Early Life
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg was born on May 14th, 1984 in White Plains, New York to a Jewish family. He grew up as an only child in the nearby village of Dobbs Ferry. Zuckerberg was always passionate about computers and was even coding at a very young age. He created backgammon and chess programs and even his own version of the game ‘Risk’ when he was only 12 years old. Zuckerberg was also academically extremely successful and graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 2002.
Inspiration
Zuckerberg was inspired by technology giants such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Larry Page. While he was in college, Zuckerberg became extremely interested in the field of Artificial Intelligence and decided to pursue a career in this area. He worked on a number of projects and created a popular photo-sharing website called Facemash in 2003.
The Beginning
In 2004, Zuckerberg and his roommates at Harvard University, Eduardo Saverin and Dustin Moskovitz, launched The Facebook. They started by inviting only students from Harvard to join the website and eventually expanded to include students from other universities. By the end of 2004, the website had over one million users. In 2005, the website was officially renamed to ‘Facebook’ and the story of Mark Zuckerberg’s success was beginning.
Rise to Fame
In 2006, Microsoft made a deal to purchase 1.6% of Facebook for $240 million. This resulted in an immediate increase in the company’s valuation and eventual increase in their public profile. Zuckerberg also made appearances on popular television shows such as Oprah and The Daily Show, further increasing his popularity.
Going Public
Facebook officially went public in 2012 and instantly skyrocketed its valuation to a staggering $104 billion. Zuckerberg himself gained an enormous fortune of about $19 billion. The same year, Clinton Global Initiative awarded Zuckerberg with the honor of ‘Global Social Entrepreneur’ for his work with Facebook. Zuckerberg has since become the ‘face’ of the company and is responsible for most of the decision making and growing success of the company.
Innovations and Other Ventures
Over the years, Mark Zuckerberg has launched a number of other ventures such as virtual reality company Oculus, open source software development platform Github, and artificial intelligence research company Altman. He has also invested in a number of tech start-ups and has been instrumental in the growth of companies such as Airbnb and Instagram.
Philanthropic Ventures
Apart from his business ventures, Zuckerberg has taken a keen interest in philanthropic work. He and his wife, Priscilla Chan, launched the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in 2015. The initiative focuses on providing education and potential cures for diseases such as the common cold and cancer. They have also invested billions of dollars in various causes such as disease research and global digital access
Social Networking
Mark Zuckerberg has always been passionate about creating a more connected world. He believes that with the use of technology, people from all over the world can be better connected and more informed. This eventually led to the development of Facebook, which has now become one of the largest and most successful social networking platforms in the world.
Developing Leadership Skills
Zuckerberg is not only highly successful with his businesses, but he is also a great leader. Throughout the history of Facebook, he has acquired important skills such as effective communication, strategy and negotiation which made him respected on a global scale.
Strategy and Vision
Mark Zuckerberg’s success can be attributed to his immense vision and creative thinking. He uses a long-term strategy to make decisions and plans for the company such as investing in other businesses and charities. He is also conscious of the competition in the tech industry, which gives him an advantage.
The Take Away
Mark Zuckerberg is one of the most prolific entrepreneurs of this generation. His story is an inspiring one that illustrates the power of hard work, strategy, leadership and innovation. He went from a coding genius in his bedroom to the leader of the most successful social media company of all time. Zuckerberg has set a great example for those looking to make their mark on the world.
