Personally, I am not a fan of IKEA furniture because it spoils so easily. But when I was in college this was the place to get cool designer looking furniture on a tight budget. Today, I go there mainly for the small stuff versus the big ticket items simply because I now want to get things that last.
Despite the fact that I have outgrown the IKEA stage, Ingvar Kamprad (founder of IKEA) remains to be one of the most amazing entrepreneurs of our time in my book. He has his idiosyncracies, like insisting on using a plastic bag to carry his things because he thinks its a waste to have to buy an actual bag. But ignoring those and looking just at his entrepreneurial journey, it’s hard not to be amazed by him- from when he started out as a boy on a bike selling matches to how he very resourcefully found people (adults- postman, milkman) to help grow his tiny enterprise (by delivering his goods for him as they went on their routes).
Later, IKEA grew not as a result of his quest for improvement or efficiency, but because of hostile competition which forced him to become better and better in order to survive. At every turn, the entrepreneurial spirit is what spurred him on. He constantly saw opportunities and focused on them instead of the problems, something many people have difficulty even realizing they do subconsciously (i.e.-focus on the problem instead of the solution).
What have you been trying to solve lately?
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