores under the Starbucks name. His concept was, risking understatement, very successful.

Starbucks caught on quickly in the US and internationally. While espresso drinking has long been popular in southern Europe, Latin America, and various urban centers, the emergence of Starbucks has changed popular coffee consumption around the world. First, Starbucks helped to internationalize the espresso. Coffee houses spread from urban to the suburban. From the above-mentioned regions to areas without a coffee tradition. Snobs of every variety like to chide Starbucks for being commoditized and pedestrian, but what they often forget is that Starbucks raised the floor for everyone. Everyday Americans drink better coffee, and more coffee from coffee shops, than they did twenty years ago. The increased interest in espresso has been a boon to the independent coffee shops, but I imagine some of those shops would lose their cachet admitting as much.

Starbucks has been around long enough to experience growing pains as well as over-reach, and Schultz will be the first to say that the chain lost its edge as stores appeared on every corner. But that doesn't matter for this purpose of honoring an innovator. Many commercial chains come and go, but Starbucks has already left a mark worth noting. You don't have to like Starbucks to join me in appreciating Howard Schultz's role in developing coffee culture, particularly in the United States.

Wikipedia Entry
BusinessWeek Profile
Condé Nast Portfolio Profile
Slate.com on Starbucks and Independent Coffee Shops
Starbucks Company History

Dambisa Moyo

2009-03-02T09:00:00.002-05:00

Today we honor Dambis Moyo for her creating wealth with her books and fighting for Capitalism in Africa. Moyo has written "Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is Another Way for Africa" as a follow up to her first book, "Dead Aid: Destroying the Biggest Global Myth of Our Time." See the links below for more information on these. Beyond all of this, Mayo works closely with several charities in her ongoing fight to raise the standards of living in Africa.

Moyo was born in Zambia. She holds a Phd and masters in Economics as well as an MBA. She is very accomplished in the world of finance and obviously has a heart for her home continent. In her interview in the NY Times she points out the ongoing hypocrisy of the West's attempt to "help" Africa. Moyo points out that she was the only African in the room during the World Economic Forum's party for Africa. Moyo argues that the aid from the West has kept Africa in poverty. Moyo's concluding quote from the article is powerful:

"I wish we questioned the aid model as much as we are questioning the capitalism model. Sometimes the most generous thing you can do is just say no."

Moyo continues her fight against current aid tactics aimed at Africa and advocates microfinance and solutions driven from within countries... not from foreigners. By publishing her books and standing up for Capitalism, Mayo generates wealth for herself, her publisher(s) and hopefully for her country.

A special thanks to "The Dangerous Economist" for the tip!

Sources:
Dambisa Moyo's Official Page
Dambisa Moyo on Wiki
"Questions for Dambis Moyo" in NY Times
Dambisa Moyo's books on Amazon

Here is Dambisa Moyo on a newscast interview:

Paul Newman

2009-02-27T09:50:00.003-05:00

Paul Newman will always be best known for his work as an actor. But since 1982, he also made his mark as an entrepreneur with his Newman’s Own line of food products. A company that started as a joke between two friends, and never expected to turn a profit, has turned into a fixture in grocery stores around the country. Newman’s Own finds its success from accessing a niche market that, to that time, had been under-serviced. The food products they provide are created with organic ingredients – a strategy which hardly seems revolutionary today, but in the 1980s, was somewhat novel.

Another part of the Newman’s hook was the notion that buying into the Newman’s name would mean that you were contributing to a charity. The novelty of this approach certainly drew some customers in, just as the organic ingredients did. Starting with salad dressing and branching out to a variety of foods (including popcorn…I seem to have popcorn on the brain these days), Newman’s Own generated over $250 million in profits in its first two and a half decades.

What makes Newman unique among entrepreneurs is that he then donated all of that wealth to charity. So although Newman was creating wealth, he was not creating it for himself, instead giving it directly to others. Capitalism is often associated with greed, but as you scroll through the entries in this blog, take note of how many of the known capitalists are also well-known philanthropists. This is not just a coincidence, is it?

The Story of Newman's Own

J.R. Simplot

2009-02-26T10:00:00.003-05:00

J. R. Simplot is a quintessential example of the American success story. He was born in Iowa and grew up in a log cabin with a sod roof. He dropped out of school at 14, went to work for himself, and seized every opportunity to create more wealth. When he died in 2008, he was the 89th richest American, worth over $3 billion and the owner of the most deeded land in the United States.

At age 14, he founded the Simplot company in Idaho with one simple potato-sorter. He quickly grew from the local boy who sorted potatoes to the young tycoon who had an empire. Eventually, he hired the food researcher, Ray Dunlap, that convinced Simplot he could make the first commercially viable frozen french fry. When he made a handshake deal with Ray Kroc, Simplot potatoes became a vital part of the new McDonald's empire.

Simplot did not rest on his potato business. He later developed businesses to sell fertilizer, oil, animal feed, cattle, and other agricultural products. Then he began developing ski resorts around the world. He invested the key capital that helped Micron Technologies (makers of the computer memory that has powered the Internet revolution) get off the ground.

Like many other capitalist heroes and unique American success stories, Simplot had always been known for his no-nonsense, down-to-earth attitude and his eye for a good investment.

Sources:

Forbes obituary

Wikipedia entry on J.R. Simplot

Interview in Esquire

Obituary in Idaho Statesman

Obituary in New York Times

Ludwig von Mises

2009-02-25T08:22:00.001-05:00

Today we celebrate Ludwig von Mises for his life-long defense of capitalism.

Mises was born September 29, 1881 in Lemberg, Austria. As a young student at the University of Vienna, Mises discovered what he would spend the rest of his life teaching and defending: the importance of a free-market economy.

Former student and fellow Austrian economist, Murray Rothbard, described Mises:

One of the most notable economists and social philosophers of the twentieth century, Ludwig von Mises, in the course of a long and highly productive life, developed an integrated, deductive science of economics based on the fundamental axiom that individual human beings act purposively to achieve desired goals. ...Mises concluded that the only viable economic policy for the human race was a policy of unrestricted laissez-faire, of free markets and the unhampered exercise of the right of private property, with government strictly limited to the defense of person and property within its territorial area.

For Mises was able to demonstrate (a) that the expansion of free markets, the division of labor, and private capital investment is the only possible path to the prosperity and flourishing of the human race; (b) that socialism would be disastrous for a modern economy because the absence of private ownership of land and capital goods prevents any sort of rational pricing, or estimate of costs, and (c) that government intervention, in addition to hampering and crippling the market, would prove counter-productive and cumulative, leading inevitably to socialism unless the entire tissue of interventions was repealed.

Mises' work concerning the effects of government intervention extended to monetary theory. In fact, Mises and a fellow Austrian economist, Friedrich Hayek, were of the few economists of the day to predict the crash of 1929 and subsequent depression.

For more on Ludwig von Mises, his ideas, and discussion of the relevance of his theory today, follow the sources and additional links below.

Sources:

Mises.org (biography)
Wikipedia

Links
Blog: The Austrian Economists
Blog: Ludwig von Mises Institute
Mises'works (Newschool.edu)
EconLib.org

Jean Nidetch

2009-02-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

Today we honor Jean Nidetch (born 1923) for taking a simple idea and creating vast wealth through the creation of Weight Watchers. As an overweight Brooklyn housewife, Nidetch found that the only thing that helped her stay motivated to keep watching her weight was a support group of friends. She took this simple concept and turned it into a company that is a global phenomena.

In 1963, Nidetch took her idea to the masses. Several websites claim that Nidetch's first meeting in Queens, NY overwhelmed her with more than 400 people showing up without formal advertising. In less than a decade, Weight Watchers had over 102 franchises throughout the world. During the 1960s, Nidetch started marketing food through Weight Watchers as well. This helped expand Weight Watchers from just a support group to a highly recognizable brand name.

In the late 1970s, Weight Watchers was bought out by the Heinz company, which still produces much of the prepacked food under the Weight Watchers brand. In 2001, Weight Watchers went public and trades at the New York Stock Exchange. Today Weight Watchers has a market cap of just under $2 Billion and has a worldwide presence.

We honor Jean Nidetch for taking a simple idea and turning it into great wealth for many people. With the creation of Weight Watchers, she helped generate monetary wealth and the immeasureable wealth of people achieving their goal weights.

Jean Nidetch on Wikipedia
Weight Watchers
Weight Watchers History
Yahoo Finance Information for Weight Watchers

Dana White and Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta

2009-02-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

Today we honor Dana White and Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta for their leadership and innovation in making the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) a mainstream, wealth-creating powerhouse. UFC is, in the words of the UFC website, "The entity of the UFC [Ultimate Fighting Championship] is the world’s leading mixed martial arts sports association..." Today's Heroes took over UFC in January 2001. Prior to this, UFC was a fledgling, law-skirting entity that John McCain (yes, that John McCain) sought to outlaw in all 50 states. As you'll see below, White and Fertittas took UFC to another level.

To understand the contributions of White and the Fertittas, one must understand that the orgins of UFC are clouded with government censorship. Intially, in UFC there were almost no rules; including no weight classes or divisions. Let me be clear, this is not prowrestling. UFC is comprised of actual fighters from different disciplines. Many people called for the UFC matches to be disbanded because of the violence. Over time, there became more rules, including weight classes. Some of the contraversy died down.

The Fertittas bought UFC with their company Zuffa and made White the President. When White and the Fertittas took over in 2001, they began to get state commision sanctioning, which gave the sport some legtimacy. Under their watch, UFC was showcased on cable pay-per-views and other cable outlets, like Fox Sports and Spike TV. White's vision for UFC is to take the fights to the masses:

If you take four street corners, and on one they are playing baseball, on another they are playing basketball and on the other, street hockey. On the fourth corner, a fight breaks out. Where does the crowd go? They all go to the fight.

Today we honor Dana White, Frank Fertitta, and Lorenzo Fertitta for their direction and innovations that made UFC a wealth creating entity.

Sources:
UFC FAQ
UFC on Wikipedia
Zuffa LLC on Wikipedia
Dana White Quotes

Dana White Interview

Luther Burbank

2009-02-20T09:00:00.006-05:00

Luther Burbank (1849-1926) was a botanist and horticulturist who developed over 800 strains and varieties of new plants, the most famous being the Russet Burbank potato, commonly called the Idaho potato.

Burbank only had a elementary school education, but was an avid reader. After reading Charles Darwin's The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication, he began crossbreeding experiments on plants on a small farm in Massachusetts. Some of his more successful crossbreeds include the Fire Poppy, the Freestone peach, the Santa Rose plum, and the July Elberta peach.

The Burbank potato was developed in the early 1870s. Burbank sold the rights to the potato and traveled to his new home in California and continued to breed new variaties of plants.

The Russet Burbank potato was exported to help Ireland recover from the potato blight. His potato is also the sole source of potato in McDonald's french fries. Though many other horticulturists have tried to create an improved potato, Burbank's remains the most popular.

In 1921, Burbank wrote the book, How Plants Are Treated to Work for Man. This book as well as his other work are credited with helping in the creation of the Plant Patent Act in 1930. This act made new varieties of plants patentable for the first time. Burbank was issued 16 Plant Patents posthumously.

Burbank started a new trend of innovation in plant breeding. Today, horticulturists and bio-engineers continue working on developing new plant breeding.

Sources:
MIT Inventor of the Week: Luther Burbank
Wikipedia: Luther Burbank

Orville Redenbacher

2009-02-19T09:12:00.003-05:00

Orville Redenbacher is the first name in popcorn. He began growing his own popping corn at the age of 12. The money he made from this small business was enough to send him to college. After college, he actually made his fortune in fertilizer, but continually worked on developing a hybrid version of corn that was ideal for popping. By the early 1970’s, his local business had gained enough notoriety that he began to sell the popcorn out of grocery stores. In 1972, Redenbacher first appeared in a national television ad, promoting his “lighter, fluffier” version of popcorn, and his name soon because synonymous with popcorn.

He sold the company to Hunt-Wesson in 1976, but remained on as spokesman for his brand until his death in 1995. Popcorn was an obsession for Redenbacher, who, through Hunt-Wesson, introduced flavored popcorns starting in the late 1980’s, including such memorable favorites as chili and barbeque. The Redenbacher brand remained an innovator throughout the decade, introducing the first stable microwavable popcorn in 1983 and a microwavable light popcorn in 1989. Hunt-Wesson was acquired by Con-Agra Foods in 1990.

From humble beginnings on the family farm in Indiana, Redenbacher combined his passion for innovation and some savvy marketing to develop a brand of popcorn that has been making movies more enjoyable for decades. For all this, I’ll even forgive him for those creepy posthumous commercials they made in the late 1990’s.

Still marketing the man

Frederic Tudor

2009-02-18T10:00:00.006-05:00

In the first years of the nineteenth century, Frederic Tudor pursued what everyone thought was a crazy idea—he believed he could make money by selling ice to people in tropical locations. Although people who lived in high altitude or in northern latitudes had cut ice from frozen lakes, ponds, and mountaintops for centuries, no one had ever thought to transport the ice to distant locations, especially if that transportation involved ocean-going vessels and locations where the ice could melt within a day due to high temperature. Frederic Tudor committed himself to proving that it could be done, not just as a stunt, but as a way of making himself rich. With capitalist ingenuity and years of struggle, he succeeded and became a leading businessman in nineteenth-century America.

Starting in 1806, Tudor and his associates began carrying ice in the holds of sailing vessels from New England to the Caribbean. Though he would spend the next few years in and out of debtor's prison and waiting out the American Embargo on the eve of the War of 1812, Tudor eventually began making profits in the 1810s. He was also able to carry fresh tropical fruits back to Boston without spoilage, an unheard of feat in his time. By the 1830s, he and his company began shipping ice to the British in Calcutta, India, some 16,000 miles away and a four month long trip. Due to Tudor's innovations in packaging and insulation, the 180 tons he shipped only lost 80, leaving him a lucrative remainder to sell in summertime India.

By the time he died in 1864, Tudor witnessed an explosion in the ice trade. He had viable competitors and the world came to depend on ice harvested from frozen American lakes and shipped to the far corners of the earth. At one point before the Civil War, the value of American ice exports was second only to cotton. The trade persisted into the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when electric refrigeration became a better option.

Tudor's story is

Sources:

Gavin Weightman, The Frozen Water Trade

Carl Seaburg and Stanley Paterson, Ice King: Frederic Tudor and His Circle

(excerpt of Ice King on Harvard Business School)

Wikipedia entry on Tudor

Profile on IceHarvestingUSA.com

Milton S. Hershey

2009-02-17T08:23:00.000-05:00

Today we honor Milton Hershey (1857-1945) for his contribution to chocolate lovers world-wide.

Milton Hershey was born in rural central Pennsylvania. He received little formal education, but as a teenager Milton served as an apprentice to a local confectioner. Unfortunately, Hershey's attempts at the candy business following his apprenticeship, each ended in failure. It was not until he moved to Denver, Co, where he met another confectioner who taught him the secrets of caramels, that Hershey was able to gain ground in the business.

After failed attempts in both Philadelphia and New York, Hershey returned to Lancaster, Pa., better educated in candy making, ready to start the Lancaster Carmel Co. In a short time, Hershey held clients world-wide.

While the Lancaster Carmel Co. proved extremely successful, Hershey's most famous product had not yet hit the market and wouldn't for over a decade - Hershey's chocolate. In 1893, while visiting the World's Fair in Chicago, Hershey purchased equipment to produce chocolate. His initial intentions were to produce enough simply to cover his caramels, but after finding a much larger demand for chocolate, he decided to concentrate solely on chocolate recipes.

In 1900, Hershey sold the Lancaster Carmel Co. - for $1 million (1900 money) - and began his new venture, the Hershey Chocolate Company. In 1903, Hershey began construction on his now world-famous chocolate factory in his birthplace, Dewey Township - now Hershey, Pa. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Hershey's quest is an excellent example of social benefit as a result of self-interest. Prior to Hershey, European producers maintained the market for chocolates with heavily guarded recipes and luxurious prices. With a lot of effort and mass production, Hershey changed all of that. He created a recipe that consumers could easily enjoy and afford.

Sources:

Hersheys.com
Wikipedia
Hersheypa.com (picture)