By their mid-30s, Tom Scott and Tom First were ready to retire.
By their mid-30s, Tom Scott and Tom First were ready to retire. They had sold a majority stake in the business they had started from the back of their boat to Ocean Spray, and when Cadbury Schweppes bought the entire business for $100 million, the two men realized they would never have to work again. But it wasn’t easy giving up their moniker “The Juice Guys” even if they were satisfied with the sale price of Nantucket Nectars. Rather than spend their afternoons boating, golfing, or doing some other retirement activity, the men are both involved in new entrepreneurial ventures—a line of flavored waters, a company that operates television channels in historic, affluent towns, and a beverage- distribution software company.
Scott and First are part of a group of entrepreneurs called multipreneurs, or people who are able to bring two, three, or even more ideas and products to market. Sometimes multipreneurs undertake ventures in the same basic field; for example, Steve Jobs is a multipreneur in technology. Other times, multipreneurs start companies in distinctly different industries. Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin started a company that provided wellness materials to corporate human resource departments, an ad agency, and a book-packaging company called Airplane Books.
Whether they are well known, as Steve Jobs, or relatively obscure, like Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin, multipreneurs share some common traits. According to a study by Wayne Stewart, a professor of management at Clemson University, multipreneurs have a higher propensity for risk, innovation, and achievement, lower fear of failure, and a tendency to be resilient. They are also able to draw on their experience with their previous entrepreneurial venture to help them map out their current venture. Tom Scott sums up the drive of the multipreneur this way: “I think the best entrepreneurs are like artists and painters. It’s about creating. It’s not about business.“4
Critical Thinking Questions
1 Other than those listed above, what qualities do you think would be necessary to become a multipreneur?
2 Do you think multipreneurs in the same industries are more successful than those who try their hand in different industries?
