A $7 billion business was founded by a 41-year-old who completed his first civilian spacewalk and dropped out of high school.

Billionaire Jared Isaacman made history in space — again.

Isaacman, the CEO of Shift4 Payments, spent 10 minutes floating in space on Thursday as part of the first-ever all-civilian spacewalk.

Isaacman, with an estimated net worth of $1.9 billion, according to Forbes, funded both private space missions for undisclosed sums.

Isaacman, in 2021, told CNBC Make It that he had decided to go to space when he was 5 years old. At that time, he was quite determined and calculated, but it took him some time to put his plan into action.

Isaacman, a 41-year-old accomplished pilot, set a world record in 2009 for the fastest around-the-world flight in a light jet. He is a longtime advocate for the expansion of the private space industry, which he believes could lead to "a world where everybody can go and venture among the stars."

From a teenage entrepreneur who founded a business in his parents' New Jersey basement to a billionaire floating in space, this is how he achieved his success.

Teen entrepreneur turned billionaire civilian astronaut

Isaacman, as a teenager, landed an IT consulting job at a payment processing firm due to his computer skills. However, he soon dropped out of high school to create a rival company that made it easier for business owners to apply online.

Isaacman used a $10,000 check from his grandfather as seed money and set up shop in his childhood home's basement. He needed to build a couple of computers, which wasn't expensive, and some phones to get started.

His initial staff comprised his friend Brendan Lauber, who served as Shift4's chief technology officer until recently, and Isaacman's father, a salesman who had previously worked for a home security company.

Shift4, a company with a market value of $7.4 billion, went public in June 2020 and is headquartered in a 75,000-square-foot building in Center Valley, Pennsylvania. The company has over 2,000 employees across the country.

"Isaacman stated that it was impossible for the company to be worth billions of dollars at that age. He reminisced about the early days of startups, when there were only eight people in the basement, sharing knowledge and experiences, and learning from each other's successes and failures."

Flying to avoid burnout

Isaacman, a lifelong plane enthusiast, started taking flying lessons in his 20s to prevent early burnout from working constantly to get his business off the ground at a young age.

In 2009, Isaacman broke the world record by flying around the word in a Cessna Citation CJ2 in just under 62 hours, which was about 20 hours less than the previous record-holder. Three years later, he founded Draken International, a company that trains student pilots for the U.S. Air Force. He sold it to Blackstone Group in 2020 for a "nine-figure sum," as reported by Forbes.

Isaacman, who watched opportunities to take his flying hobby to greater heights, said: "Starting in 2007, I started banging on the door of SpaceX and other private aerospace companies, expressing my interest that, if it ever came to be, look me up."

In 2021, he commanded a four-person crew in orbit for three days. This week, he spent five days in space and donned a spacesuit while leaving the capsule.

"Isaacman stated to Bloomberg before the spacewalk that he considers himself extremely fortunate in life. He shared how he started out as a teenage entrepreneur in a basement with the goal of buying pizza on weekends, and look at how far he has come."

Sign up for CNBC's online course to master your money this fall. Our practical strategies will help you hack your budget, reduce your debt, and grow your wealth. Start today to feel more confident and successful. Use code EARLYBIRD for a 30% introductory discount, extended through September 30, 2024, for the back-to-school season.

Sign up for CNBC Make It's newsletter to receive expert advice on work, money, and life.