Entrepreneurs List

September 7, 2006 - Looking for an Ohio Entrepreneurs? Click here to learn about Mary Harris of Medina, inventor of the Banana Saver, or visit this really great site: www.lunchology.com

Click on the portraits or links below to learn more about each of these entrepreneurs. Additional entrepreneurial individuals can be found at http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/famousentrepreneurs/. We also recommend the website of Business First, which features a column on entrepreneurs.

Photo/Link	Entrepreneur	Company	Quick Facts
	James Cash Penney	JCPenney	Born in 1875 and raised in poverty, James Penny launched his career as an entrepreneur at age 8, when he invested in pigs which he later sold at a profit. In 1913 his chain of general stores was incorporated as the J.C. Penney Company.
	Bill Gates	Microsoft	Bill Gates discovered his interest in computer software at age 13. Together with his childhood friend Paul Allen, he founded Microsoft as a Junior in College in 1975.
	Oprah Winfrey	HARPO Productions	Oprah Winfrey was an avid reader growing up, and she began her broadcast career at the age of 17 when she was hired by WVOL in Nashville, Tennessee. Winfrey became nationally known for her role in the 1985 film The Color Purple, and her successful talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show.
	Wally Amos	Famous Amos Cookies	Wally Amos trained as a cook, but he also served in the Air Force, worked as a manager for the Saks Fifth Avenue department store, and represented entertainers such as the Supremes and Simon & Garfunkel as a talent agent before baking his first cookies in 1967.
	Mary Kay Ash	Mary Kay Comsetics	Mary Kay Ash began working in the 1930's, selling books and later Stanley Home Products, but was dismayed by the treatment of women in the workplace. In 1963, using the money she had saved, she opened Mary Kay Cosmetics.
	Bob Evans	Bob Evans Farms	Bob Evans began making sausage in 1948, when no one else could provide him with decent sausage to serve at his small diner. Demand for his product grew, and together with some friends, Evans began producing sausage full time in 1953. His first restaurant was opened in 1962.
	Nicholas Lambrinides	Skyline Chili	Nicholas Lambrinides emigrated to America from Greece, and opened his first restaurant in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1949. His signature menu item is made according to a secret family recipe. http://www.skylinechili.com/skyline_history.php
	Stephen Spinnelli, Jr.	American Oil Cange Corporations (Jiffy Lube)	Stephen Spinelli Jr. was part of a team of entrepreneurs that started the auto service chain Jiffy Lube. He later sold his company in order to devote time to teaching individuals to be entrepreneurs.
	Jim Grote	Donatos Pizza	Jim Grote founded Donato's Pizza in 1963 while he was a sophomore at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. http://www.donatos.com/about/about.asp
	John Schnatter	Papa John's Pizza	John Schnatter began selling pizzas out of a closet in his father's tavern in 1984. He was so successful that he was able to open his own store just a year later.
	Russell and Clara Stover	Russell Stover Candies	Russell and Clara Stover started out making ice cream in 1921, but a few years later they went into the candy-making business. Today Russell Stover Candies is the largest producer of boxed chocolates in the United States.
	Raymond Kroc	McDonald's	Ray Kroc orginally sold milkshake mixers. At the age of 53, he opened his first McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois.
www.what-fun.com	Susan Turnock	What Fun! Innovative Bath Products	Susan Turnock began creating custom soaps in her kitchen; her products are now sold in over 1500 stores in across the United States and internationally.