Fred Smith

“The founder of FedEx, Fred Smith, he had payroll coming on Monday in the early days of FedEx and he couldn't make me poor payroll. He knew he couldn't meet it. He went to Vegas. Okay. Played blackjack. Won at Blackjack and made payroll on Monday, ok?”

“At 15, Fred earned his pilot's license, the youngest age legally allowed.”

“Fred and two friends launched Ardent Record Company from a garage recording local Memphis musicians. It began as a hobby, but quickly became a legitimate business. They broke even on their first release. The studio would survive for decades. Led Zeppelin would…”

“The professor gave it a C.”

“The fraternity he was president of was Delta Kappa Epsilon alongside future president George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry. He was tapped for Skull and Bones, one of only 15 seniors selected.”

“Smith served two tours from 1966 to 1970, earning the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts.”

“The lesson he took away from his time is that loyalty is earned through shared sacrifice, not money.”

“Years later, when FedEx nearly died, employees would work without pay to save it. They'd use personal credit cards to fuel planes, not because they had to, but because Fred Smith had learned from Sergeant Jack how to earn that kind of loyalty.”

“By late, he'd raised ninety-one million dollars in venture capital. More than any startup had ever raised at that point.”

“Smith Flew to Las Vegas with the company's last 5000 dollars, and by Monday morning, he'd won 27,000 dollars at Blackjack, enough for fuel and payroll for another few weeks.”

“Zapmail burned through hundreds of millions before Smith would admit defeat.”

“At one point, he seriously investigated using giant cargo blimps. His executives thought he was joking, but he commissioned actual studies. The economics kind of made sense. They could carry 250 tons at about a hundred miles an hour using cheap natural gas.”

“He offered 20 dollars and 88 cents a share, eight hundred and eighty million dollars total, six dollars above the market price.”

“Under new leadership, FedEx finally merged express and ground operations, something that Smith had resisted for decades.”

“Fred Smith died on June, 21st, 25 at the age of 80. By then, FedEx operated in over 220 countries, employed half a million people, and moved seventeen million packages daily.”

“This one policy created more accountability inside FedEx than a thousand meetings ever could. It turned every employee into an owner because failure hit the bottom line immediately.”

“The idea for Raising Cane's was a a paper in business school at LSU and he got the worst grade in class, which is funny because FedEx, Fred Smith got a bad grade. Phil Knight, Nike, bad grade.”

“These founders write a business plan in business school about their idea and they get terrible grades. So like Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx, C minus Todd Graves, lowest grade in the class Phil Knight for Nike, same thing, bad grade”