Entrepreneur Plus - Short White
For Subscribers

Startup Wisdom From 3 Millionaire Entrepreneurs We've gathered advice from entrepreneurs who made millions on their first businesses and are applying that hard-won wisdom to their new startups.

By David Port

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

He was the king of outdoor footwear, the sheik of the sandal-shoe. Yet in 2010, seven years after launching Keen Footwear, Martin Keen was bent on leaving the shoe business to get his feet wet in an entirely new and unfamiliar market--office furniture.

Keen, who built Keen Footwear from a "simple little idea" into what is now a $300 million-a-year global empire, sold his stake in the privately held company. Two years later, in May 2012, he launched Focal Upright Furniture, envisioning it as a backlash against the cubicle-bound work environment, to which so many health issues have been linked. Why would Keen willingly go from a titan in one industry to a decided underdog in another?

"I was ready to get out of the footwear world, and I had an idea for creating something that I believed would positively and profoundly affect the way people work," he says. "Furniture is a different industry, but for me it's really about the same thing--being disruptive, doing something that hasn't been done before. Shifting to a new industry has been incredibly challenging, but it's also been incredibly exciting."

This is a subscriber-only article. Join Entrepreneur+ today for access

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Business News

Costco Isn't Facing Devastating Surges in Theft Like Target and Walmart — and the Reason Is Very Simple

The retailer's CFO revealed its strategy during a fourth-quarter-earnings call.

Business Solutions

Get This ChatGPT Educational Bundle for $40 Off

Save $40 on this bundle and start running your business more efficiently.

Leadership

Trust Should Be the Foundation of Your Business — Here's How to Earn It.

Here are five areas entrepreneurs and business leaders should tackle and invest more in to fuel a reputation for being incredibly reliable, which will help you drive greater customer trust, loyalty and success.

Starting a Business

5 Solopreneur Mindset Shifts and Why They're Critical to Your Success

As a solopreneur, don't reinvent the wheel or start from scratch. You are here because you have two things: an idea and passion.