Happy National Trivia Day 2024!

Happy New Year, entrepreneurs! As we enter 2024, with Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Years, and all the other minor holidays behind us, we can celebrate the start of 2024 with National Trivia Day, which was yesterday! To commemorate this most auspicious occasion (and a little fun as we get back into the grind of working after so many holidays), here’s a quick Trivia Quiz with, of course, an entrepreneurial spin – enjoy, and good luck! (Answers follow the quiz)

1. Who was the entrepreneur played by Michael Keaton in the 2016 film The Founder? What business is he famous for growing?

Bonus: What one aspect of this entrepreneur’s business model helped to really make this business take off?

2. What two songwriting partners were not only the first to fully integrate music, words, and dance to create “musicals”, but also were the first to establish a separate business entity to hold the rights to all their compositions?

Bonus: What musical by these two giants of Broadway was the first to release an “original cast recording” (in 78-rpm)?

3. What company’s smart phone, founded by two Canadian engineering students in office space above (supposedly) a bagel shop, ruled the market in 2010, with an approximate 43% share in 2010? What was their signature product? and what is its current share of the cell phone market?

4. Which entrepreneur is largely credited with the development of “integrated” supply chain and distribution systems, first operating a “self-distribution center” out of his own garage in Rogers, Arkansas, and later locating the company’s stores around larger warehouses and distribution centers to save transportation and shipping costs?

5. What female entrepreneur, an aspiring attorney who reconsidered after bombing the LSAT, who also worked as a stand-up comedian at Disney World, and as a fax machine salesperson, and went on to found a women’s shapewear company and now has an estimated net worth over $1 billion? What is the name of her ubiquitous product?

Bonus: This entrepreneur has also appeared on several episodes of what show, a favorite of many EntreView bloggers?

6. What entrepreneur, allegedly one of the world’s richest, dropped out of Stanford University after two days, but went on to found PayPal and provide the inspiration for the Iron Man's alter ego, Tony Stark?

7. As a cautionary note to entrepreneurs (and business in general), name three major business bankruptcies of 2023.

8. To end on a cheerier (and nostalgic) note, what now iconic actor played a budding teenage entrepreneur who dominated his school’s Junior Achievement competition by operating a brothel out of his parents’ home to pay for damages to his dad’s Porsche? What was the film?

Bonus: What was the lead character’s business motto?

Answers

1. Roy Kroc, famous for setting McDonalds on its path.

Bonus: Kroc eschewed the standard (at the time) practice of granting franchise licenses for larger markets, opting instead to sell single-store franchises. This model enabled McDonalds, as the franchisor, to better control the direction, quality, and uniformity of stores and their products.

2. Rodgers and Hammerstein. The business model of these two geniuses also involved producing shows in which they only leased the rights to their music, retaining ownership and sharing only profits of the production with investors.

Bonus: Oklahoma!, released in 1941.

3. Research in Motion, founded by Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fredin in 1984, created the once-dominant Blackberry. Its current share of the smart phone market is 0%, and its operating system is defunct. If you’re looking for a fun movie night, I recommend Blackberry for a brief and semi-accurate history.

4. Sam Walton. Walton also transported products on trucks owned by the company.

5. Sara Blakely, who founded Spanx and allegedly used her credit card to purchase the trademark for $150. The company really took off when Oprah (another legendary entrepreneur!) named Spanx one her “Favorite Things” in 2000.

Bonus: Sara has appeared as one of the “Sharks” on several episodes of Shark Tank.

6. Elon Musk

7. Among others,

• Party City (January)
• Tuesday Morning (February)
• Bed Bath & Beyond (April)
• David’s Bridal (April)
• Yellow Trucking Company (August)
• BackYard Burgers (August)
• SmileDirect (September)
• Rite Aid (October)
• WeWork (November)

And let’s not forget these notable bank failures – Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank.

8. Tom Cruise, who played Joel Goodsen in Risky Business (1983).

Bonus: EntreView won’t let me say the answer out loud, but its initials are WTF? Not sure this is the best advice for most entrepreneurs :) Happy 2024!