This one goes out to everyone who passed the 30-year-mark and had a ‘what-have-I-done-with-my-life’ crisis.

That gentleman with the moose in the above picture is Wally Blume. He didn’t have the time or the money to start his own business until he was 57.

Now his company makes millions of dollars every year, but more on him later.

Some of the biggest names in business only hit on that million dollar idea later in life, reports Business Insider.

Here’s a list of 10 people, including Mr Blume, who found success after their 30s:

Gary Heavin founded Curves Fitness in his late 30s

Gary Heavin founded Curves Fitness, the women-only gym, with his wife Diane in 1992.

Curves would go on to open another 10,000 locations by 2006, its commercial peak. Today, Curves has only 409 locations, and Heavin has turned his focus to producing Christian films like “Amerigeddon.”

He looks like the type.

Robin Chase helped start Zipcar at age 42

Before smartphones made car-sharing super easy, Zipcar helped you to rent cars in a quick and affordable way.

The very first Zipcar sat outside Chase’s Massachusetts home, and a set of keys was hidden under a pillow on her front porch. Zipcar went on to be valued at $1.2 billion when it went public in 2011.

After leaving Zipcar in 2003, Chase continued building transportation companies like GoLoco and Buzzcar.

Ray Kroc met the McDonald brothers at age 52

Ray Kroc met the men behind the biggest fast-food chain in history when he was 52.

Dick and Mac needed a franchising agent to expand their store to new locations, and Kroc saw his big opportunity. After 30 years of odd jobs (paper-cup salesman, piano player, milkshake-mixer salesman), he founded McDonald’s Systems Inc. in 1955.

McDonald’s now feeds over 70 million people a day.

Safra Catz joined Oracle at age 39

Catz joined Oracle in 1999 and joined the board of directors when she was 39.

She quickly climbed the corporate ladder and served as CFO, and is now co-CEO along with Max Hurd. Catz was named the world’s highest-paid female CEO in 2017, the year she earned $40.9 million.

Girl boss.

Momofuku Ando of Nissin Foods invented instant ramen at age 48

Momofuku Ando founded Nissin Foods as a salt company just after World War II.

Japan was in desperate need of food after the war, prompting Ando to invent instant ramen noodles in 1958 at age 48.

Ando lived to be 96, when he died in 2007. He credited his old age to eating chicken-flavored instant ramen every single day until his death.

Good to know. I’ll stock up.

Tim and Nina Zagat published their famous restaurant guide when both were in their 40s

Tim and Nina Zagat met at Yale Law School, got married, and moved to New York to become corporate lawyers.

Years later, while they were living and working in Paris, they made a hobby of compiling a list of their favorite restaurants in the city, which eventually became the Zagat Survey.

The first guide was published in 1982 when the Zagats were in their 40s.

Jack Weil founded Rockmount Ranch Wear at age 45

Rockmount Ranch Wear helps you to dress like a cowboy. Weil founded the brand when he was 45.

His designs became iconic and transformed Western fashion for modern people — snap-on buttons, saw-tooth pocket designs, and even the bolo tie. Before founding his stores, he was a garter salesman.

He remained CEO until his death in 2008 at the age of 107.

Lynda Weinman founded Lynda.com at age 40

Lynda.com is an online training library for computer skills. Weinman founded the company with her husband in 1995 when she was 40-years-old.

Before her big break, Weinman had several jobs: She opened two retail stores in Los Angeles, then became a digital animator for Dreamquest. She also taught digital media at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

Then she had that one big idea.

Sam Walton opened the first Walmart at age 44

Walton opened the first Walmart in 1962 when he was 44.

Before starting his retail empire, Walton had a reasonably successful career in retail management. The first Walmart (based in Rogers, Arkansas) was called Wal-Mart Discount City.

Today, there are 11,368 Walmart stores worldwide, which produce over $500 million in revenue each year.

They also produce some very entertaining internet content.

Wally Blume found success with Denali Flavors at age 57

And back to Wally Blume.

Before starting ice-cream company Denali flavours, he worked in new product development for a supermarket chain, and even looked into a franchise cheese store.

He developed his ice cream flavor, Moose Tracks, on the side, with the help of a few friends. Moose Tracks eventually became a hit, leading to Denali Flavors, Blume’s now booming ice cream company.

So chin up fellow 30-something!

There’s hope yet.

[source:businessinsider]