The entrepreneurs on our list have gone for some fairly obvious choices when it comes to business heroes. The runaway winner in our poll was Sir Richard Branson. Nearly a fifth of the Startups 100 considered him an inspiration.
Steve Jobs, the man behind the mighty Apple, took second place on our heroes’ podium. Apple is more popular now than it has even been, and Jobs continues to set the benchmark for effective branding and product design.
Interestingly, there was no sign of his old friend Bill Gates near the top of the list, despite him arguably being the richest and most successful entrepreneur in history. But as our poll of business motivations proved, money isn’t everything.
The late Anita Roddick was mentioned by many of our entrepreneurs, and not just those with green businesses. Dame Anita, who died in September 2007, was one of the first entrepreneurs to prove success could go hand in hand with strong ethics, and she left a lasting impression on so many of those following in her footsteps.
Next in our poll was Stelios proving serial entrepreneurship is an attractive proposition. Perhaps we’ll see some of the Startups 100 take their brand into other areas in the years that follow.
Our most popular Dragon was Duncan Bannatyne, who came fifth overall on our business heroes poll. Stephen Collins of Lazarus Mobility (number 41), told us the Scottish Dragon had given his personal support to him after they met at an awards ceremony. “He’s a really great guy and so down to earth,” revealed Stephen.
Other entrepreneurs to get a mention included Sir Alan Sugar, John Harvey Jones and the recently crowned ‘richest man in the world’, Warren Buffet.