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From Nike to IKEA, big companies that started with nothing

The global firms that were founded on a shoestring
1869: Sainsbury's
1883: Kroger
1891: Wrigley
1904: Harley-Davidson
1907: UPS
1939: Hewlett-Packard
1943: IKEA
1945: Mattel
1946: Estée Lauder
1946: Sony
1960: Domino's Pizza
1964: Nike
1965: Subway
1970: Virgin Group
1971: Starbucks
1975: Microsoft
1976: Apple
1980: John Paul Mitchell Systems
1984: Burt's Bees
1984: Dell
1987: Nando's
2000: Spanx
2003: Shutterstock
2003: Skyscanner
2007: Airbnb
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TT News Agency/Alamy Stock Photo

The global firms that were founded on a shoestring

Wish you could start a super-successful business but don't have vast amounts of investment capital to make it happen? From small seeds grow mighty trees, and believe it or not some of the world's biggest and most valuable companies got going with little more than a dream and a modest sum of startup cash.

Read on to discover the incredible stories of 25 globally famous firms that were founded on a shoestring.

All dollar amounts in US dollars.

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Daniel Coughlin

03 December 2024

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