The McDonald’s Corporation currently holds the title of being the world’s largest hamburger fast food chain. Possessing more than 33,000 restaurants in 119 countries, McDonald’s serves approximately 64 million customers a day (Source: Here), a perfect example of entrepreneurship!

A US restaurant that originally began with the McDonald brothers, it was eventually bought by Ray Croc in 1961, the pronounced founder of the McDonald’s Corporation today.

McDonald’s display of entrepreneurship involves:

Risk: When McDonald’s was still owned by the McDonald brothers, the company only had a handful of restaurants. Upon Kroc’s entry into the company, he suggested to franchise the McDonald’s restaurant throughout the US. The brothers were hesitant about the costly move, but Kroc undertook the risk himself and McDonald’s grew slowly for the next 3 years.

Speed/Amount of Wealth Creation: In the 1960’s, McDonald’s began to experience rapid growth through efficient marketing campaigns; “Look for the Golden Arches” were one of its first. The company later went up for IPO in 1965 selling $22.50/share, and on the same day rose to $30/share! The company opened its 1000th restaurant 3 years later. By 1972, McDonald’s exceeded $1 billion in yearly sales within 11 years. (Source: Here)

Innovation: Today, outsourcing drive-thru, a breakfast menu, cheap coffee, Happy Meals, PlayPlace, and McCafe are some of the few innovations in practice that creates new markets for McDonald’s, and defines some of the company’s competitive advantage.

McDonald’s “Look for the Golden Arches” commercial: