You can be on Entrepreneur’s cover!

18 Brutal Business Failures by Wildly Successful Entrepreneurs (Infographic) Even Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates made mistakes before making it big.

By Matthew McCreary

entrepreneur daily
Inga Kjer | Getty Images

Some people like to say that entrepreneurs are born, not made -- that you either have the talent to start a billion-dollar company or you don't. But some of the most famous and successful entrepreneurs in the world struggled to find their way.

For example, J.K. Rowling had difficulty finding anyone to publish the Harry Potter series, and while she worked on the books, she lived as a single mother on welfare. Tim Ferriss received 25 rejection letters for The 4-Hour Workweek. Even geniuses such as Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos had business failures.

This infographic from Pound Coffee breaks down 18 great examples, which you can use for inspiration in the low moments of your pursuit of entrepreneurship. Whether you've gotten rejected, faced failure or just lost a little steam, this list might remind you why you ought to keep moving forward.

Embedded from Pound Coffee

Matthew McCreary

Entrepreneur Staff

Associate Editor, Contributed Content

Matthew McCreary is the associate editor for contributed content at Entrepreneur.com.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

James Clear Explains Why the 'Two Minute Rule' Is the Key to Long-Term Habit Building

The hardest step is usually the first one, he says. So make it short.

Side Hustle

He Took His Side Hustle Full-Time After Being Laid Off From Meta in 2023 — Now He Earns About $200,000 a Year: 'Sweet, Sweet Irony'

When Scott Goodfriend moved from Los Angeles to New York City, he became "obsessed" with the city's culinary offerings — and saw a business opportunity.

Business News

Microsoft's New AI Can Make Photographs Sing and Talk — and It Already Has the Mona Lisa Lip-Syncing

The VASA-1 AI model was not trained on the Mona Lisa but could animate it anyway.

Living

Get Your Business a One-Year Sam's Club Membership for Just $14

Shop for office essentials, lunch for the team, appliances, electronics, and more.

Leadership

You Won't Have a Strong Leadership Presence Until You Master These 5 Attributes

If you are a poor leader internally, you will be a poor leader externally.