All companies have to start somewhere, and it’s very rare, if not suspicious, for a company that is a big name today to not have a beginning that was a bit humble. From being started out of a garage to being born out of a living room, most companies have started from the bottom unless they had some decent funding.
Usually the ones with smaller beginnings sustain longer because it becomes very hard for them to diminish after a certain point. Today, we will take a look at five big names in various industries and talk a short bit about where they began and where they are now.
Apple
Before the Cupertino campus became the mega center of Apple, the highly valuable company started in a garage with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. This was when Wozniak built the first Apple computer prototype. Selling it to a computer store, both founders began to develop more computers that formulated into the company we know today. Their beginnings were humble not only because of where it began, but also because the company at the time didn’t even have enough money to build their first prototypes. The same company valuated as the most profitable company out there today.
Mattel
Mattel has humble beginnings in a garage of one of the founder’s homes. Now, the brand is a household name and brought us products like Barbie and Hot Wheels. The company, which comes from the names of Harold “Matt” Matson and Elliot Handler, is now valued at $9 Billion. This is due to the company shifting their focus from dolls and toys to the electronic realm, about thirty to forty years after its founding. Mattel is also known as one of the hottest places to work at by Fortune, with a high retention rate and great sales figures.
Facebook is a representation of not only an evolving company from humble beginnings, but also a company that has evolved with the times. The social network, known previously as The Face Book, was originally created for Harvard students as an in-campus mode of communication. Now the company has morphed into something that has changed the way billions of individuals around the world communicate. Looking at Facebook’s beginnings, the company has evolved from a creation in Zuckerberg’s dorm to now having a campus of it’s own and a rumored housing development for employees. Financially, the company since IPO has been valued at $70 million.
Starbucks
With news of Starbucks revamping their line of pre-made food, it is surprising to hear that the coffee giant previously did not even sell pre-made coffee. The company that was founded by a writer and history teacher use to sell coffee, teas, and spices for their customers to utilize in their own way at home. However, the company waited until about a decade before they realized that having pre-made coffee would bring in better sales. That was a great strategy because now the company is a multi-billion dollar empire.
Dell
At the University of Texas, Michael Dell started what is now a multi-billion dollar computer company. This started with an investment of about a grand and their location was that of Dell’s dorm room. After a year, Dell found that there was something to this company and decided to leave U of Texas to focus on the company previously known as PCs Limited full time. Three years after that, the company was worth well into the $100 million.
As you can see, a company of any magnitude has the potential to become big in any the most humble of circumstances. If you are currently starting a business or working hard to grow it, let us know where you call shop. Is your team working out of your dorm, living room, coffee shop, or it’s own building? Anywhere, let us know.
