Why Gates, Jobs, Branson, and Yahoo! All Broke Guinness Records

Written by Matt Handshakin Holmes
Published on Aug. 30, 2016
Being an entrepreneur is always an adventure in setting records. While most records that an entrepreneur stretches for are internal and focused on the startup's goals, sometimes this drive to success leads to pursuing recognition by the Guinness World Records. ​
The following are several examples of times when entrepreneurs set records for the fun of it and several more when they set records because they were striving to be the best in their business.
 
Richard Branson
The first to top this list is the billionaire owner of the Virgin group of companies. Richard Branson has partaken in records from a death-defying hot air balloon trek across the Atlantic to the most people kiteboarding at once. While Branson's seven personal mentions are incredible, the companies he founded made additional records in quite a few settings. 

That must have helped with exposure...

Yahoo!
Anyone who has been around the internet for over 10 years knows the Yahoo! yodel. After 3,432 participants yodelled together, Yahoo! has let the world know that they have a great yodel, in the Guinness Book of World Records. Who says publicity can't be fun?  

That must have helped with employee retention...

Bill Gates
The PC was the world's first microcomputer, and Bill Gates holds that record in perpetuity. That's some serious personal branding...

While the previous records we discussed were all personal challenges and publicity successes, this and the next record are examples of what it takes to be successful as an entrepreneur. 

Innovation is a key ingredient in what it takes to be an entrepreneur and both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs have achieved world records through their innovation. 

Steve Jobs
Apple has been around the block when it comes to innovation. When Jobs first started the company, it was built off of the "First commercially successful PC with a graphical user interface (GUI)". This world record was followed by Job's innovative and commercial successes in the turn of the millennium that made Apple what it is today.  

[That must have helped with] Instant credibility and authority as a leader in the technology space...

Some of these entrepreneurs sought world records for personal reasons, some for business, but all of them showed that great entrepreneurs are never afraid to reach for the stars. To find out more about what it takes to be a great entrepreneur, please ask me your questions today!
 
Originally published at www.handshakin.com.
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