The man who took an 11-store coffee company and built it into a $36B empire called Starbucks

Howard Schultz is one of my favorite entrepreneurs, not just because of what Starbucks became, but because of what it took to get there.

Most people know the Brooklyn housing project to billionaire CEO story.

Fewer know what it took to get there.

In the early 80s, Schultz joined a tiny Seattle coffee company called Starbucks.

After a trip to Italy, he became convinced Americans would embrace Italian-style espresso bars, a "third place" between home and work.

He pitched the idea and the founders said no.

So he quits and starts his own Italian‑style coffee bar called Il Giornale.

He worked behind the counter making drinks, wiped tables, and went without a salary because he believed in the vision.

One day, his wife's parents came to visit.

His father-in-law pulled him aside and essentially said:

"You need to get a real job. My daughter is seven months pregnant, she's working, and you're not."

Thankfully, his wife believed in the dream as much as he did.

Then came the opportunity of a lifetime when the original Starbucks owners decided to sell the business.

Schultz had the vision, but not the money.

He spent nearly two years raising roughly $4 million.

He met with 242 investors and 217 said no. 217!!

At one point, one of his largest investors went behind his back and tried to buy Starbucks himself.

Instead of quitting, Schultz kept going.

Supporters (including Bill Gates Sr.) believed enough in him to help complete the acquisition.

The rest is history.

What I admire most isn't the $36 billion company.

It's the version of Howard Schultz making lattes at Il Giornale, being told to get a "real job," hearing "no" hundreds of times, and continuing to fight for a company he didn't even own yet.

THAT'S entrepreneurship!