Fred DeLuca may not be a name that is synonymous with business.

It may not even be a name that

many people have heard of, but it is a name that should provide inspiration to budding entrepreneurs
everywhere. DeLuca is the founder of Subway, the sandwich restaurant chain, and his philosophies
and principles provide an excellent example of how to build up and make a fortune from the simplest
of ideas.

Fred DeLuca’s Entrepreneurial Aspirations

Fred DeLuca was born in New York in 1948 and had an average childhood. Whilst it was not
privileged, he did have the opportunity to obtain a good education from the University of Bridgeport.
However, by the time he graduated, DeLuca’s empire of Subway stores was well on the way to being
born.

DeLuca was just 17 when he established his first sandwich restaurant. The capital he required to set
up this first entrepreneurial venture was borrowed from family friend Peter Buck. It may appear to
have been an entrepreneurial venture in hindsight, but in truth DeLuca was only trying to raise money
to be able to go to college and graduate.

Although the first sandwich store struggled in 1965 and 1966, DeLuca had gotten a taste for business
and, with Buck’s blessing, opened a second store. Despite extensive promotion, the second store also
made a loss the first year. However, the simple idea of fresh food and custom made sandwiches did
begin to catch on so DeLuca and Buck opened a third store in a more prominent location, which
actively made the Subway brand available to more people. The word quickly spread and DeLuca was
facing a major success story.

Subway Today

Subway has come a long way since Fred DeLuca’s entrepreneurial exploits in Connecticut. In fact, it
now occupies more than 26,300 stores in over 85 countries. This is a direct result of the entrepreneur
noticing a space in the market for franchisers. Instead of running every single store himself from a
head office, DeLuca offered the brand as a franchise so that potential business owners could open
their own stores. This caught the attention of budding entrepreneurs everywhere because it gave
them their own chance to earn on the back of a major brand. As such, Subway can now be found all
over the world. DeLuca’s business plan gave back to other people just like him whilst consolidating his
market share.

Fred DeLuca is still as frugal as ever, despite his $1.5 billion fortune. He is reported to live a modest
life and still lives by the philosophy of keeping everything simple. He does not take uncalculated risks
and guards his achievements wisely. As such, he is an excellent role model for entrepreneurs
everywhere. His business model was an innovative and extremely successful one that tapped into his
own business knowledge whilst attracting the aspirations of others. As such, it has proved to be a
winning formula. With a lot of hard work and steady progress, Fred DeLuca has proved that big
entrepreneurial business and the rewards that come with it are possible.