Business

In a season where those early decision acceptance letters have come from colleges, it’s worth reminding high school students and parents alike that a stellar high school record is not always a pre-requisite to success. I’ve long been interested in the entrepreneurial mind. In fact, I have interviewed over 400 CEOs, executives and entrepreneurs.

Did you know that in 2010 and 2011 three iconic American companies–Eastman Kodak, Radio Shack, and The New York Times–were removed from the S&P 500 Index.  Eastman Kodak was replaced by a cloud computing firm and The New York Times was replaced by Netflix.

For anyone who wonders if Apple can maintain its creative edge and remain on top without Steve Jobs Bill Frezza a fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and a Boston-based venture capitalist poses another simple question – Remember Polaroid?

With the recent passing of Apple’s Steve Jobs and from the interviews of a hundred entrepreneurs I have conducted I have been thinking a lot about entrepreneurs and the amazing contributions they make to our society.

According to the Small Business Administration 90% of the 21 million US businesses are family owned. Amazingly less than one third of these companies will transfer successfully to the second generation and only 15 percent will survive by the third. Why the low survival rate? Most of these businesses lack a succession plan or an exit plan.