Ning is a web platform that allows users to create their own social networks similar to Facebook. It has grown much in popularity since its launch in 2004 by a particular serial entrepreneur. In a time when social networking is easily one of the most popular uses of people’s time when surfing the web, it’s no surprise to see outside the box businesses like Ning take off. For this and more we take a look at entrepreneur Marc Andreessen in the spotlight this week. We’ll look at just how he did it and highlight what lessons any upcoming entrepreneur can learn.
Summary:
Name: Marc Andreessen
Age: 38
Location: California
Claim to fame: Ning.com (Online platform where users can create their own social networks)
Initial cost: <$1000
How He Did It:
Marc Andreessen was born in Iowa and later moved to Wisconsin where he spent most of his youth. Andreessen attended the University of Illinois where he obtained a degree in Computer Science. Shortly after college he worked to develop an open-source browser that would work on any user’s machine called Mosaic. Mosaic quickly became the platform for his new business in California, which later changed its name to Netscape Navigator in 1994. Over the next several years, Netscape grew in popularity and was bought out by AOL in 1999 for $4.2 billion making Andreessen CTO. Marc would work on some smaller projects over the next few years before co-founding Ning.com in 2004. Ning is a social networking platform where users can come and create their own customized social network similar to Facebook or Myspace. The company has since taken off (currently ranked 126 in Alexa worldwide) with over $65 million in funding to match. Andreessen also serves on the boards of Facebook and eBay.
Lessons Learned:
- Don’t let failure stop you from trying new things. Failure is an opportunity to learn and move forward.
- Nothing happens over night. Most businesses take months or years to grow successfully.
- Invest the time and hard work needed to give your business the most possible likelihood of success
- Always have plans for the future. Never be content with things as they are now. Change!
- Reach out to like minded and spirited people to build partnerships along the way.
Did you miss last weeks spotlight? Check it out here: The Entrepreneur Spotlight: Pete Cashmore.
Be on the lookout for our next entrepreneur spotlight article in this ongoing series. In the meantime, be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you think about the success of this week’s entrepreneur and his entrepreneurship characteristics. Also, please let me know if you have an entrepreneur you would like to see featured here in the weeks to come.
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