- Paul Orfalea
Paul Orfalea ( _ar. بول أورفاليا), nicknamed "Kinko" because of his curly red hair, born in
Los Angeles , California, to parents of Lebanese descent, founded the copy-chain Kinko's.He is currently a philanthropist and a visiting professor in the Global and International Studies Department of the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), and the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Southern California (USC)
Marshall School of Business .Kinko's
:"See
FedEx Kinko's Paul Orfalea founded Kinko's in 1970 near UCSB with a simple idea: provide college students with products and services they need at a competitive price. The space that Orfalea rented for his copy business was so small that the copy machine had to be lugged out onto the sidewalk. From its modest beginnings, Kinko's is now the world's leading business services chain, and is presently owned byFedEx . Today, there are over 1,500 Kinko's worldwide.Orfalea also hired salespeople to sell notebooks and other stationery at the dorms of UCSB.
He was commemorated with a plaque by the community of
Isla Vista , which is next to the UCSB campus, where the originalKinko's copy shop was founded.Publications
In 2005, Orfalea coauthored the book "Copy This! Lessons from a hyperactive dyslexic who turned a bright idea into one of America’s best companies". Indeed he seems to take pride in having
dyslexia andattention deficit hyperactivity disorder .“I get bored easily, and that is a great motivator,” he said. “I think everybody should have dyslexia and A.D.D.”
In 2007 he also coauthored the book "The Entrepreneurial Investor: The Art, Science, and Business of Value Investing" [ [http://800ceoread.com/products/?ISBN=9780470227145] ] along with West Coast Asset Management coauthors Lance Helfert, Atticus Lowe, and Dean Zatkowsky. This book explains the balance of art and science in investing, guiding readers on how to succeed as a knowledgeable investor. Orfalea's insights draw from a past rich with investment experience, from childhood visits to his father's stock broker to co-founding successful money management company West Coast Asset Management.
Biography
Orfalea graduated from USC, and is a 1969 initiate of the Gamma Eta Chapter of
Pi Kappa Alpha .Philanthropy
He founded the Orfalea Foundation which among other things sponsors
NOW (TV series) withDavid Brancaccio .He also made a large donation to fund the business school within California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo), which was renamed theCal Poly Orfalea College of Business in his honor.References
External links
* [http://www.paulorfalea.com Paul Orfalea's official website]
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