SUCCESS magazine is celebrating its 126th anniversary this year. Renowned as one of the U.S.’s most enduring business publications, it has become a key platform for narratives that emphasize innovation and foster a business-oriented mindset. In this spirit, the magazine is formally launching its Emerging Entrepreneurs awards, designed to highlight the promising new generation of entrepreneurs and honor the achievements of rising stars.
“Our goal was to create an award that acknowledges the dedication and drive of entrepreneurs committed to long-term success,” states Cecilia Meis, the former editor-in-chief of SUCCESS Enterprises. “These business owners often remain unnoticed in the awards scene, but their contributions to society are incredibly valuable.”
SUCCESS has a rich legacy of celebrating entrepreneurs. The magazine has featured remarkable entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds, like the Sharks from Shark Tank sharing their insights on identifying successful ventures or “gangsta gardener” Ron Finley explaining how gardening serves as a means to instill community care.
5 Lessons Learned from Entrepreneurs
Each narrative from the pages of SUCCESS has reshaped our understanding of success and inspired the creation of these awards. As we commemorate the inaugural Emerging Entrepreneurs awards, here are several entrepreneurial insights we’ve gathered over the years.
1. Success can appear different than anticipated.
Take Jamie Kern Lima, who abandoned her aspiration for a daytime television career to develop a makeup brand tailored for individuals with skin conditions after her rosacea started impacting her live news segments.
“In society, we’re often advised to never quit and to persevere. This is sound advice if you’re certain about your path,” Kern Lima shared with SUCCESS in 2021. “However, knowing when to release a dream can be just as critical as chasing one.”
Alongside her husband, Kern Lima founded her business, IT Cosmetics, in 2008 in their Studio City, California living room. It was purchased by L’Oréal in 2016 for $1.2 billion and ultimately earned her a spot on Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Women list.
2. Success may feel instinctual.
Payal Kadakia, the visionary behind the groundbreaking fitness platform ClassPass, initially started her career at the management consulting firm Bain & Company before launching her own Indian dance company, Sa Dance Company, as a side passion project. Yet, she sensed something was amiss.
“I was leading two lives,” Kadakia recounted in her 2020 conversation with SUCCESS. “I was clocking into a job that failed to excite me while, at night, I transformed into a dancer, an entrepreneur, a creative soul. It felt like I was living as two distinct individuals.”
One evening, after hours of searching for a dance class online that fit her schedule, she conceived the idea for ClassPass: a single membership granting access to a variety of fitness studios and gyms, facilitating health improvement through classes that catered to individual interests. Thankfully, Kadakia chose to trust her instincts and embraced the entrepreneurial journey.
“My desire for ClassPass to thrive stemmed from an authentic mission I felt, not from the pressure of, ‘Oh, my dad wants me in this career,’ which is a vastly different motivation,” she explained. ClassPass now boasts a valuation exceeding $1 billion.
3. Success should defy conventions.
In 2020, SUCCESS engaged in a dialogue with Mark Cuban, the self-made billionaire entrepreneur, investor, Shark, and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, asking him for advice for budding business owners.
Cuban’s immediate response was, “Do not mimic what’s already been established. Seek innovative approaches.”
He advised aspiring entrepreneurs to pose these questions: “What fresh avenues of business should be explored to transform existing practices? Are there perspectives that you possess that others overlook? How can you revolutionize the field?”
Cuban expressed to SUCCESS that in 20 years, he envisions the emergence of numerous “world-class, game-changing companies” birthed from the shifts of 2020.
Perhaps some of the newest Emerging Entrepreneurs featured by SUCCESS are already following this vision.
4. Success may blossom from setbacks.
Kendra Scott developed an early interest in fashion and design and ultimately pursued this passion, founding two businesses: The Hat Box, which ceased operations in 1998, and her subsequent jewelry enterprise in 2002 that skyrocketed her career.
Kendra Scott’s brand has now evolved into a billion-dollar enterprise, with over a hundred retail locations across the nation. Scott attributes much of her brand’s success to her exceptional team and the lessons learned from her initial company’s premature closure.
“Experience is something you cannot teach,” Scott relayed to SUCCESS in 2016. “The anxiety of meeting payroll, managing rent… these are lessons that can’t be learned from a textbook. That unsettling feeling that disrupts your sleep is something only those who have experienced it can navigate… I believe that background has led me to grow thoughtfully and strategically.”
Scott expresses gratitude for her failures, highlighting how they cultivate a resilience that enables one to overcome even their deepest fears—because they have already faced them.
5. Success can be partially strategized.
While initiating a business is undoubtedly tough, Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, discussed with SUCCESS in late 2015 how she equipped herself for entrepreneurial success before identifying her specific product.
Employing an offense is the best defense mindset, Blakely’s preparations extended beyond mere visualization of achievement—she assessed her strengths and weaknesses and articulated clear end goals. This ensured that her guiding purpose remained in focus.
“I stated, Alright, I want to create or invent a product that I can sell, something uniquely mine, that reaches millions and makes people feel good. I recorded this in my journal,” Blakely recalled. “I was constantly on the lookout for the right opportunity. The moment I cut the feet from my pantyhose, I immediately took action. I didn’t know if that concept would become ‘the one,’ but I was ready to move.”
Honoring Emerging Entrepreneurs
The selection committee assessed entrepreneurs against specific criteria and identified 25 award recipients.
“We aimed to spotlight those rising business owners who exhibited profound enthusiasm for their work and their efforts to expand their companies and create meaningful impacts,” noted judge Billy Goldberg.
The diverse assembly of award recipients for the Emerging Entrepreneurs awards encompasses various genders, ethnicities, and industries, from creative sectors to marketing, media, and technology.
“These individuals have invested heart and soul into their enterprises, laboring tirelessly to create a lasting impact for future generations,” remarked judge Pamela Zapata. “We were impressed by their creativity and tenacity and eagerly anticipate sharing their stories with the world.”
With the inaugural Emerging Entrepreneurs awards successfully concluded, Meis assures that further awards can be anticipated in the coming years.
“The enthusiasm from our judges and the industry regarding the recognition of emerging talents has been heartening,” Meis stated. “These smaller or lesser-known businesses are resourceful, innovative, and integral to the future of work, and SUCCESS will continue to highlight their triumphs.”
