• Blog
  • Archives
  • Bio
  • Awards
  • Speaking
  • Book
  • Contact

Ogilvy

Published: Wednesday, 20 March 2013

A lot of successful entrepreneurs dropped out of school (Richard Branson) or university (Bill Gates).  But Ogilvy, who went on to become a famous ad man, at 38, had "no credentials, no clients, and $6000 in the bank" and a below average IQ of 96.

I watched a documentary on Ogilvy a few years ago, and when it got to the bit about his IQ score, it said that Ogilvy had tested his IQ at the end of his career, after he'd retired.  He was expecting to be a genius, but his results showed him to be below average.  He was disappointed for a few days.  But then he realised that he'd actually done quite well for himself to have done so well with such a low IQ.

So you don't think you're as smart as everyone else, you've scored low on an IQ test, you're broke, you don't have a job, and you don't have a great education.  So what?  Other people have been in that position before and created amazing things for the world.  And you can do so too.

About Me

Marita ChengForbes named me a world's top 50 woman in tech & 30 Under 30. I founded Robogals and Aipoly and was Young Australian of the Year 2012. Currently working on robotics company Aubot. I'm the youngest Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and I give speeches around the world.

I tweet @maritacheng and I'm on Facebook.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Random Articles

  • Choose Maths

    Choose Maths is an exciting 5 year, national project designed to empower and encourage Australian students (in particular girls) to pursue...

  • NBN STEMpreneur

    The NBN Stempreneur Initiative is a virtual learning program for kids in eight regional schools. It shows young people the breadth of opportunities...

  • Channel 7 - House of Wellness TV

    Channel 7’s The House of Wellness TV got in touch to find out what I’m up to. We talked robots, Aipoly and more robots.

  • Australian of the Year Awards 60th anniversary

    My last, large, in-person networking event I went to in Australia since before the pandemic was the 60th anniversary celebrations for the Australian of the...

  • The stars won't align

    I was thinking and plotting and planning my startup. When to begin.  Was it too early?  Was the market ready?  Would I waste my time?  Would I waste my...

  • Your work is never done

    When I started Robogals, I thought going to schools and teaching girls robotics should get more to choose physics, chemistry and advanced maths;...

  • Regaining focus

    During my time at Robogals, towards the end of every year, I would lose focus. Why?  All my major projects for the year would have been wound up.  My...

  • AWW Women of the Future Awards

    On 22 September, by an esteemed panel that included Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce, Chloe Shorten, Today show co-host Lisa Wilkinson, 7.30 anchor...

  • The Sandbox Global Summit

    How to create a Sandbox Global Summit Carefully select over 4 years, a group of 650 under-30 year-olds from around the world and cultivate...

  • The worst that can happen

    When I was growing up, my mum earned about $20,000 a year to support herself, my brother and I.  By living very frugally and only spending money on...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top