10 Non-Tech Founders Who Started Successful Tech Companies

If you can honestly tell yourself that you have never day-dreamed about winning a big prize money, receiving an inheritance from a distant relative or landing the next dream big contract for your company, you’re probably lying to yourself. The truth be told, most dreams never really turn into reality unless you focus on them daily, and plan and visualize how you’ll turn the fantasy into reality.

We all want to know how the founders of Google, Yahoo, and Facebook did it. Where do those big ideas come from and how could we put ourselves in the position to uncover the next million-dollar idea? What’s important to remember is that finding breakthrough ideas is really one of the secrets to winning in business even if you lack an appropriate technology background.

Consider too that innovative ideas are not confined to products but could be a process, business model or management invention. Transforming ideas into economic opportunities is the crux of entrepreneurship. Starting a business is never easy. Many give up as soon as they run into unfamiliar problems. But for those with staying power, the business environment gradually opens up and reveals its secrets.

Once you know how the business system works, what is real and what is false, the business can provide you with returns on your investment that rival some of the highest. Be warned though, running a successful technology company is for truly the adventurous entrepreneurs. These 10 founders prove you don’t have to be technical to start a successful tech company.

1. Pandora: Tim Westergren

One of the richest sources of new business opportunity is an unexpected success. This is what happens when, after a period of tinkering you wake up one day and realize that you have created something that will be of huge economic value. This is exactly what happened to Tim Westergren, founder of Pandora Internet Radio.

Although lacking a technical background, Westergren, later on, worked as a feature film composer. He had to watch films complete with dialogue and sound effects without music. He was required to determine the best musical fit for the film and recommend it to the film’s director.

Having listened to many CD’s, he built a “musicological profile” that suited the director’s preferences. He then realized that he understood their preferences and taste.

It was at this point that he soon thought that this could be a good business idea that required to be implemented. He went on to create an entire taxonomy of musical attributes that could be codified into a technological system. He together with Jon Kraft later on secured a funding for the now what they called the Music Genome Project.

A project that was thought up by Pandora’s co-founder Westergren. It identified various characteristics of music in order for the people to create personalized radio stations with only the music that they liked. In March 2004 Westergren raised $9 Million and went on to make Pandora a reality. In November 2005 they launched their full free service to the public and it was a huge success. He stayed on with the company as the CEO. Pandora is now unbelievably worth $900 million in annual revenue with 81 million users.

125 Quotes From The World’s Greatest Successes That Fuel The Mind

The way to great success is not a secret. Or at least the way many people have become extremely successful is not a secret.

The most successful people in the history of the world, the men and women who have gone the furthest in a good direction, who have accomplished the most in some area, and those who have made the most money– they open their mind to everyone else and share the way they won the game of life on such an epic level.

They do not keep the mindset and methods of spectacular success a secret. If you want to be successful, don’t get your advice from people who claim to be experts on success. Get it from the source itself. Listen to the words of the people who have actually done it at the very utmost heights of human achievement.

Only listen to experts on success who have extensively studied the very most successful people in the world and distilled their wisdom down to the essential principles of self made achievement on a titanic, world historical scale. I draw the best of my advice on self made success from those great luminaries who have actually done it.

The following list of 125 quotes come from 10 of the great human beings to ever walk the earth in multiple different lines of human endeavor. If you read through these quotes slowly and carefully, and let them sink in, you will be transformed instantly into a better person. Your mind will conform to the truth about success as spoken by the people who know it best.

The effects will linger and you will have a really great next 48 hours to perhaps a week of really inspired vision and focused effort toward bettering your life. They will not, however, be permanent. You will still regress to your own attitudes about success and money that have been conditioned into your mind for years, and that have kept you from reaching your fullest potential.

If you want this list to be super effective and very powerful for you, bookmark it and come back once a week and reread it. If you do this without fail and read through this list of quotes on success slowly and carefully once a week, your mind will begin to permanently reorganize itself into the patterns that lead to outstanding, 1 in 10,000 levels of success in whatever path you have chosen.

Reading this every week will launch you to the top of your field in an amazingly short amount of time. I dare you to try it and see what happens.

7 Everyday People Who Made Their First Million

The following seven people on this list have a lot in common. They are all normal, every day people who started out middle class or lower and became millionaires by trying something different that they hadn’t tried before. They didn’t inherit their wealth. They didn’t buy a winning lottery ticket. They didn’t just get lucky. They were normal, every day people who tried something new and created an opportunity that made them millionaires. For some it took seven years to get there. Most on this list made it in less time than that.

Now these days a million dollars isn’t really as much money as it used to be, but it pretty much guarantees lifetime stability and above average levels of leisure and comfort for someone who manages it well and isn’t an impulsive spender. The average net worth for someone living in the United States aged 35 – 44 years is $30,000 if you count equity in their home. If you don’t count that, then it’s half that amount at around $14,000. So a net worth of a million is significantly above what most people are familiar with. Is it better to have a million dollars than $14,000, all other things being equal? Undoubtedly.

These seven people’s stories are full of object lessons for those aspiring to be self made millionaires. Some of them just tried something new and never would have guessed that it would eventually make them a millionaire. They didn’t make a whole lot of money right away, and could easily have quit, not realizing their success was right around the corner. Others set out intentionally to become self made and put deliberate planning into action, as well as risked time and a small sum of money to get started.

It’s important for anybody who is interested in becoming a self made millionaire to read about people who’ve done it to see that it’s very possible, and even marvel at how easy it can be for those who put the rubber to the road.

7 Crucial Rules for Decision-Making Backed by 10 Years of Neuroscience Research

Moran Cerf, a neuroscientist at Northwestern University has conducted research for more than 10 years on decision making in human beings. And the number one factor for human happiness and success is the people you choose to spend most of your time with. There are two main reasons Cerf believes the company you keep is the most important choice for long-term satisfaction.

First, he says that people only have a limited amount of energy for decision making every day. And many studies have concluded that everyone has a finite reserve of decision making mental energy. So, as you make decisions like what clothes to wear, where to eat and what music to listen to, you deplete these reserves. Cerf takes this first belief so seriously, he never mulls over menu options when he goes out to eat. He just orders whatever is second on the list of specials.

Second, Cerf says that people tend to overvalue the amount of happiness they get by making those choices. Many humans believe they can control their happiness by making the right choices, even the relatively minor ones. The problem with this lies in psychology. Although you may think you are rational, decision making is full of cognitive biases that cloud your rational judgement.

Cerf says one choice that has a profound impact on your happiness and level of control is who you choose to spend your time with. His has found that when two people are in each other’s presence, their brain waves start to synchronize. In fact, in high-resolution brain scans, they begin to look almost identical. However, this mirror neuron phenomenon is what allows people to empathize with and understand each other.

Your mind essentially assumes the form of the minds of those around you. So, this has incredibly relevant implications for the quality and trajectory of your life. If you need help making better decisions about who you spend your time with, here are seven rules to follow.

34 Best-Paying Occupations For 2019

Do you think that you need to go back to school for a degree and take on a tremendous amount of student loan debt in order to secure a high-paying job? Think again. With some ingenuity and development of personal leadership skills, you can get a high-paying job that may not require a degree. Read on to learn about the best-paying jobs in America.

 

Credit: imperva.com

There are numerous career paths to follow in the healthcare field.

1. Most of the Best-Paying Jobs Are in Healthcare

If you are looking for a stable career that will last over the long-term, the best place to start looking is in healthcare. People will always need healthcare, so you run little chance of your job becoming obsolete in the long-term. Additionally, healthcare jobs tend to be surprisingly stable over the years.

Healthcare jobs go far beyond being a doctor or nurse. Pharmacists and many technicians require much less training than an MD, but they still bring home sizeable salaries. In 2019, most of the 25 best-paying jobs, according to a survey by CNBC, were in healthcare.

40 of the Highest-Paid Celebrities in 2019

2019 isn’t over yet, but the top celebrities are raking in the cash! Through endorsements, tours, acting gigs, and other opportunities, the highest-paid celebrities are making serious money. Singers, actors, sports stars and influencers make up the list of the highest-paid celebs of the year. It’s crazy to think of one person earning hundreds of millions of dollars, but it happens. Talent, luck, and hard work have these celebrities making big bucks.

Many of these celebrities have several ways of earning income, leading to high profits. Songwriting and touring are major moneymakers for musicians. Sports stars rake in most of their money from endorsements. Media personalities use their talents to gain an audience and earn money. In the last twelve months, these stars have earned a total of $6.3 billion! Have you ever wondered which entertainers earn the most and how they make their money? Keep reading to learn more about the highest earners of 2019.

 

Credit: Entertainment Tonight

1. Taylor Swift

As of July 2019, Taylor Swift has earned more than $185 million! This pop star got her start in 2006 on the country music scene and has been a force in the music world ever since. Taylor Swift writes most of her own songs, which helps her earn a lot of money.

Her Reputation Tour in 2018 brought in over $266 million making it the highest-grossing United States tour ever. She signed a deal with Universal’s Republic Records and has an album coming out in August of 2019. This deal entitles her to proceeds from Universal’s sale of its $1 billion Spotify stake. Thanks to touring, releasing music, and endorsement deals, Taylor Swift is the top-earning celebrity.