2016-07-15



"Eight out of 10 businesses fail within the first 18 months" is a daunting statistic people love to throw as an indisputable fact. But the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics paints a very different picture: Over 50 percent of new businesses survive to at least their fifth year.

Don’t celebrate the news with an IPO just yet, however, because there are plenty of overlooked mistakes that can ruin your business. Immediately dismissing the idea of getting a business partner is one of them.

People are just as important as startup money or a business model to building a company. Unless you’re a true jack-of-all-trades with limitless energy, you'll likely need a business partner to get your company off the ground. Many captains of industry were only able to build their empire because they found the right business partner. Click through to find out who the most successful business partners are, and what they did to build some of the largest companies in the world.


William Procter and James Gamble: Procter & Gamble

William Procter net worth: not available

James Gamble net worth: not available

Company: Procter & Gamble — $76.28 billion in revenue

A humble English candle maker and a poor Irish soap maker created one of the most successful American companies in the world, all thanks to William Procter and James Gamble’s in-laws, according to the company's history.

Procter and Gamble married Olivia and Elizabeth Norris, respectively, whose father Alexander Norris suggested his sons-in-law stop competing with each other and start a joint business. On Oct. 31, 1837, in the midst of a recession, the candle and soap maker formed Procter & Gamble Company. Despite stiff competition from Cincinnati’s many rival soap and candle makers, Procter & Gamble thrived.

One reason Procter and Gamble are among the most successful business partners was that they put the company’s welfare above their own. In 1840, both men sold their personal assets in order to build a factory and produce candles whose quality no one else in Cincinnati could match. With their modern Central Avenue Plant and access to a canal, which provided cheap transportation, Procter & Gamble grew into a million-dollar business by 1859.

Read: 5 Things Every Millennial Entrepreneur Should Know About Startups


Henry Wells and William G. Fargo: Wells Fargo

Henry Wells net worth: unknown

William Fargo net worth: unknown

Company: Wells Fargo — $90.74 billion in revenue

Henry Wells and William G. Fargo founded not just one, but two major, household-name financial companies: Wells Fargo and American Express. Wells and Fargo, having worked for years in the shipping industry, founded American Express in March 1850 to capitalize on the U.S.’s expanding size and population by offering a fast, reliable delivery service between the East and Midwest, according to American National Biography Online. But with the discovery of gold in California, Wells and Fargo saw a whole new market emerge.

Unfortunately, their other partners refused to expand, so Wells and Fargo took matters into their own hands. They raised $300,000, and in 1852 founded a new company — Wells, Fargo & Company — to bring express shipping to California.

John D. Rockefeller and Henry Flagler: Standard Oil

John D. Rockefeller net worth: equivalent of $341 billion in 2014, according to Time.com

Henry Flagler net worth: unknown

Company: Standard Oil is defunct, but has successors

Standard Oil used to be the king of the oil industry and, by 1880, controlled the refining of nearly 90 to 95 percent of all oil produced in the U.S. John D. Rockefeller rightfully gets the most credit for founding this juggernaut, but his partner Henry M. Flagler played a major role in the company’s success.

As the main oil refiner in Cleveland, Rockefeller was already making money hand over fist by the 1860s, but he still needed a business partner to complement him. After buying out his original partner Maurice B. Clark, Rockefeller brought in Ohio grain merchant Henry Flagler in 1867. Flagler proved to be the ideal business partner to bolster Rockefeller’s strategic vision and resolve, as well as provide lawyer-like analysis of business contracts, according to American Enterprise Institute.

Rockefeller and Flagler formed the Standard Oil Company on Jan. 10, 1870. The U.S. government eventually ordered the Standard Oil monopoly to break up in 1911, which is when Rockefeller and Flagler’s partnership ended, too. To this day, you’ll recognize Rockefeller and Flagler’s company through its successors: Mobil, Amoco, Chevron and Exxon.

Orville and Wilbur Wright: Curtiss-Wright

Wilbur Wright net worth: unknown

Orville Wright net worth: $10.3 million in 2015 dollars upon his death

Company: Curtiss-Wright — $2.21 billion in revenue

Orville and Wilbur Wright introduced powered, heavier-than-air human flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C., in 1903. The Wright Brothers' success was due to years of research and development, but also the right mix of personalities and skills. Wilbur handled the business half of their partnership, serving as president of the Wright Company, while Orville was the back-room inventor — but together they always shared credit for success.

The Wright Brothers were one of the best business partners because of communication and open debate. Wilbur, who died in 1912, shared a crucial insight into the success of his and Orville’s partnership: “Nearly everything that was done in our lives has been the result of conversations, suggestions and discussion between us,” according to the Smithsonian.

The Wright Company lasted from Nov. 22, 1909, until Orville sold his interest in 1915. But its legacy lives on today as Curtiss-Wright.

Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard: HP

Bill Hewlett net worth: $9 billion, in 2000

Dave Packard net worth: $4 billion, in 1996

Company: HP — $102.08 billion in revenue

Like so many of the most successful business partners, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard met in college. While studying under the gifted Fred Terman at Stanford, Hewlett and Packard discussed forming a company, and founded Hewlett-Packard Corporation on Jan. 1, 1939, according to the company.

From its humble origins making audio oscillators, HP went on to become a tech giant, producing PCs, printers, software, servers and plenty more. Despite such milestones, Hewlett and Packard also made big mistakes — but learned from them. When HP tried and failed to compete with rival Tektronix in oscilloscope market, the duo took away a key lesson that all entrepreneurs and businessmen alike should learn: Only attack an established market or competitor if your company can make a crucial contribution over what’s already available.

Hewlett retired as CEO and was succeeded by John Young in 1978. Both Hewlett and Packard would play unofficial roles in the company for many years. Packard died in 1996 and Hewlett in 2001.

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield: Ben & Jerry's

Ben Cohen net worth: $150 million

Jerry Greenfield net worth: $150 million

Company: Ben & Jerry’s — $465.4 million in sales 2015

Ice cream is big business in the U.S., with the industry as a whole recording an incredible $5.15 billion in sales for 2015. Ben & Jerry’s ranked as the third-highest selling brand that year, according to Statista. But it isn’t the pursuit of profit that puts Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield among the best business partners.

Giving back was a key part of Cohen and Greenfield’s success. After opening the first Ben & Jerry’s in 1978, the duo created the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation charity in 1985, which donates nearly 8 percent of the company’s profits to nonprofits across the U.S., according to Entrepreneur.com. Within Ben & Jerry’s, Cohen and Greenfield knew that business success came from their employees really caring about the company.

They started programs designed to benefit employees: free gym memberships, day care service, college tuition aid and profit-sharing deals. Equally important, Cohen created a greater atmosphere of democracy, having subordinates evaluate their bosses and creating a forum for them to freely express their ideas and concerns. Not surprisingly, Ben & Jerry’s successful policies led competitors to follow their lead.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen: Microsoft

Bill Gates net worth: $77.3 billion

Paul Allen net worth: $17.8 billion

Company: Microsoft — $92.97 billion in revenue

It’s hard to imagine a world without Microsoft, but thanks to Bill Gates and Paul Allen, we don’t have to. Microsoft founders Gates and Allen met at Seattle's Lakeside School in the 1960s as children and continued their friendship, and love of computers, well beyond those early years, Wired reported.

With their love of computers and entrepreneurial spirit, Gates and Allen seemed destined for success from the beginning. Instead, one of their first business ventures — Traf-O-Data, launched in 1974 — failed in 1980 after basically finding no customers for the product, despite being a great idea on paper, according to Newsweek.

Gates and Allen rank among the best business partners because they learned a great deal from this failure. Allen said the Traf-O-Data failure taught him that low-cost microprocessors would be the key to the future of the computer industry — and Microsoft’s success.

Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger: Berkshire Hathaway

Warren Buffett net worth: $67.9 billion

Charlie Munger net worth: $1.31 billion

Company: Berkshire Hathaway — $210.82 billion in revenue

From a struggling textile mill to a company whose stock price is over $200,000 a share, Berkshire Hathaway seems like a genuine rags-to-riches tale. You can thank Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger for that. The two Omaha natives met in 1959, finding common ground in their belief in value investing, according to Forbes.

Over the decades, Buffett and Munger have worked closely together building Berkshire Hathaway, with Buffett serving as chairman and CEO and Munger as vice chairman. Much of what makes them one of the most successful business partners comes from similarities — both were born and raised in Omaha, and both worked for Buffett's grandfather Ernest, toiling away at the Buffett family grocery store, CNBC reported.

Perhaps the real key to their success was something simpler: fun and humor. In an interview with CNBC, Buffett and Munger both couldn't help but cite the fact that, "We have minds that work the same way to a great degree. We find the same things quite humorous (and) the things we deplore we agree on."

Due to their similar upbringing, their shared sense of humor and mutual respect for each other, Buffett and Munger forged Berkshire Hathaway into a $200 billion annual revenue company.

Keep Reading: How to Become the Next Warren Buffett

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak: Apple Inc.

Steve Jobs net worth: $14.4 billion at his death, in current dollars

Steve Wozniak net worth: $100 million

Company: Apple Inc. — $231.28 billion in revenue

There just seems to be something about tech giants and dynamic duos. For Microsoft, the founders were Gates and Allen; for HP, Hewlett and Packard; and for Apple, the Steves.

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak became friends at a summer job in 1970, and six years later they founded Apple, according to Business Insider.

What made Jobs and Wozniak one of the most successful business partners was the right combination of personalities. Wozniak was the hands-on engineer, constantly tinkering with computers. Jobs, on the other hands, was the businessman who intended to change the world — and did so with his ability to sell Apple to businesses and the public alike. Wozniak left Apple in 1985, according to Biography.com.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin: Google

Larry Page net worth: $36.6 billion

Sergey Brin net worth: $35.8 billion

Company: Google — $73.59 billion in revenue

Stanford has a habit of producing some of the best business partners, especially when it comes to tech. Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at a Stanford PhD program in 1995 and, despite a rocky start, they collaborated together on a wordy-titled project called, “The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine,” Business Insider reported. As unappealing as that sounds, the paper would form the foundation for Google.

Brin and Page still work together to this day. Brin serves as the president and Page the CEO of Alphabet, the parent company of Google they established in August 2015, according to Forbes.

Pierre Omidyar and Jeffrey Skoll: eBay

Pierre Omidyar net worth: $7.8 billion

Jeffrey Skoll net worth: $4.3 billion

Company: eBay — $8.59 billion

Pierre Omidyar might officially be the sole founder of eBay, but you can’t forget how important Jeffrey Skoll was, and is, to the online company’s success. Armed with a Stanford MBA, Skoll joined Omidyar in 1995 when the latter invited him to draw up the business plan for his company, Auction Web, which became eBay by the end of the year.

Complementary skills and shared values are often the ingredients for the most successful business partners. Omidyar was the computer programmer, while Skoll was the businessman. Both also brought a democratic approach to eBay and their partnership, referring to their market as “the community,” not customers, according to Business Insider.

Trading 218 million shares on its first day Sept. 24, 1998, as a public company, eBay was one of the biggest IPOs that year. Omidyar left his position of chairman of eBay in July 2015 after the company’s split with PayPal, though he still sits on the boards of both companies, Forbes reported. Skoll left eBay in 2001 to focus on his own projects, including charity organization Skoll Foundation and the production company Participant Media.

Gordon Moore and Bob Noyce: Intel

Gordon Moore net worth: $7.1 billion

Bob Noyce net worth: $3.7 billion (in 2012)

Company: Intel — $55.36 billion

The tech industry has long been a cutthroat business, and the founders of Intel — Gordon Moore and Bob Noyce — know this better than most. Moore and Noyce both worked with early Silicon Valley magnate William Shockley at Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory until 1957, when they abandoned him and his tyrannical management to found Intel in 1968, according to Entrepreneur.

Complementary personalities helped Moore and Noyce become one of the best business partners in the industry. Noyce’s visionary, big-picture mentality fit neatly with the reflective, mild-mannered Moore, who preferred working in the lab.

Their partnership, combined with Noyce’s down-to-earth and flexible management style, created a winning combination at Intel. In November 1971, the company launched the Intel 4004, the first general-purpose programmable processor that became the model microprocessor used in most PCs, The New York Times reported.

Jerry Yang and David Filo: Yahoo

Jerry Yang net worth: $1.9 billion

David Filo net worth: $2.9 billion

Company: Yahoo — $4.98 billion in revenue

Jerry Yang and David Filo came upon the idea for Yahoo while trying to avoid doing their school work. As doctoral candidates at Stanford in 1994, Filo and Yang were tasked with developing a new line of computer chips before their supervisor went on leave. Without supervision, the two put their time into surfing the internet, Entrepreneur reported.

Procrastination usually isn’t a good thing, but it is arguably what made Filo and Yang one of the most successful business partners in recent history. Their obsession with the Internet convinced them to start categorizing their favorite websites because, up until that time, the web lacked formal organization.

What began as the informal “David and Jerry’s Guide to the Web” soon transformed into a whole website that, by November 1994, was bringing 170,000 visitors to it a day. By then, they had changed the site’s name to Yahoo.

Although Filo and Yang were young, inexperienced and hadn’t turned a profit yet, their talent and vision lured Silicon Valley venture capitalist Mike Moritz to invest $1 million in Yahoo at the end of 1994.

Michael Eisner and Frank Wells: Disney

Michael Eisner net worth: $1 billion

Frank Wells net worth: unknown

Company: Disney — $52 billion in revenue

You might not expect Michael Eisner to be on a list of the best business partners, considering he was voted out as chairman of Disney in 2004. But when CEO Eisner was matched with the new Disney president, Frank Wells, in 1984, they brought the storied film company back to life, The New York Times reported.

When Eisner and Wells joined Disney, the company was struggling and nearly acquired by competitors. The combination, however, of Eisner’s creative energy and enthusiasm with Wells’ pragmatism and business skill helped turn Disney into the No. 1 studio at the box office by 1988, according to James B. Stewart's book "DisneyWar."

Read: 15 Shocking Things You Never Knew About Disney

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The 14 Best Business Partner Duos of All Time

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