Joy feelings magazine September 2019 Issue | Page 99

Before he founded Forever 21, he worked three jobs simultaneously, as
a gas station clerk, a janitor and a coffee shop employee. That period
lasted for three years before he founded the company and opened its
first clothing store, in 1984.
This family business grew quickly by taking advantage of the benefits
of "fast fashion." Forever 21 is now multi-national and has 480
locations across the world. It has also managed to bring in $3 billion
per year. And the next generation has been taken into the company, as
Chang has brought his two daughters on board.
5. Zdenek Bakala flees Communist Czechoslovakia with $50.
Zdenek Bakala happens to be one of the leading coal entrepreneurs in
the United States. Originally from Czechoslovakia, he fled that country
when he was just 19. He arrived in Lake Tahoe with just $50 in his
pocket. Once there, he got a job washing dishes at Harrah’s casino.
Fast-forward a few years: Bakala attended the prestigious University of
California-Berkeley and acquired his undergraduate degree. That
higher education credential gained him entry into the banking world.
And returning to his homeland, in 1994 he opened the Credit Suisse
office in Prague.