Houston Survey Shows Fewer Teens Admire Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg than Apple Founder Steve Jobs in a Battle of the Tech Titans

HOUSTON, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg may have created a product with a half a billion users and be the subject of a hit Hollywood movie, The Social Network, but a new survey reveals he's not the entrepreneur Houston teens admire most. A 2010 Teens and Entrepreneurship survey conducted by Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas and sponsored by Sam's Club finds Apple founder Steve Jobs sits atop a list of most admired entrepreneurs.

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Nearly a third of respondents (31 percent) named Steve Jobs as the most admired entrepreneur, up from eighteen percent in the 2009 survey. Mark Zuckerberg only received thirteen percent of votes for most admired entrepreneur, up from three percent in the 2009 survey.

The top five most admired entrepreneurs by Houston teens include: Steve Jobs at 31 percent, rapper Jay-Z at 30 percent, media mogul Oprah Winfrey at 19 percent, music industry executive Russell Simmons at 17 percent and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk at 14 percent.

The local survey of 375 teens also found that six-in-ten respondents (60 percent) would like to start their own businesses someday with eighteen percent most interested in an entertainment business and ten percent in a technology-based business.

So what qualities do these Houston teens admire most in these entrepreneurs? Riches or fame? Those responses only earned 14 percent and 10 percent of teens' votes respectively. Top for teens is being successful in multiple fields and making a difference. Twenty-six percent of teens cited success in multiple fields as what makes an entrepreneur stand out and nineteen percent admire entrepreneurs who make a difference in people's lives.

What's the deciding factor for teens becoming entrepreneurs in the future? Key responses point to their environment and having strong role models.

"Junior Achievement not only provides strong role models, but it gives students real-life experiences by operating an actual business enterprise with their own products through a unique learning simulation called JA Company Program," said Rick Franke, president, Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas.  

Find out more about this engaging opportunity for students and adults at http://houston.ja.org. To learn more about the survey results, contact Kevin Hattery at [email protected].

SOURCE Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas