Where 15 Of The Most Famous Companies Were Founded
Many of today’s famous companies began in humble settings, proving that great ideas can emerge from the most unexpected places. From garages and dorm rooms to bedrooms, these environments laid the foundation for innovation and success. In this article, we explore the origins of 15 famous companies and the stories behind their remarkable starts.
When I started my first internet business, I was still at school and was only 15 years old. I would work from anywhere possible to realise my dream of becoming a young millionaire. I would work from school, my bedroom, internet cafes, and even at friends’ houses.
In 2024, we are not limited by location or investment; we are only limited by our dreams, ambitions, and time.
Where 15 Famous Companies Got Started
1) Where Facebook Was Started
Who founded Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg
Place where Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook: In his Harvard Dorm Room
In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg and his college roommates founded Facebook while studying at Harvard University. He got into limelight when he refused $1 billion offer from Yahoo. Later on he sold a 1.6% stake in Facebook to Microsoft for $240 million, raising the valuation to $15 billion. Since then, the social media platform has grown exponentially, with a current market value of over $1 trillion. In addition to Facebook, Zuckerberg has also acquired and founded other successful companies, contributing to his estimated net worth of $185 billion.
Where Facebook.com Was Started
2) Where Google Was Started
Who founded Google: Larry Page and Sergey Brin
Place Larry and Sergey started Google: In a garage
In 1998, Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google in a humble garage. They started what is now considered the most famous company in the world with a simple mission: to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Today, Larry Page’s net worth is around $142.5 billion, while Sergey Brin’s net worth is around $136.6 billion. Over the years, Google’s valuation has grown tremendously, making it one of the most valuable companies in the world. Despite their success, Larry and Sergey remain humble and committed to their original mission of making the world a better place through technology.
Initially, Larry Page and Sergey Brin named their search engine “BackRub,” but later on, they decided to change its name. After brainstorming, they came up with the name “Google,” which was a play on the word “googol.” Googol is a mathematical term that represents the number one followed by 100 zeros. The name reflected their mission to organize and make accessible an enormous amount of information on the internet.
The Garage Google Was Started In
3) Where Uber Was Started
Who founded Uber: Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick
Place where they started the business: Coworking space operated by Rocket Space in San Francisco
Current valuation of Uber: $155 billion
Uber was co-founded by Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick in 2009. The idea for Uber was born when the two founders couldn’t find a cab on a snowy evening in Paris. In the picture showing Uber’s first office (see below), two days before they launched, the team can be seen working on finalizing the app and making last-minute preparations. Despite facing initial resistance from regulatory authorities and taxi companies, Uber launched on March 31, 2009, as UberCab in San Francisco, and the rest is history. Today, Uber has transformed the transportation industry worldwide with its innovative ride-hailing platform.
4) Where Stripe Was Started
Who founded Stripe: Patrick and John Collison
Place where they started the business: In their office
Current valuation of Stripe: $65 billion
Stripe was founded in 2010 by Patrick and John Collison. The company was initially based in a small office in Palo Alto, California, where the brothers worked day and night to build their payment platform. Despite the modest surroundings, the Collison brothers were able to attract top engineering talent to help create and build their product. The office served as the starting point for many ideas and features that have made Stripe successful today. As the company grew, it expanded its presence with larger offices. Still, the humble beginnings in that small office were instrumental in shaping the company’s culture and innovative approach to payments.
5) Where Threadless Was Started
Who founded Threadless: Jack Nickell along with Jacob Dehart
Place started the business: From a studio apartment
Jack Nickell along with Jacob Dehart ( both college dropouts ), started threadless when they were still working on their regular job. Both the partners put a modest $500 as their initial investment. Now the company has annual revenue to the extent of $50 million.
Where Threadless.com Was Started
6) Where Airbnb Was Started
Founder: Brian Chesky, Nathan Blecharczyk, and Joe Gebbia.
Place started the business: From Brian and Joes apartment
In 2008, Airbnb was established in a small apartment. Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, the co-founders, came up with the idea of renting out air mattresses in their San Francisco apartment to accommodate attendees of a design conference who couldn’t find hotel accommodations. Recognizing the potential of their idea, they joined forces with Nathan Blecharczyk, expanding the concept into the global platform that we are familiar with today. This innovative solution to the lack of lodging during the conference eventually grew into the widely-used home-sharing service Airbnb, which has revolutionized how people travel and find accommodations. It took three years for Airbnb to become a billion dollar company, making it one of the quickest overnight success stories in internet history.
7) Where Digg Was Started
Who founded Digg: Kevin Rose
Where Kevin founded Digg: In his apartment.
Originally was going to be called “Diggnation”, but Kevin Rose wanted a simpler name. He chose the name “Digg”, because users are able to “dig” stories, out of those submitted, up to the front page. The site was called “Digg” instead of “Dig” because the domain name “dig.com” had been previously registered by the Walt Disney Internet Group.
Where Digg.com Was Started
8) Where PlentyOfFish Was Started
Founder: Markus Frind
Place started the business: In his office
Back in 2001 after his birthday someone in the office introduced him to online dating sites. He went back to his desk and checked out udate.com and kiss.com and lavalife/web personals. He was bored and He wanted to chat with people. He was really annoyed when he found out you had to pay for everything, he ended up telling the girl who introduced him to the sites that he could do better and make them for free, so he went and registered Plentyoffish.com.
Where PlentyOfFish.com Was Started
9) Where Salesforce Was Started
Who Founded Salesforce: Marc Benioff
Where Marc started Salesforce: In a rented apartment in San Francisco.
Salesforce is a cloud-based software company that was founded in 1999 by Marc Benioff. The company started life in a rented apartment in San Francisco, with just a handful of employees. Despite initial scepticism from investors, the company quickly gained traction and grew rapidly. Today, Salesforce is a leading provider of cloud-based CRM services, with over 150,000 customers worldwide.
As of 2024, Salesforce has reported annual revenues of $21 billion. Marc Benioff, the company’s founder and CEO, has a net worth of nearly $10 billion and is considered one of the most influential figures in the tech industry.
Salesforce has, of course, moved to a much better office. Its design reflects its culture of inclusivity, collaboration, and innovation, with flexible spaces, movable walls and furniture, amenities, and an Ohana floor to foster community and communication among employees.
10) Where YouTube Was Started
Youtube Founders: Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim
Where Chad, Steve and Jawed founded Youtube: In his office
YouTube was founded by three former PayPal employees, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim in February 2005. The company was created in a small office in San Mateo, California. They registered the domain name YouTube.com on February 14, 2005, and launched the website in May 2005.
Following a dinner party, where Hurley and Chen were eager to find a simpler way to share their videos of the night, they quickly got to work in their office to develop a solution. “We began developing the product in February,” recalled Hurley. “In May, we offered our first public preview. By December, we officially launched YouTube and were already serving over three million videos a day.”
In October 2006, Google acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock, making it one of the largest acquisitions in the tech industry at the time. The founders continued to work at YouTube for some time after the acquisition before moving on to other ventures.
Where YouTube.com Was Started
11) Where Tencent Was Started
Tencents founders: Ma Huateng (also known as Pony Ma), Zhang Zhidong, Chen Yidan, Xu Chenye, and Liu Chiping
Place started the business: From an office
Current valuation of Tencent: $450 billion
Tencent was founded in November 1998 by five co-founders, including current CEO Ma Huateng. The company started in an ordinary office building in Shenzhen, China, with a focus on providing Internet value-added services. Over the years, Tencent grew rapidly and expanded its services to become one of the largest and most innovative technology companies in the world. Today, Tencent’s headquarters is located in one of the coolest offices in the world, known for its unique and futuristic design, reflecting the company’s forward-thinking approach to technology and innovation.
12) Where Amazon Was Started
Who founded Amazon: Jeff Bezos
Where Jeff Bezos founded Amazon: in his garage at home.
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in his garage in Seattle in 1994 with the goal of creating an online bookstore. Today, Bezos is the 3rd richest person in the world with a net worth of a staggering $205 billion, and Amazon has become one of the largest and most successful companies in the world. Amazon’s success can be attributed to its innovative business model, which focuses on customer satisfaction, a vast selection of products, and fast, reliable shipping.
Amazon generates more than $1 billion in revenue daily, offering everything from books and electronics to clothing and groceries. With its continued growth and expansion into new markets, it’s clear that Amazon is a force to be reckoned with in the world of e-commerce and beyond.
13) Where eBay Was Started
Founder: Pierre Omidyar
Where Pierre started eBay: In the home of Pierre Omidyar.
In 1995, eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in San Jose, California. Omidyar, an Iranian-American entrepreneur, created the online marketplace as a side project while working for a software development company.
The first name eBay used was Echo Bay Technology. When the company tried registering the domain name echobay.com, they found it was already in use. They shortened the name to eBay.com, and the website was born.
Today, eBay is one of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms, with a revenue of $59 billion in 2023. Despite leaving the company in 2015, Omidyar remains a significant shareholder and is worth an estimated $6.4 billion. His vision for an online marketplace where people could buy and sell goods continues to shape how we shop today.
Where eBay.com Was Started
14) Where LinkedIn Was Started
Who founded LinkedIn: Reid Hoffman
Place started the business: In the living room
In 2003, LinkedIn was founded and launched on May 5th, which was playfully referred to as “Cinco de LinkedIn” by the employees. The founders invited around 350 of their most significant contacts to join the site. Within the first month of operation, LinkedIn had already gained 4,500 members in the network.
The initial idea was to create a professional networking site to connect people in the business world. Since then, LinkedIn has grown into a global platform with over 700 million members and was sold to Microsoft in 2016 for a staggering $26.2 billion.
Today, cofounder Reid Hoffman is worth around $2.5 billion, thanks to his successful venture and other investments. LinkedIn’s valuation has grown exponentially over the years, making it one of the most successful social media platforms ever created.
Where Linkedin.com Was Started
15. Where Alibaba Was Started
Who founded Alibaba: Jack Ma and Widarto Oey
Place Jack and Widarto started Alibaba: In Jack’s apartment
Jack Ma and Widarto Oey, along with 17 friends and students, founded Alibaba.com, a China-based B2B marketplace site, in Jack Ma’s Hangzhou apartment in 1999. The idea was born out of the desire to create a platform to facilitate trade between small and medium-sized enterprises in China and worldwide. They envisioned a platform that would utilize the power of the internet to connect buyers and sellers in a previously impossible way.
Despite facing significant challenges and scepticism, the team worked tirelessly to build and launch the platform, eventually gaining traction and transforming the e-commerce landscape in China and globally. The founding of Alibaba.com marked the beginning of a transformative journey that would establish Jack Ma as one of the most influential figures in the global technology and e-commerce industry.
I hope the list has inspired you and has made it clear you can start anywhere!
Where did you start you first business?
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As I start my biz from zero(everything was zero) so my 1st place is in my bedroom..
This is a fun read!
I started my online business in a tiny (maybe 350 sq foot) 3-room suite beside the laundry area for the building. Noisy! lol
I don’t have the numbers that these guys do yet, but give me a bit more time and who knows 🙂
Thats interesting. nice post.
Ebay looks kinda like it had a bit of backing from the start, just going by the decor and what not, still, I guess none of it really matters once the business gets as popular as some of them have.
Thanks Michael,
That was an awesome post!
It really puts things into perspective seeing where some of these amazing companies were founded. If someone has vision it doesn’t matter how small they start out.
Many reading this will realize that their office doesn’t look much different than the ones in your post and it will inspire them to do great things!
Cool, that’s inspiring
I love reading stories like this! Right now I’m in my lounge with a laptop on my lap (no space for a study!). hope to have a story like this in the future 🙂 (dreaming big!)
hi michael
say a great post but how did you manage to get all the
pictures of the various founders bedrooms kitchens it goes to show if we are creative thers hope for us all
thanks
peter
I am going have to get me one of those “bedroom” dealys they seem to bring a lot of inspiration to a business.
I hope to be on this list one day! Started from my living room home office. Great Post, just the inspiration I need to keep going!
It seems as though the worst websites are built in the nicest homes.
Ah, welcome back mate, I missed your daily dose of motivation. That’s the beauty with internet business, it’s flexible to start with a pc you’re on the go, no fancy office park address with unnecessary monthly bills, while you still try to find your feet.
Mine started in my living area but can’t make a great story yet and don’t have a pic to show.
So it’s true – just do it (don’t give too many excuses to start s’thing)
Thanks Michael…this is truly inspirational. I am currently working on lauching my product and I hope to have a story as successful as the one’s you have presented to us.
Michael….
Once again you have done a great Job.
This post was really awesome and inspirational.
Today i have lot of facilities, still cant able to step up.
So i have to work harder.
Thanks Pal.
cool & inspiring post. Thanks.
I love to hear these success stories. they are very inspiring. All of these people had one thing in common. A knowledge of programming & ‘Computerese’. Unfortunately, although I have the desire, I do not have the ability to set up web sites, do programming, etc. If anyone is interested, I have the desire, the time, but not the technical ability. I would love to start off by delving into Affiliate Marketing. I believe there is an enormous potential for making money there. I am great at follow-up and running things once set up. Anyone interested in going for a ‘ride’ with me, with the knowledge I lack? I can be reached at: Uniqueopp@aol.com. Thanks for reading. Harry
This is great inspiration for me, thank you.
I just started my website a couple of weeks ago out of my bedroom.
Hopefully I can soon replace the desktop with a laptop and advance to the living room. =D
Great post, I guess it shows that you can start an online business anywhere.
Hey Michael, great reminder that every business starts from somewhere 🙂 Thanks for putting this together!
Gotta love this post.
The Digg photo looks all too familiar !
Best one gotta be the YouTube photo though, looks like the guys set up the site on someone else’s time…
Take a bow all of you gents. Take a bow.
It’s great to see that your 1st “office” does not have to be the perfect office. I will keep pushing forward. Thanks!
I started my business when I wasn’t able to work regular hours any more (I have Lupus) and I was forced to close my antique clothing and milliner shop.
Now, I work from my home and my computer is right next to my bed. I wish I had a computer in every room of the house.
Great post…one that should give everyone incentive and inspiration. I am glad that a friend sent this to me. I can’t wait to post it on my blog.
Southern smiles and world peace,
Sharon
~The Baby Boomer Queen~
WOW! Very inspirational! I love the fact that these guys and gals started these big companies from their bedroom or from their garage. Pretty amazing. That shows fact that if they can do, you can also 🙂
Great post, but remember too, we don’t all have to be striving to be ebay…niche marketing does very well too…keep it up everyone!!
Great post – really gives you inspiration.
I have started many a business from such places but am still waiting to code the next Facebook 🙂
mostly, successful IM are born from their bedroom. 🙂
I started my start-up in my bedroom too.
That is awesome that they created something huge in their homes or garages. Most of the creation were with friends so that is cool. We have the power create anything we want we just need to do it. Greg Ellison
what does it say that some of the great tech entrepreneurs have no taste for interior design..?
Very inspirational post …it doesn’t matter where you start – just start.
Jason R. Ayers
You just never know where you might end up, when you work hard on an idea! Facinating story’s and inspiring for everybody to never give up.
Great point my friend. It doesn’t matter where you get started as long as you get going.
So many people are afraid of failure and at the same time don’t know how to focus.
thanks mike
great post.. just start and move to the top.. they are amazing..
Hi Michael, Glad to hear your back from your trip would love to hear about that too. This was a great post of yours, I started in my living room and then the phone rang telling me I had been picked to buy my blog…actually I was sitting in my chair . So now I know just from the pictures and stories behind the pics. that I’m on my way to greatness. I think any and all of us can achieve greatness all it takes is perseverance and dedication doing something that we love, there in lies the trick… loving what one does. Thanks again Michael for a great post. JJ p.s. sending u an email re: Twitter.
Good to see this ….
This article is awesome, that gives me courage to keep working on my design company, even if I work from home in a little studio, maybe one day I’ll get a good office like those guys.
Well, very nice post, interesting!
I started my first business in classroom.
Thank so much for your nice post.
Cheer,
Thanks for sharing this wonderful inspirational story.
Very Inspirational! Keep the great post coming : )
Hey Michael!
Very inspirational and interesting post.
Thank you!
hey mike! the article is very inspiring, i luv it
I can mention Ma.gnolia.com This was also started in garage. Unfortunatelly it was also maintained in garage. Finally it also ended in garage (admin didn’t make backup, mirror or smth like this)
Really nice article.It’s nice to know that most of these giants of the today internet started just like us,. Thanks for posting, really liked it.
Hey Michael,
Welcome home.I wondered why I hadn`t received
any mail from you lately.As always another great post
from one of the best..
I also started in my home , and I am still in my home..
Of course I just started 2 months ago..So I guess I will be doing this right here for some time to come…
Looking forward to your next post…
One of your followers,
G.A.P. / Pyradom
Nice historical ideas
Whoaa..
All of them were Garage Bands/Startups
I read in The Google Story that Page and Brin used to stay at their place that they took after taking a leave from the University for almost 24 Hours….
I was doing just that (though in a considerably mature Organization) but Some People just don’t seem to understand and point out the general Rules/Processes that the Organization has already Adopted and resist any exception being made…
Rules are there to Protect an Organization as a wise Friend of mine once pointed out…
This came after a lot of Thoughts, and Learning Process including this Blog Archive by me though…
Where I Observed that There was one rule that most People just got to follow even if most others ignored by some of the Other..
What do you guys have to say???
Reply me @rungss on Twitter, besides Commenting here..
Cheers,
Bijay Rungta
Software Architect
That’s my room!! Hahaha!
Nice post….but I really do worry about people who just take pics of their rooms like that.
all things started from scratch. well, if you got a ideas, you can start from everywhere, even the kitchen,
good jobs.
Stanley Chong
Very inspiring indeed.
that was a great read Micheal!
I started my business only 1 year ago from my bedroom and I’m still in my bedroom…:)
Actually I like work from bedrooms…:))
Interesting yo… Very nice to see where those top sites born…
Inspiring. These people also have great marketing instincts. There’s nothing like having a great name and logo to go along with your business plan initially. Brand legitimizes. Check out http://www.stembrand.com if you need to move quickly on marketing with an affordable, experienced agency.
Michael,
Thanks for taking the time to research this post of fourteen of the top Internet Businesses. Not only fun to read, but makes someone just starting an Internet business get motivated.
Great post Michael!!!
Soon I will be featured here where I also started. LOL. Tanx
this is truly inspirational! really keeps you motivated to continue and make your dream come true!
thanks for sharing with us.
It’s quite funny to read all the comments bellow!
Everyone’s here seems to have stated like these major websites, but none achieve them…they surely had something more than (us) people ….
Great post .. thanks for putting this together!
Damn GOOD !
Thanks for this inspirational post!
wow. have taken long without seeing mic blogs this is very good and motivational. thanks michael
you should post your own pic mic
Nice. This was fascinating to me. I love the power of the Internet to allow business to start from virtually nothing. Maybe I should take a snapshot of my office now! 🙂
Gives you hope! One of these days I’m going to have myself a billion dollar idea! haha
Great article.
It seems crazy, but it all just started in a room with a brilliant mind thinking of something to do that didn’t exist before.
Really great post. Thank you for sharing.
Nice!
European founders will to that, too.
Our german website http://www.admberlin.de started in 2004 in my house.
My first web-projekt, worlds first internet-dog, started in 2000 in my living room with a pc, webcam, flat (at that time very expensive) and a shepherd dog (www.dogcam.de) 🙂
I sold that company but the new owner closed that a year later.
awesome post !! ..
wow bedroom and dorms??
my bedroom bigger than all of them and i have all opportunities to start but !! i dont know whats stops me ?? im 20 as u
Geezzzzzz.
Thanks for the story. Now my turn ( . ) ( . )
Nice to see how some startups I use frequently was founded and started, it’s so awesome!
This is good stuff, Inspiring!
This post shows that t succeed you need to have vision!So you can start an internet business from anywhere as long as you have goals to pursue.
Fantastic, great how you got all the photo’s and Info.
a very good learning point too. Just goe’s to show that you can live out your dreams from anywhere, the Google set up tells you it all.
Thats a great post Michael.. We all use those services or dreams big.. and never tries to know how they built it.. or where it has started from.. 🙂
Thanks Michael, for such good stuff. 🙂
What a fantastic article, awesome to see that all of us web junkies started in our little rooms 😉
I started my first business in a backpacker bar on a fateful Tuesday evening. Who new where it would go…
Thanks for the list. Interesting read
In a bedroom and run it on the move. In colleagues offices, even overseas at times.
This was a great read. It gives me inspiration to keep trying.
i m going to be one of them even if i do not have a bed room.
my buddy Chris started our company in his home office. He is in Florida, I am in California & our other partner is in Philly. The company is now built on the road primarily with an iPhone. Facebook, YouTube etc.. are our best friends!! we would not be where we are today without them 🙂
That’s funny and yet inspiring. Kind of puts things in perspective when you see the humble beginnings of some massive companies.
Very inspiring, if these guys can do it and get started in their basement, I know I can.
Loved it, Michael. Truly.
I cannot get enough of inspirational stories. The big change is when you decide to participate in internet marketing and blogging. I’ve read a googol of stories on the web before starting my blog.
Since that day, my learning curve has shot through the roof. With your permission, I’ll share this link with some of my students.
I also liked the stories about how the domain names for ebay and digg were already taken. Great info.
Thanks.
Julie
Great and Inspiring post but some of these I have never heard of. Thanks for the read though.
Anphicle.
i’m still in my tiny room 🙁
in my college bedroom
Yes Micheal,
one can start anywhere. All we need is just to make the first step. we must dare to make that step, for it’s the decision we make today that determines our position tomorrow.
I knew very little about how facebook came to place. I think offering $1.000.000.000 means yahoo saw a lot of success in the venture.
We just need to belief in what we do, just as you believe in incomediary. you are a great inspiration to me
Michael
You have forgotten to add my business to the list!
anyway, have a nice day:)
Martyna Bizdra
I really got inspired by this…,but now i am working at the development stage of a new internet business model…..looking for technical cofounders
Thanks for the great post! I’ve been looking for ideas and inspiration for my home-based Biz… This gets me in a “glass is half full” mood, which is great. I needed to inject some positivity!
Also, if I might add, and I know these are not all Amercan businesses, but they are all born of living in a free society. It is the American Drem, where anyone can be successful, I think we can all have our American Dream come true! We can comete and make ech other better nd mre successful. We ont have o run eachother out of business. I believe hee is plenty to go aroud, and When it does, The problems in our contry, and tge world, wont seem so daunting. Sorry to speechify, but i just love seeing success stories! Best of luck to everyone!
PS – sorry for any misspellings. The iPad sometimes changes what I write and I miss it. 🙂
You can start anywhere that your comfortable working. It doesn’t matter where you start, you just need a creative mind and a business strategy.