Edison's entrepreneurial story Edison was not only an inventor, but also a great entrepreneur. He realized a long time ago that technology alone was not enough to succeed in business, so he has been committed to inventing products and projects that can be developed for business. Two measures prove that he is an entrepreneur rather than a simple inventor. First, Edison pursued systematic solutions from the beginning. The second big move is to form a team of inventors. Edison's position as a great entrepreneur has been ignored by people. In fact, Edison is the most successful man in the business history of more than 200 years. He is both an inventor and an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship is a way of life. Since I was a child, I have been fond of making small inventions and fiddling with various products. I finally got my own patent, sold the patent, got the first money, and then invested in the factory. This is Edison's entrepreneurial trajectory. It can be seen that entrepreneurship is only a continuation of Edison's daily work. Edison didn't take it seriously at all, but applied the popular vocabulary at that time: entrepreneurship is a way of life. Once, the boss of Western Union Company was going to buy a patent of Edison. He asked Edison how much it was reasonable. Edison summoned up his courage and wanted $5,000, but he thought it was too big to say. "How about $40000? Can we make a deal? " He asked Edison. This is Edison's venture capital. With this money, Edison opened his own factory in Newark. Edison claimed that he was not the kind of person who kept money in a safe. He soon hired 50 workers to produce automatic quotation machines and other instruments. The factory workers work in two shifts, and he is the foreman himself. After that, the business was booming, and Edison officially embarked on a long journey of entrepreneurship and began a great career of invention. In this factory, Edison invented wax paper and mimeograph. From 1872 to 1875, Edison invented double and quadruple telegrams ... inventions and entrepreneurial ideas emerged one after another. 1879, Edison founded "Edison Electric Lighting Company", and in less than one year, incandescent lamps went on the market; 1In September, 882, Edison started the construction of the first electric lighting factory in Pearl Street, new york for the first time; Next is the test of electrified railway; Investment in cement production; In the next few years, the invention of storage battery, radio equipment, audio movies and various household appliances all consumed Edison's time and talent. Edison was not only an inventor but also a great entrepreneur. He realized a long time ago that technology alone was not enough to succeed in business, so he has been committed to inventing products and projects that can be developed for business. Two measures prove that he is an entrepreneur rather than a simple inventor. First, Edison pursued systematic solutions from the beginning. Edison was not the only one who invented the electric light bulb. The English physicist Swan invented the electric light bulb. 1850 Edison was only three years old when Swan developed the vacuum carbon filament incandescent bulb. Swan 1879 65438+ manufactured a practical light bulb in October and installed it at home. Edison's electric light was successfully tested for the first time that year. Technically, the swan's light bulb is better, so Edison bought the swan's patent right and used it for his own light bulb production. Edison not only considered the technical requirements, but also began to consider the technical work of glass cover, vacuum tube, closure and luminous fiber. At that time, he decided on a system: his light bulb was specially designed for power companies. Systematic problem solving is the characteristic of entrepreneurs. Edison raised funds and obtained the wiring rights for light bulb users, so that his light bulb customers could enjoy electricity. He also arranged the power distribution system. As a result, Edison's incandescent lamp soon gained an overwhelming advantage in the world. It can be said that the scientist Swan invented a product and Edison created an industry. The second major move is to form a team of inventors. Edison is a pioneer of enterprise research institute. He created a modern scientific research and invention system, or an American-style innovation way. Edison was not a scientific genius wandering around the garage, but gathered a group of innovative people to work for him. The Menlo Park Laboratory he established is the predecessor of modern top enterprise research institutes such as Apple, Google and Microsoft. As early as 1870, Edison hired the British mathematician Charles? Bachelor, Swiss mechanic John? Cruz, recruited William? As a partner of the company, unger had the initiative to form an invention team. Later, because the company needed space for expansion, he moved into a building in Menlo Park, New Jersey. Here, 1093 inventions have been successfully developed. Many years later, Menlo Park became famous as the world's first product research and development laboratory and became synonymous with the originator of enterprise research institutes. Menlo Park Laboratories became pioneers in similar institutions, including Xerox's famous Palo Alto Research Center and Bell Laboratories. Facts have proved that this is an effective way to successfully realize the commercialization of scientific and technological inventions. Edison is regarded as the most important inventor in the United States, with 1093 patents under his name, but his most important job is to turn the theory of invention into an innovative reality through a long process of research and development and commercial promotion, and he is a great entrepreneur. 1879, Edison founded Edison Electric Lighting Company. 1890, Edison organized its businesses into Edison General Electric Company. Edison was not only the founder of General Electric Company, but also founded or controlled 13 large companies in his heyday. For example, he founded a cement factory, and later half of Portland cement produced in the United States came from Edison's factory. We classify Edison as a genius of invention and a great entrepreneur, but we can't ignore the great failures and countless hardships he experienced, or we can say that it is these hardships that made Edison, and the failure of the current war is the biggest failure of Edison's management. The present war should be said to be initiated by Edison. Since the United States has electric lights, direct current is the only national standard, and Edison's position cannot be challenged. However, the disadvantages of DC are becoming more and more obvious. Due to the huge loss of electric energy in the transmission process, the power plant can only cover users within 1.6 km. 1888 Edison's total users were1120,000 electric lamps, and there were more than 1700 power plants with different powers. Alternating current energy solves the problems of huge loss and power transmission distance. Young Tesla also proposed an alternating current scheme when he was working for Edison, but Edison didn't pay much attention to it. Since then, Tesla has turned to rival Westinghouse to help it build an exchange kingdom. Unfortunately, the market finally chose AC power supply system, and Edison was out. Coupled with a series of misjudgments, General Electric Company was forced to go bankrupt, and Edison had to give up control of the company in the face of great pressure. Edison was born optimistic. Although he failed many times in life and career, he was never defeated. It can even be said that it was these hardships that made Edison. Some partners were saddened by the failure to invest in the magnetic energy concentrator, but Edison was not defeated. "Personally," Edison said, "I can be a telegraph operator at any time with a monthly salary of $75, which can meet all my personal needs." These words show Edison's simple lifestyle and make people deeply moved. Genius needs constant optimism. Edison spent most of his financial resources to build a huge laboratory. When it was destroyed by fire, Edison said to his son, "The fire destroyed all the mistakes. Thank God, we can start again. " Edison forgot the fire, rebuilt his laboratory and successfully invented the phonograph three months after the fire. Reading Edison's extraordinary entrepreneurial story, "never boring, never stopping" is the best summary of Edison, and it is also a spirit we should refer to. We all remember Edison's famous saying: "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% sweat". This is not a grandiose statement, but Edison's heartfelt words, which is a true portrayal of his hard life. It can be said that Edison was a great man who worked the hardest and slept the shortest time in history. At a banquet, an American minister asked several successful people, "What is the best weapon to overcome temptation?" Edison replied, "I have no experience with these things." I can't even spare five minutes to think about anything that violates morality or law. " If I have to guess how to get young people out of all kinds of bad temptations, then my answer is to find something to do and work hard. In this case, all kinds of temptations will have no place. "Edison