Paul Orfalea
Paul Orfalea | |
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Born | Kinko's | November 28, 1947
Paul Orfalea (born November 28, 1947) is an American businessman who founded the copy-chain Kinko's.[1]
Orfalea was born in
Early life
Orfalea's father and grandmother ran clothing stores in Los Angeles. According to Orfalea, he was a woodshop major in high school, and his typical report card was "two C's, three D's, and an F." Due to his dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Orfalea reportedly flunked two grades and was expelled from several schools.[5] He later attended the University of Southern California.[1] Despite being fired from a number of jobs, his family supported him in his determination to launch his own business.[6] In later life he remarked on the subject of his handicaps, "I get bored easily, and that is a great motivator, I think everybody should have dyslexia and ADD."[7][8] His curly, red hair earned him the nickname "Kinko".
Kinko's
Orfalea started his own business while attending UC Santa Barbara. With a $5,000 bank loan co-signed by his parents, Orfalea founded Kinko's in 1970. His first store, which he rented for $100 a month was a small single office space adjacent to a hamburger stand in the
Philanthropy
In 2000, Orfalea established the Orfalea Family Foundation that deals with differences in learning, care in early life stages, knowledge-giving programs that span the needs of multiple generations, and training for caregiving.[5] The Orfalea Foundation, as it is now known, focuses on early childhood education, K-college education, and youth development, primarily in Santa Barbara County, California. The foundation is known for taking direct action as well as making grants. Its most visible program, the School Food Initiative (SFI), trains food service staff and directors to transition from heat-and-serve fare to cooked-from-scratch meals in local schools. SFI also provides infrastructure and equipment grants to support scratch cooking, along with farm-to-school connections, school gardens, and food literacy programs.
In 2001, the
Publications
- Copy This!: Lessons from a Hyperactive Dyslexic Who Turned a Bright Idea into One of America's Best Companies. 2005, Paul Orfalea; Ann Marsh. Workman Publishing
- Two Billion Dollars in Nickels: Reflections on the Entrepreneurial Life. 2008, Paul Orfalea; Dean Zatkowsky. Dizzy One Ventures LLC
- The Entrepreneurial Investor: The Art, Science, and Business of Value Investing. 2008, Paul Orfalea; Lance Helfert; Atticus Lowe; Dean Zatkowsky. John Wiley & Sons
References
- ^ a b c Carmichael, Evan. "The Curly Haired Copy Entrepreneur: The Rise of Paul Orfalea". Evancarmichael.com. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
- ^ "Ofalea, Paul. Founder of Kinko's". Encyclopedia.com.
- ^ "The Orfalea Center for Global & International Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara". Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2011-06-04.
- ^ "Paul Orfalea's Boot Camp for Life". Archived from the original on 2015-02-14. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
- ^ a b c Sterman, Paul. "Meet "Kinko" Paul Orfalea". Giving Back, April/May 2003. Ability Magazine. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-59315-637-4. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
- ^ BOWERS, BRENT (December 6, 2007). "Tracing Business Acumen to Dyslexia". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ISBN 978-0-7432-3338-5. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
- ^ Olsen, Dana (2012-02-15). "Orfalea offers advice to start ups". Pacific Coast Business Times. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
- ^ Marshall:University of Southern California:Paul Orfalea biography
- ^ "That Kinko's Guy". 10 December 2013.
- ^ "About Paul Orfalea". California Polytechnic State University. Retrieved December 21, 2012.