Business Leaders Reveal Their #FirstSevenJobs on Twitter For some, the bottom of the corporate ladder is a series of odd-job rungs.
By Lydia Belanger •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Richard Branson famously sold Christmas trees and magazines in his teen years before founding the Virgin Group and making his billions. Elon Musk coded his own video game at age 12. Warren Buffett peddled chewing gum door to door when he was only 6.
Everyone has to start somewhere.
Last Thursday, a Twitter user named @mariancall asked her followers, "What were your first seven jobs?" She was soon inundated with mentions, as several celebrities, from Buzz Aldrin to Stephen Colbert, shared their first gigs. Aldrin, one of the first two men to set foot on the moon, started as a dishwasher. Colbert, who's hosted two eponymous talk shows, was once a busboy and even a futon salesman. Many business executives and entrepreneurs also tweeted their career trajectories.
Related: The Wild and Crazy Career Paths of 5 Self-Made Billionaires (Infographic)
If you dream of wild success but are slogging away to save up in the interim, let the early resumes of these founders and CEOs inspire you.
— Debra Sterling (@debbieblox) August 7, 2016
Snow shoveling
— Jeff Weiner (@jeffweiner) August 7, 2016
Newspaper delivery
Reading tutor
Boat crew
Caddy
Biz ops intern
Consulting analyst#firstsevenjobs
Cafe hand
— Kate Kendall (@KateKendall) August 7, 2016
Sales assistant
Retail administrator
Editorial assistant
Online editor
Digital director
Marketing director #firstsevenjobs
#firstsevenjobs 1) House painter's assistant 2) Construction worker 3) Office janitor 4) Newspaper design intern (3x) 7) Entrepreneur
— Ben Huh (@benhuh) August 7, 2016
Dishwasher
— Andrew Cohen (@acohenNY) August 6, 2016
Pizza boy
Waiter
Congressional intern
Economist
eLearning Consultant
EdTech Entrepreneur#FirstSevenJobs
#firstsevenjobs
— Paul Graham (@paulg) August 7, 2016
mowing lawns
scooping ice cream
working in a library
programmer
programmer
programmer
programmer
#firstsevenjobs
— Ellen Pao (@ekp) August 6, 2016
Library clerk
Babysitter
Tutor
Dishwasher
Math book editor
Lab tech
Cafe cashier
#firstsevenjobs
— Kevin Colleran (@KevinColleran) August 8, 2016
TCBY
Baseball Cards
Web 1.0 Entrepreneur
NYSE
Neato CD Labels
Liberty Media@Playboy
... @BMG, @facebook, @gcvp, & @slow
#FirstSevenJobs 1. @McDonalds ? 2. Bartender ? 3. Bridal shop ?? 4. Waitress ? 5. Banker ? 6. IPO-er ? 7. Entrepreneur & Co-Fo @EntJungle ?
— Emma Sinclair MBE (@ES_Entrepreneur) August 6, 2016
failed entrepreneur
— Kashyap Deorah (@righthalf) August 7, 2016
qa engineer
product manager
sales engineer
intl biz dev
entrepreneur
ceo of acquiring co#firstsevenjobs
