Mustang Daily Staff Report
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Paul Orfalea was a dyslexic and straight ‘D’ student with an attention deficit, yet he still managed to become the founder of one of Fortune Magazine’s “Best Places to Work,” Kinkos. In 2001, Cal Poly’s business college was officially renamed the Orfalea College of Business in his honor, creating a close connection between himself and the school.
And today he visited Cal Poly, to speak about success, his start in business and ways hopeful entrepreneurs can gain an edge.
Orfalea spoke to a packed crowd (standing room only) at the Alex and Faye Spanos Theatre, in a lecture titled “A Conversation with Paul Orfalea.” The “conversation” was moderated by business administration professor Jonathan York, and also featured introductions by dean Dave Christy and Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong.
In the lecture, Orfalea — wearing a shiny gray suit and matching tie — told the story of how he went from a failing student to a business guru.
“I couldn’t focus too much,” he said as he lounged with his ankles crossed in his chair onstage. “So I really had to own my own business.”
The idea for this business came about during his time and the University of Southern California, when he noticed that people would wait in line to copy documents, he said.
“I thought, ‘If people are willing to do that here, why not in Santa Barbara?'” he said.
From there, Kinko’s — named after Orfalea’s own nickname — was born. Throughout the ’70s and ’80s, Orfalea expanded his business, until he had more than 800 stores worldwide, he said. Then, in 2004, FedEx acquired Kinko’s. This, Orfalea said, was the moment he knew he was successful.
In addition to sharing his story, Orfalea also shared his insight into becoming successful in the business world. One such piece of advice was for prospective entrepreneurs to always trust their guts.
“If it doesn’t feel right intuitively,” he said as he gestured to his stomach, “don’t do it. We are blessed with intuition, so use it.”
The lecture concluded with Orfalea and representatives from the business college announcing a new competition, in which students will submit pitches for their best non-traditional uses for dairy products. The best “Milk Your Creativity,” pitch will win $3,000, and two runners-up will receive $1,000 each. The competition deadline is Feb. 25, and all submissions will be evaluated by a pre-selected panel of judges.
Kaytlyn Leslie contributed to this report.