At this point it should be clear about the world of street art: you will constantly be surprised by what entrepreneurs can do.

Sometimes what seems like a small action can create a ripple effect that stretches far and wide. In the case of Shepard Fairey, he was able to approach the use of his street art the way an advertiser would approach the promotion of their product.

Fairey was born in South Carolina and he went to a high school that was geared towards the arts. As a kid, he had two passions: art and skateboarding. After high school, he went to the Rhode Island School of Design. He was still a student when he came up with a sticker that featured a picture of a wrestler named Andre the Giant and the word "Obey."

The simple connection between an image and a word did not have a specific meaning, according to Fairey, but the point was to make people think about their surroundings. It really worked. The image became very famous and was a big break in his career. As an entrepreneur, it enabled him to create a clothing line called "OBEY Clothing." He also ran a printing business that made T-shirts. These businesses gave him a stream of income that allowed him to support himself as he worked on art. There was even a movie documentary that was made about him and the "Obey" sticker.

Since the sticker was a great work of advertising, he got other work for businesses and musicians and was asked to handle their marketing.

For businesses he used methods that were similar to street art to market things, such as Pepsi drinks and Hasbro toys. He also worked with the Black Eyed Peas, Led Zeppelin, Johnny Cash, Chuck D, and DJ Shadow. He even started a magazine and worked as a DJ. At this point, you'd think he might take a break, right? Well, his next work may be what had the most impact on the world around him. At first, his sticker campaigns were effective by just using a simple image and a word to capture people's imaginations. In 2008, in the middle of an important election, he made a poster of Barack Obama and it said "Hope."

The 2008 "Hope" poster captured people's imaginations. The Obama campaign liked it and asked Fairey to legally put it out there (i.e. not in graffiti). Fairey distributed nearly one million copies of this image in sticker or poster form. For his efforts, he received a letter of thanks from the president! He was also named Person of the Year by GQ Magazine in 2008. And the U.S. National Portrait Gallery put it on display for future generations to see.

Since then he has continued to show his work at galleries in London, New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. He has also amassed a net worth of $15 million. He is not only a talented artist, but he also has a unique brand.

He incorporates pop culture and people respond to this.

Shepard Fairey started his original sticker campaign for fun, in order to see what his skateboarding and art school friends would think. And that opened the door for him to make a poster that was used to help elect the President of the United States. It just goes to show, there is no limit to what a good idea can bring.