20 Entrepreneurs on the Lessons Their Mothers Taught Them

By Lydia Belanger • May 08, 2016

Ilya S. Savenok/Stringer | Getty Images

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On Mother’s Day, we send cards, flowers and spa certificates to our moms as a way of thanking them for their love and support over the years. But these gifts, designed for mothers universally, often fail to acknowledge how our moms’ personal beliefs and actions have shaped our own.

For entrepreneurs, timeless motherly advice resonates. Whether it comes to making a decision about turning a passion into a company, navigating the challenges of starting a business or interacting with people from all walks of life, these lessons ring true throughout every life and career stage.

We asked founders and executives to share the mom-inspired nuggets of wisdom that have made them better entrepreneurs. Here, we selected our favorite 20. Read their stories and then head to Facebook and Twitter to tell us what your mom taught you.

Robert Herjavec

Company: Herjavec Group Shark Tank Lesson: Shark Tank

Ryan Hoover

Company: Product Hunt Lesson:

Katia Beauchamp

Company: Birchbox
Lesson: Be independent.
Beauchamp’s mother always helped her to recognize her own capabilities. One of her earliest memories of her mother’s push for her to be more independent was when she allowed her to start signing her own report cards in sixth grade. She taught her to start with “I” and remember that her own interpretations of others’ actions were more important than the actions themselves.