Latest news with #SamWalton
Forbes
12 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
4 Timing Secrets That Fueled Billion-Dollar Venture Growth
Time to Takeoff: Get It Right! getty Most unicorn founders weren't first — they just mastered timing. These timing secrets fueled unicorn growth by helping entrepreneurs spot the right emerging trends early, act before takeoff, and use that narrow window to build the right strategy and skills to lead the industry. That's how Sam Walton beat Kmart, Jeff Bezos won over Borders, and Mark Zuckerberg overtook MySpace — without needing early venture capital and often beating those who had more capital. Here are 4 key timing secrets of Founder-CEOs who achieved rapid growth and market dominance. Just like ChatGPT, DeepSeek, and Mistral, unicorns are best launched when the industry is just emerging. The key to building a unicorn is entering the right emerging trend — for you — at the right time. This is after the industry starts and before it takes off and this time period has ranged from about 3 to 11 years ( • After the start because major trends are started by external factors – not by an entrepreneur. These factors can include disruptive technologies, new laws, and economic changes. • Before takeoff because it is difficult even for existing giants to catch up, as is demonstrated by Sears, Wards and the countless other giants crushed by upstart billion-dollar entrepreneurs. Nearly every billion-dollar entrepreneur took advantage of an emerging trend, including: • Big-box stores: Sam Walton (Walmart) and Dick Schulze (Best Buy). • Personal computers: Bill Gates (Microsoft) and Michael Dell (Dell) • Linking PCs: Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner (Cisco) • Internet 1.0: Jeff Bezos ( and Page and Brin (Google) • Internet 2.0: Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook/ Meta) • Internet 3.0: Travis Kalanick (Uber) and Brian Chesky (Airbnb). What can you do? Emerging trends often take 3 to 11 years to take off – but your window to enter is at the beginning, not after takeoff. The earlier you start, the more time you'll have to refine your strategy and build dominance. When you enter the trend is important. The winners are rarely first movers. They're usually first dominators. One of the key reasons why only about 11% of first movers led their industry ( is that first-to-market or even a product-market fit is often not enough. The winners are those who dominate, not those who rush. The ultimate winners are usually smart followers. In artificial intelligence, IBM was the first, but many other companies, including ChatGPT, seem to be leading. Examples of smart followers included Sam Walton in the big-box trend, Bill Gates in the personal computer trend, Steve Jobs in the iPod and iPhone trends, and Brian Chesky in the online trend ( Alex Karp noted that some in Europe are waiting for the right moment to get in on AI, and that they will rue their delay. His point – get in now or miss a major emerging trend. What can you do? If you are the first mover, keep pivoting to find the right strategy (see #3). If you are the smart mover, find the neglected segment that can be targeted by the emerging trend. Finding the right strategy is key because each emerging trend is different. Product-market fit gets you started. But domination requires the right combination of product, market, strategic group, sales driver, and unicorn-launch skills: • Walmart: Found his niche in rural locations by pivoting from small stores. • Gates: Found his edge with a strategic alliance with IBM by pivoting from writing programs. • Dell: Dominated by selling direct-to-consumer. • Bezos: Launched with books to dominate. • Chesky: Focused on helping landlords find guests and pivoted from guests. What can you do? Most unicorns didn't guess their way into dominance — they learned, pivoted, and refined until they found the dominant strategy. You may have to do so also. So be flexible to pivot and test to find the right strategy – this takes time. Unicorn-entrepreneurs rely on skills to grow from idea to unicorn. They do not rely on VCs or their hired CEOs. They learn both technical skills (or partner with someone who has them) and unicorn-launch skills. Gaston Taratuta didn't jump in blindly – he learned the skills to enter the emerging Internet trend by joining Universo Online in Brazil and then scaled Aleph into a billion-dollar company ( What can you do? Identify the unicorn-launch skills you lack. Then learn, test, and practice them before the trend takes off. ( MY TAKE: Timing isn't about being first. It's about being ready — with the right skills, strategy, and edge — before the trend takes off. Jump in when the trend begins, then use the runway to master your skills, evaluate your strategy, and position yourself to dominate when the trend takes off. Or better yet – be the leader who makes the trend take off. Learn how the top 125 billion-dollar entrepreneurs did it — often without VC. Read my other blogs on Forbes.
Forbes
02-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Explore Sam Walton's Legacy At The Newly Reopened Walmart Museum
Sam Walton's truck sits outside his first store in Bentonville, Arkansas, now the Walmart Museum, and harks backs to the time before his meteoric rise to Walmart fame. Kate Cousins Photography Courtesy of Visit Bentonville Full disclosure: I am not a museum person. Despite my age, I often see them through kids' eyes—as repositories for dusty relics and things of the past that have no relevance to my life today. But there is hope for me yet, as I discovered on a visit to Bentonville. There, in the main square, was a retro storefront that took me back to old TV shows, when shoppers would approach the counter with a list and the employee would do all the shopping, securing the items, bagging them, and adding the cost to the customer's account. I wandered in, curious about what I would find, and indeedy, it was like stepping back in time. The Walmart Museum is housed in the original Walton's 5&10 store owned by Sam Walton, who moved to Bentonville with his new wife in 1950 and called it his home until his death. Inside the door, you are greeted with an old-timey store selling vintage candy like hard lemon drops and Sugar Babies. Then you'll take a self-guided tour through the museum, learning the history of the Walton family and walking the timeline that illustrates the growth of Walmart. Kids of all ages learn about Sam Walton's legacy at the Walmart Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas. Drager Creative Courtesy of Visit Bentonville Displays and informational placards along the way are fascinating. Did you know Walton was the first to conceive of the idea of 'self-service shopping,' in which shoppers walk the aisles and select their own merchandise? Did you know that he commissioned a manufacturer to create a plastic hose to transform the expensive hula hoop (all the rage at the time) into an affordable toy for everyone? These are the trivia tidbits you'll enjoy as you make your way through the museum. It's truly inspiring to witness the innovations and entrepreneurship behind Walmart's stratospheric growth from the time the first store opened in 1962 until today. The company exploded in the 1970s after going public on the New York Stock Exchange, at the same time adopting the infamous slogan 'everyday low prices,' a genius marketing move during a hard-hitting recession. While all of this will impress you, you'll also find it relatable. Here's why. As you gaze at the display cases, you'll recognize most, if not all of the items, depending on your age. You'll see toys you played with as a kid and toys you purchased for your own kids. You'll recognize that old, loud hairdryer and that painful electric razor and every household item you've ever owned. The first floor is really a stroll through pop culture, and people of every generation can appreciate it. The timeline of Walmart's rise is so interesting, you'll find yourself reading every placard and remembering the good old days. Drager Creative Courtesy of Visit Bentonville The second floor transports you to the 21st century, and the exhibits cleverly reflect that. They incorporate technology and introduce interactive components that are a lot of fun. You'll also learn about Walmart's extensive philanthropic efforts, including working with Dolly Parton to raise many millions of dollars for communities in need. In one room meant to look like a studio, visitors can ask a hologram Sam Walton a question and get an answer, something that will likely go viral on Instagram once the word is out. Of course, much of the museum is dedicated to Sam Walton himself. You'll see his office, recreated as he left it, along with the old pickup truck he never traded in for a shinier model. Why would he? As he said, a sports car wouldn't carry his hunting dogs, guns, and fishing poles. Walton never adopted pretention, never put on airs. He became interchangeable with Bentonville, with hard work, with innovation, and with humility, and those lessons are pleasantly surprising takeaways from the Walmart Museum.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The State With The Most Sam's Club Warehouses
Sam's Club has stores in 44 of the 50 United States, so most Americans have the opportunity to shop there for things like the top finisher in customers' ranking of grocery store rotisserie chicken, or the Sam's Club items under $10 you need to try. But there's one state where you have the best chance of finding one of the popular membership warehouse club's locations, because it's packed with so many of them: Texas. The Lone Star state has a whopping 82 of Sam's Club's 601 total U.S. locations (including Puerto Rico), dozens ahead of second-place Florida's 45 stores, and California's third-most 29. Texas is also home to the top three cities with the most Sam's Clubs: Dallas and Houston with seven each, and San Antonio with six (via ScrapeHero). So why are there so many Sam's Club's in Texas? Bank robber Willie Sutton is famously reported to have said he robbed banks because that's where the money is, and Texas is where the people are. The state is second largest in the U.S. in both population, after California, and size, behind only Alaska. The South Central part of the country is also part of Sam's Club's history. The first location was opened by Walmart founder Sam Walton — the namesake "Sam" — just north of Texas in Midwest City, Oklahoma, in 1983 after he was inspired by Price Club. Additionally, the third store ever opened was in Dallas, and Sam's Club is owned by Walmart, which is headquartered in neighboring Arkansas. Read more: The Biggest Kirkland Signature Flops In Costco History Texas has a key role in Sam's Club's ambitious future plans as well. The company announced in April 2025 that it intends to open about 15 new stores a year and renovate all of its U.S. stores. The universal remodel will be based on the digital-focused renovation of a Grapevine, Texas, Sam's Club that reopened in 2024 after being damaged by a tornado two years earlier. Among the changes, checkout registers will be replaced with a "Scan & Go" app customers use as they shop, and items only available online will be displayed that shoppers can purchase by scanning a QR code. Sam's Club main competitors Costco and (to a lesser extent) BJ's Wholesale Club, also have plans for expansion. With 628 U.S. locations, Costco is larger than Sam's Club, but not by a lot, present in a total of 47 states. It has 143 stores in California, followed by Texas with 42 (nearly half of Sam's Club's presence in the Lone Star State). The two rivals both have their pluses and minuses, including 13 things Sam's Club does better than Costco. BJ's is more than half the size of the other two big warehouse sellers, with 274 stores concentrated in the eastern United States. Currently, the retailer has no locations in Texas, although recent plans announced that BJ's has set its sights on multiple locations in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, with a projected opening set for early 2026. However, the newcomer to the state will have the 82 already operating Sam's Club locations to contend with. For more food and drink goodness, join The Takeout's newsletter. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more! Read the original article on The Takeout.
India.com
23-05-2025
- Business
- India.com
Rs 30000000 earnings per minute! This family is making huge money by selling salt, turmeric, richer than Elon Musk; Mukesh Ambani, Adani are no match
(File) The Walton family which owns Walmart, the world's largest retail chain, has been named as the richest family on the planet, boasting a net worth of $432.4 billion, according to the' World's Richest Families 2024′ list by Bloomberg. For context, the combined wealth of the Walton family is more than that of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who has a net worth of $416.8 billion, while Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, two of India's wealthiest individuals, are also no match. Who founded Walmart? Walmart, which has today grown into the world's largest supermarket chain, was established Sam Walton, who started it as as a small-time store selling salt and turmeric at discounted prices. Born in a low-income household, Sam Walton began working from a very young age delivering milk and newspapers in his neighborhood. Later, Walton worked as a salesman at a retail store but was sacked by the manager after a short while. However, his brief stint at the store proved to be of immense help as he found out that there was a lot of profit to be gained in the salt and turmeric business. Soon, Sam Walton founded Walmart with the idea of attracting customers by offering discounts. Walton understood that people prefer to buy things in bulk if offered on discount, and this strategy became Walmart's biggest strength as it grew into a multinational supermarket chain. World's largest retail supermarket From humble beginnings, Walmart has today grown into the world's largest retail supermarket with an annual revenue of $648.1 billion, or about $473.2 million per day. This translates to the Walton family earning about $3,28,577 (around Rs 3 crore) per minute. Currently, Walmart has more than 10,600 stores across the globe. Walmart, which is half-owned by two holding companies owned by the Walton family, is the world's largest retailer and has been perched atop the Fortune 500 list for over a decade. Sam Walton died in 1992, following which his children Jim Walton, Rob Walton and Alice Walton are managing Walmart. This family owns 46 percent of Walmart.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Only 15 People in the World Are Worth $100 Billion: How They Made Their Fortunes
Most of us cannot fathom accumulating a $1 billion net worth, but a select few have grown their net worths to 100 times that — or more. According to Forbes, a record 15 people have now amassed a net worth of at least $100 billion, with three boasting net worths above $200 billion. In total, these centi-billionaires are worth $2.4 trillion. Find Out: Read Next: As for how the members of this elite group made their fortunes, many are entrepreneurs, while others inherited their wealth. Here's a look at the full list and how they each grew a 12-figure net worth. Net worth: $342 billion Source of wealth: Tesla, SpaceX Learn More: Net worth: $216 billion Source of wealth: Facebook Net worth: $215 billion Source of wealth: Amazon Net worth: $192 billion Source of wealth: Oracle Net worth: $178 billion Source of wealth: LVMH Net worth: $154 billion Source of wealth: Berkshire Hathaway Net worth: $144 billion Source of wealth: Google Net worth: $138 billion Source of wealth: Google Net worth: $124 billion Source of wealth: Zara Net worth: $118 billion Source of wealth: Microsoft Net worth: $110 billion Source of wealth: Walmart (son of founder Sam Walton) Net worth: $109 billion Source of wealth: Walmart (son of founder Sam Walton) Net worth: $108 billion Source of wealth: Microsoft Net worth: $105 billion Source of wealth: Bloomberg LP Net worth: $101 billion Source of wealth: Walmart (daughter of founder Sam Walton) More From GOBankingRates Surprising Items People Are Stocking Up On Before Tariff Pains Hit: Is It Smart? The Most Expensive Disney Merchandise Ever Sold -- and Who's Buying It 10 Genius Things Warren Buffett Says To Do With Your Money Sources Forbes, 'The $100 Billion Club: These 15 People Have 12-Figure Fortunes' (April 1, 2025) This article originally appeared on Only 15 People in the World Are Worth $100 Billion: How They Made Their Fortunes Sign in to access your portfolio
