McDonald’s, a Franchise Pioneer

McDonald’s continues to hold its own since going public in 1965 under the insightful leadership of Ray Kroc, who has made McDonald’s the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 30,000 restaurants, located in more than 100 countries and serving 27 million Americans a day. What many American’s don’t realize is that Ray’s business savvy wasn’t completely revealed until he was over 50-years-old.

Ray Kroc didn’t finished High school. He trained as an ambulance driver in WWII but never served because the war ended on the last day of his training. After that, he worked at various sales jobs, and then spent 17 years with the Lily Tulip Cup Company. He left for a position selling the Multimixer, a contraption that could make 5 milkshakes at a time. Fate took him to California where he met the McDonald’s brothers who needed 8 machines. But once Ray saw the concept of McDonald’s, he abandoned the Multimixer for a share in the company that became completely his in 1961 for $2.9million.

Ray Kroc’s story is as inspirational to the rising entrepreneur as it is an example of the ideal business model. He once said, "I guess to be an entrepreneur you have to have a large ego, enormous pride and an ability to inspire others to follow your lead." Mr. Kroc has certainly done that with his megabrand template and an advertising scheme that has made Ronald McDonald a household name.