The startup industry is a constantly running machine that has churned out some of the greatest businesses in the world adding value to the life of billions of people. However, behind all these startups, there have been persons who have made their dream turn into reality with their perseverance and hard work.

Here I mention seven of the most inspiring personalities that have pushed innumerable people to pursue their startup dreams –

1. Steve Jobs

Popularly known as the man behind the personal computer revolution, Steve Jobs is still one of the most influential figures for new startup founders. Steve Jobs was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple inc which is currently the top smartphone and personal computer company in the world. The Stanford commencement address by Steve Jobs is considered one of the most inspiring speeches for entrepreneurs.

2. Elon Musk

From building financial websites to building the first reusable rocket, Elon Musk has come a long way. Born and raised in South Africa, Elon was into programming and technology from an early age. Later he moved to the US and created ambitious startups like SpaceX and Tesla whose ideas were way ahead of time. Elon briefly became the richest person in the world recently and currently stands at the third position according to Forbes real-time billionaires list.

3. Jeff Bezos

Holding the title of the richest person in the world, Jeff Bezos left a well-paid job to build to run his online bookstore startup from his Garage. This online bookstore has now become a global e-commerce giant giving its services all around the world. Jeff also owns a space startup focused on space travel named Blue Origin. Additionally, the famous news outlet The Washington Post is also owned by him.

4. Sridhar Vembu

With a net worth of around $2.5 Billion, Sridhar Vembu owns a 88% stake in the popular customer management SaaS startup ZOHO. Sridhar has always been in the spotlight due to his different views. Zoho despite being shown a huge interest by investors hasn’t raised any money from outside. Further, the company operates from a small village of Mathalamparai in Tamil Nadu as part of the vision of Sridhar to bring software entities from Urban cities to rural areas.

5. Peter Thiel

One of the most influential venture capitalists in the world, Peter Theil was the co-founder of the digital payment solution PayPal along with Elon Musk. Further, he was also among the earliest investors in the popular social media company Facebook. He was ranked at number

 4 on the Forbes Midas List in the year 2014. In 2020, companies like Compass Pathways, Credit Karma, and Postmates have been listed on the stock market.

6. Ritesh Agarwal

Hailed as the second-youngest billionaire in the year 2020, Ritesh Agarwal is an Indian entrepreneur and the CEO of OYO rooms. Coming from humble beginnings, Ritesh started by selling sim cards earlier in his life. Afterward, he moved to Delhi but later dropped out and was selected for the Thiel Fellowship Program in 2013 through which he secured a grant of $100000 and eventually converted his startup into a billion-dollar business.

7. Richard Branson

Started with a magazine called “Student”, Richard Branson moved on to starting one of the biggest music chain record stores in the US. But his airline venture Virgin Atlantic was one of his biggest successes. Building on it further, Branson launched the Virgin Galactic which is focused on opening up space travel for normal people.