Category: Start Up Stories
In 2012, there was an announcement from Facebook – they were buying Instagram for the price of $1 billion. A company started just a few years ago by two young entrepreneurs, has brought them to the world of super riches. A company that had no revenue, only 13 employees, and completely no profits by the time of the deal… Who would be so insane to pay a billion for such a business?!? Well, actually Instagram had one thing that was far more valuable – potential. And this is what the managers of the biggest social network spotted there. Here is...
Jared Isaacman was only 16 when he decided to start his own business. He was so obsessed with the idea that he quit high school and passed the GED exam instead, so he could focus on this entirely. In a few years, he ended up founding a payment processing company named United Bank Card Inc. The first office of his business was not traditional for many great entrepreneurs garage, but the basement of his home. Here is how it all happened. After leaving school at 16, Jared went to work for a credit card company, where he spent around 6...
Imagine that you could create a folder on your desktop. You could go to work, create a folder with the same name on your office computer and find there the same files you put in the folder at home. You could also access these files of yours via your smartphone, no matter where you are. Well, you can do all of this with a service called Dropbox (www.dropbox.com). This is a cool way of storing your information, so it’s accessible from anywhere you are, from any device you use. And here is the story about how this great business idea...
Jayson Gaignard was working as a mechanic when one day he realized that people don’t live forever. That same day he quit his job to start chasing his dreams. He started a company and in a while, he was making millions in sales. Then, because of a bad business partner, things crashed and he got broke. He was totally devastated but he managed to recover and now he is back on track. How all happened? Below is the amazing story of this young entrepreneur. The article was originally published on Entrepreneur.com here. Jayson Gaignard’s Story Begins Jayson Gaignard felt like...
Tumblr.com has gained prominence in recent years as a microblogging platform that has allowed millions of people around the world to share whatever they like. The reason for the site’s popularity is that you don’t need to write long blog posts in order to stand a chance of getting noticed. If you take photos then you can share them with the world, likewise, if you find something funny online then again you can share it with the world. This platform originated from one man, David Karp, and his lead developer Marco Arment. It was through a lack of patience on...
When social media websites became popular, some rose to prominence and remained at the top of search results. Others plowed steadily down the middle of the road, remaining in the peripheral vision of interested online parties. And still, others fizzled out quickly due to keeping their focus too limited. In the case of LiveJournal, a social media outlet designed specifically for blogging, it has remained important depending on the geographical location. Founded in 1999 by Brad Fitzpatrick, a programmer born in Iowa and raised in Oregon, the site grew in popularity over the next few years. It wasn’t until the...
Crazy business ideas are one of the best ways to stand out in a crowded marketplace. While traditional business plans may be tried and true, being creative can provide your venture with an edge over the competition. Crazy ideas, when done right, have the potential to revolutionize industries and create waves of new customers. Read these 5 start-up stories and you will be amazed by how 5 really simple business ideas were turned into multi-million dollar businesses. 1. The Slinky ($250 million worth) Everyone should be familiar with the slinky toy and how it can keep even grown-ups entertained for hours....
United Parcel Service, or UPS as it is known by everyone today, is one of the largest messenger and courier services on the planet. Since its beginnings in 1907 as a small messenger service in Seattle, United Parcel Service (UPS) has become one of the world’s most recognizable delivery companies. It serves an estimated 8 million customers each day and has operations in more than 220 countries. The company was started by James E. Casey when he was still a teenager after he witnessed a disorganized delivery service at a local department store in Seattle. Seeing an opportunity to improve the...
Did you know that Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Company was supposed to be a Bagel Company? Childhood friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield were born in Brooklyn NY, in 1951, four days apart. Ben, during his senior year, drove an ice cream truck. He attended various colleges in the Northeast but dropped out. Eventually, he left college life and taught pottery in New York’s Adirondack region where he also learned about ice cream making. On the other hand, Jerry went to Oberlin College and took up medicine. While Jerry was in college, he worked as an ice cream scooper...
This is another cool and engaging success story, the story of A.J. Scribante and the corporation he founded – Majers Corp. Like many other successful entrepreneurs, Scribante managed to make a decent fortune starting with just a few hundred bucks, see how… His Story As a kid, the young A.J. worked for his dad, who had a small bakery store. His family lived in Osage City, a small town in Kansas with a population of only a few thousand people. After graduating from school, Scribante got interested in sales and this is how his entrepreneurial journey began. He started selling...
