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The humble beginnings of the world’s biggest businesses

Massive firms that started out small
Hermès started out as a harness workshop
Boots originated as a modest herbalist store
Coca-Cola was first served in an Atlanta drugstore
Kroger began as a bijou grocery store
Walgreens began as a single drugstore
Nordstrom was founded as a small shoe store
Harley-Davidson built its first motorcycle in a backyard shed
UPS had just one motorised delivery vehicle in its early days
Aldi began as a small grocery store
Tesco started out as a market stall
The Walt Disney Company's first studio was Walt Disney's uncle's garage
Delta Air Lines began as a crop-dusting operation
7-Eleven was launched as a stand selling basic groceries
KFC began as a single service station cafe
Lidl began as a humble fruit wholesaler
Samsung was originally a tiny grocery store and trading firm
Hewlett-Packard's first HQ and factory was a garage
McDonald's started as a food stand
IKEA was established with a cash reward for good grades
Walmart owes its origin to a franchised five and dime store
Mattel originated in a garage
Ferrero started out as a modest liquor, candy and pastry shop
Dunkin' had just one store at the get-go
Carrefour began as a relatively modest supermarket
Reliance Industries started out importing polyester yarn and exporting spices
Nike first operated out of the trunk of a car
Subway started with just one sandwich shop
Southwest started as a strictly Texas-only airline
Virgin was initially a mail order company
Starbucks started out as a one-store coffee bean retailer
Cardinal Health was a minor food wholesaler at the outset
Zara/Inditex originated as a single store called Zorba
Whole Foods Market co-founders John Mackey and Rennee Lawson were forced to live in their first store
Microsoft originated in an Albuquerque garage
Apple was born in a garage?
Ben & Jerry's started out as a neighbourhood ice cream parlour
Dell was also conceived in a university dorm room
Ryanair began with just one route
Amazon was created in a garage
easyJet started out with just two leased planes
eBay came into being as a hobby site created in a suburban living room
Google was founded in, yes you've guessed it, a garage
Alibaba was also launched from its founder's apartment
Spanx was launched from its founder's apartment
Linkedin was also created in a suburban living room
Facebook was conceived in a university dorm room
YouTube's original HQ was a small office above a pizzeria and a Japanese restaurant
Twitter was a side-project dreamed up atop a playground slide
Airbnb started out with three air mattresses and a makeshift website
Instagram began as a side-hustle created at a rented desk
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Courtesy Harley-Davidson

Massive firms that started out small

As the age-old saying goes “mighty oaks from little acorns grow” and many of the world's biggest and most successful firms started surprisingly small. From Amazon to Zara, we reveal the humble beginnings of 50 of the planet's largest businesses.
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Daniel Coughlin

12 May 2021

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