Have you ever wondered how some people can achieve great success at such an early age, or how do random individuals become influential entrepreneurs, i know i have. Well, Mark Zuckerberg once said “ I feel that the best companies are started not because the founder wanted a company but because the founder wanted to change the world”. So what did it take for Mark Zuckerberg to be a prominent entrepreneur, was it the passion to make a difference and create change in the world or was it some kind of other characteristics or power he had? Mark Zuckerberg is one of the most influential and accomplished people in our world today, this paper will explore his journey to success and the major events which shaped the person he is, and made him one of the youngest billionaire entrepreneurs of our time.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Early life
Zuckerberg was born in White Plains, New York on May 14, 1984, but was raised in a close by village called Dobbs Ferry, Mark grew up in a well-educated family, who were living an ample life, his father was a dentist and his mother was a psychiatrist, but after the birth of her children, she decided that she wanted to focus on raising her kids. Since a very young age Mark Zuckerberg fell in love with computers, his passion for computers and his innovation was evident even when he was 12 years old, when mark was 12 he created a messaging program called “Zucknet”, this program which a 12 year old made was actually used in his father’s practice and at home to communicate within each other, moreover when Mark used to meet up with some of his friends who were artistic, he would often create a game by using their drawings.
Zuckerberg’s parents hired David Newman a private computer tutor, to make sure that Mark’s skills nourishes even more, and they were right as this prodigy kid started taking graduate classes at Mercy college, which is not usually what kids in their teens do. But that wasn't the only thing he excelled in, when Mark was in Phillips Exeter Academy, he was the team captain of fencing, and he was skillful in literature, but his true passion shined, when Mark was still in School he created a music program “called Synapse” which caught the attention of Microsoft and AOL who immediately appreciated his talent and wanted him to join their companies even before he graduates from school.
However this was just the beginning of his many accomplishments, Mark went to Harvard University after finishing high school, and even at his time in Harvard his talents were noticeable, he created a program called CourseMatch which let students know which class do the people they know, are taking, and more importantly he was known to be the person behind the prank website Facemash. This was an important turning point for Zuckeberg’s life because at that time his fear of being expelled from the university, encouraged him to ask the girl he liked on a date, perhaps having the courage to ask the girl you like on a date isn't a turning point for a lot of people, however this speaks of his character, some people tend to let themselves down when something bad is about to happen, while others tend to use it to their advantage and shift it to become some what a positive experience , and that is exactly what Zuckerberg did. Zuckerberg said that when he saw Priscilla he told her “I’m going to get kicked out in three days, so we need to go on a date quickly.”
The Road to Zuckerberg’s Success & Struggles
The second and most important turning point of Mark Zuckerberg’s life was creating and launching “The Facebook" from his dorm room at Harvard, In 2004 Facebook was called “The Facebook” and Mark created it to be a website which connects people and allows them to share their information and profiles on the internet, and that was the beginning of his journey to success. Even though Zuckerberg did not graduate from Harvard but he managed to make his company one of the most successful companies in the world.
In 2005, Facebook had already more than 5.5 million users, and that was only the number of users who went to IVY league universities in the US, a year later and at the age of 22 this brilliant entrepreneur, became a millionaire, and right at the same time, the entrepreneur and the Winklevoss brothers and Divya Narendra (creators of Harvard Connection) had their dispute about the intellectual property of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg and the founder’s of Harvard connection came to the terms of settling the lawsuit for 65 million dollars a few years after. Despite the struggles Mark Zuckerberg faced with the lawsuit, his focus and attention of growing his business did not stop, in a short period of time huge companies such as, Yahoo, google, and Viacom offered Zuckerberg some impressive billion dollar offers to buy out the company, but his confidence in his company and his vision for the future were the reason Zuckerberg refused to sell.
By 2007, Facebook was valued at 15 billion, they sold 1.6% of their shares to Microsoft for 250 million dollars. Within 3 years Mark Zuckerberg was able to transform Facebook from an idea to a revenue generating business, his passion, determination and confidence in his potential were the reason why he had succeeded. In 2012 Facebook decided to make their first public offering and became the biggest internet IPO in history.
Giving back to the Society
Mark Zuckerberg’s wealth is estimated to be $73.1 billion in 2017, and while some people get greedy and loose themselves in their wealth, others appreciate their blessing and try to give back to the society, when Mark Zuckerberg did his speech at one of Harvard’s graduations he said “You see, my hope was never to build a company, but to make an impact” and everything that he did after he attained his fortune supports that, in 2010 Mark donated $100 million to help improve the education system in Newark, in New Jersey, a few months later he announced that he will be signing the “Giving Pledge”. By signing this pledge, Zuckerberg committed to give away 50% of his wealth, so he can reduce social problems and make a change in the world.
A few years later when Mark and his Wife were pregnant and they were about to welcome their first baby to the world, they decided to give 99% of their Facebook shares to charity, they wrote a letter for their daughter, explaining that what they wish is for their daughter to grow up in a better world, that’s why they decided to give majority of their shares of Facebook to doing good, because they wanted to help in making an impact on the lives of other people and because of their moral obligation for other generations. Mark also said in his letter that he aspires to advance human potential and promoting equality for future generations
Marks interest in prospering the lives of other people, is clear when it comes to his philanthropic efforts, even before creating the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Mark was known to donate money for causes such as improving education and curing diseases. After creating the charity Mark and his wife continued to do that, they focused on advancing human potential, improving health, education, energy and scientific research. Some of their initiatives in science include investing in medical research for curing diseases, or the Human Cell Atlas which aims to map and characterize all cells of the human body, other initiatives in education include empowering youth and guiding them for college and preparing for their careers.
Business Acquisitions
Perhaps Mark’s success and most of his wealth came from Facebook, however the entrepreneur knew that in order to succeed and leave an impact in the tech industry, he also needed to widen his horizon and invest in other companies. Throughout the years, whenever Mark saw that a company had potential he would invest in it or even buy it, some of his successful acquisitions which convey his vision for the tech industry include Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus VR, these three companies are all huge companies that changed the way people communicate and they’re probably used every second by millions of people.
When Mark was asked what are the traits that successful entrepreneurs share, he said “ Having a specific vision, being surrounded by motivated people and persistence”. He explained how focusing on the change that entrepreneurs want to achieve is key, and how successful entrepreneurs try to pinpoint the exact issue that they aim to solve. Mark also said that in order to succeed you will definitely need the help of others this is why he always surround himself with smart and successful people, being a leader is also understanding the talents and potentials of other people, no body has all the talents. Finally, the entrepreneur explained how a lot of things in life doesn't go the way we want them to, but when that happens what is important is being persistent and not giving up.