4 Examples of Risks Leading to Reward

Meet the mavericks whose eccentric ideas paid off big.

By David Port • Mar 21, 2015

They did it their way: Ryan Carson of Treehouse; Eventup’s Jayna Cooke.

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Ryan Carson had spent enough time working for "the man" to know that as an employer, he didn't want to become the man: the soul-crushing boss employees love to hate. So in launching his Portland, Ore.-based online coding school Treehouse in 2010, he decided to try something different: a four-day, 32-hour workweek.

The reaction from the MBA types who had Carson's ear was a chorus of "You're nuts!"

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