This is a subscriber-only article.

Save 20% on Entrepreneur+ during our Spring Growth Flash Sale

Use code SPRING20 at checkout.

Subscribe Now

Already have an account?

Sign in
Entrepreneur Plus - Short White
For Subscribers

Class of '77 We aren't the only business that's taking a look back at its first quarter-century.

By Geoff Williams

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

If today's entrepreneurs could travel back in time and starta business in 1977, they would hardly recognize Stephen B.Holben's world.

Sure, some of what they'd find would feel familiar-the newStar Wars movie coming out, and, hey, this is the year Elvisdies?-but what would seem strange is starting your company the wayHolben, now 57, did. You would be without the aid of e-mail, a cellphone or a fax machine. There's no Staples or Office Depot.FedEx delivers to only a handful of cities. There aren't even adozen business incubators in the country (today, there are over900). With the exception of your fresh copy of the debut issue ofEntrepreneur, you'll have to go through this mostlyalone.

Entrepreneur Magazine's 25th AnniversaryIssue
Discover the trends that haveshaped management, technology, marketing, franchising and money forthe past quarter-century--and what trends will shape the next 25years--in SterlingSilver.