Virgin founder and brand-building entrepreneur / 01
Richard Branson Built Virgin by Learning the Business in Public
He left school at sixteen, found customers before credentials, and learned to put specialists behind an unmistakable brand.
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Area of Study
Self-taught Business
Operating, selling and scaling — the practical MBA.
Business Stories
The Cheat Code to their successWendy's founder and restaurant operator / 02
Dave Thomas Learned the Restaurant Business One Shift at a Time
Before he became the face of Wendy's, he learned to cook, simplify menus, and make struggling restaurants work.
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McDonald's expansion architect / 03
Ray Kroc Saw a System Where Other Salesmen Saw a Customer
He did not invent McDonald's. He recognized that its operating system could become a national business.
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Ford Motor Company founder and manufacturing organizer / 04
Henry Ford Learned Machines Before He Learned Mass Production
A farm boy's mechanical education became a manufacturing revolution—but the revolution depended on a team.
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Steel industrialist and philanthropist / 05
Andrew Carnegie Turned Workplace Learning into an Industrial Empire
He learned to read signals, cultivate sponsors, and track costs—then applied those habits to an industry hungry for scale.
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