Author: Nik
$538 and a Garage: How HP Started
Two Stanford-trained engineers began in 1938 with $538, a used drill press and a Palo Alto garage. Then Disney ordered eight of their oscillators for $572, more than their starting capital.
5 min readBeating Piracy at Its Own Game: How Spotify Started
Two Swedish founders, a free service the record labels disliked and a bet that a legal app could beat music piracy: how Spotify started.
4 min read5,127 Prototypes and a Clogged Vacuum: How Dyson Started
A vacuum that kept losing suction, a cyclone from a sawmill and 5,127 prototypes: how James Dyson started.
4 min readA Wooden Duck, a Fire and a Plastic Brick: How LEGO Started
A carpenter with no customers, a Danish town, two fires and a plastic brick: how LEGO started, and what any small business can borrow.
4 min read$5,000 and a Pair of Scissors: How Sara Blakely Built Spanx
A fax machine salesperson, a drawer full of unusable pantyhose, and an idea nobody in the industry had tried.
4 min readHow Airbnb Started: Three Air Mattresses, Cereal Boxes and a Rent Deadline
How a missing rent payment in San Francisco turned into one of the largest travel companies in the world.
$1,450–5,300Digital Menu Creation for Restaurants
Helping local, old-school restaurants transition from paper menus to sleek, QR-code accessible digital menus, charging a setup and hosting fee.
$0–480Language Conversation Partner
Offering paid online video sessions where you simply chat with people who are trying to learn your native language so they can practice in a real-world setting.
$780–2,380Smart Home Setup Service
A service that helps older generations or non-tech-savvy people install and connect smart bulbs, security cameras, and smart thermostats.
$700–2,100Hidden History Walking Tours
Acting as a local guide but focusing purely on the interesting, lesser-known history of your city, rather than the standard tourist traps.