Fred Smith had an idea while in college that had to do with shipping companies and his belief that there had to be a way to get things shipped faster than was common at the time, but he was advised [ironically] by his professor that his idea wouldn't fly, and that might have been the end of that, but Fred gambled on that idea a few years later and his idea became Federal Express, or FedEx as we call it today.
Fred's new company quickly grew, but quick growth can turn out to be expensive. Economics soon caught up with Fred's idea, and he found himself with only $5,000 to his name, and literally millions in debt. The 5 grand wouldn't be enough to get one plane off the ground, and that's where he gambled again.
In a quick trip to Las Vegas, Fred put it all on the line, and wound up winning $27,000 at Blackjack. That bought enough fuel to keep his idea in the air for about another week, and that was all the time he needed to secure more funding and keep his new baby afloat.
This story took place 50 years ago, based on an idea that was born 10 years before that. So why get into it now? Fred Smith is retiring this year, leaving behind a company with annual revenue of around $70 billion. Sometimes you just gotta go for it...
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