{"id":6489,"date":"2023-06-16T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-16T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huddlestontaxcpas.com\/?p=6489"},"modified":"2023-06-15T18:22:36","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T02:22:36","slug":"small-business-success-stories-huffpost-and-zoom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/huddlestontaxcpas.com\/blog\/small-business-success-stories-huffpost-and-zoom\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Business Success Stories: How the HuffPost and Zoom Became Multi-Million Dollar Businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Small businesses<\/a> are the backbone of the American economy, accounting for over 99% of all businesses in the United States. While many small businesses fail<\/a>, many succeed as well. Here are two examples of just that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arianna Huffington<\/strong>: The Huffington Post<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Arianna Huffington is a Greek-American author, syndicated columnist, and businesswoman. She is the co-founder and former editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post<\/strong>, a news and opinion website that was acquired by AOL in 2011 for $315 million — you might have heard of it. Huffington is also the founder of Thrive Global<\/strong>, a company that provides well-being programs for individuals and organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Huffington’s journey to success began in 1994, when she co-founded the website The Greek Reporter<\/strong>. The website was a success, and Huffington soon realized that she wanted to create a news and opinion medium that would be different from the traditional media outlets. In 2005, she launched The Huffington Post<\/a>, which quickly became one of the most popular news websites in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Huffington Post was a success for several reasons. First, don’t discount talent; Huffington was a talented writer and editor who was able to attract a large audience of readers. Second, the website was well-designed and easy to use. Third, the website covered a wide range of topics, including politics, business, entertainment, and culture — netting a wide audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing when to sell<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 2011, The Huffington Post was acquired by AOL for $315 million. The acquisition was not only profitable, but Huffington stayed on committed to her work at The Huffington Post. She continued to serve as editor-in-chief until 2016, when she stepped down to focus on Thrive Global.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eric Yuan<\/strong>: Zoom<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Eric Yuan is a Chinese-American entrepreneur who is the founder and CEO of Zoom Video Communications<\/strong>, a video conferencing company — you may have heard of it<\/a>. Zoom is one of the most popular video conferencing platforms in the world, and it has been used by millions of people — especially during the COVID-19 pandemic<\/a> — regrettably, you also heard of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yuan’s journey to success began in 1997, when he co-founded a company called WebEx. WebEx was a pioneer in the video conferencing industry, and it was acquired by Cisco Systems in 2007 for $3.2 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After leaving WebEx, Yuan founded Zoom in 2011. Zoom was initially slow to gain traction, but it began to grow rapidly in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated Zoom’s growth, as millions of people began using the platform to work from home<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zoom’s success is due to several factors. First, the platform is easy to use and it offers high-quality video and audio. Second, Zoom is affordable, and it offers a freemium pricing model. Third, Zoom has a strong marketing team that has been able to reach a large audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, Zoom went public and raised $3.8 billion in its initial public offering. The company is now valued at over $100 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Startup Success Stories<\/h3>\n\n\n\n