Startups
Airbnb's Air Mattresses
Airbnb began in 2007 when two founders rented air mattresses on their floor to pay the rent.
More in Startups
Born In A Garage
Hewlett-Packard started in a Palo Alto garage in 1939, now called the birthplace of Silicon Valley.
Slack Began As A Game
Slack was a tool built inside a gaming company; when the game failed, the chat tool became the business.
Amazon Started With Books
Jeff Bezos launched Amazon from a garage in 1994 as an online bookstore.
Why They're Called Unicorns
Investor Aileen Lee coined unicorn in 2013 for startups worth over a billion dollars, because they were so rare.
Netflix Mailed DVDs
Netflix began in 1997 renting DVDs by post before becoming a streaming giant.
Built In A Dorm Room
Facebook was launched from a Harvard dorm room in 2004 and reached a million users within a year.