Five Pathwwway Success Stories that Started as Small Garage Startups!
When
one thinks of multi-billion companies, the focus is on sprawling offices, tall
corporate skyscrapers and massive profits. But would you associate a small
garage startup with a billion-dollar company? Probably not! This is where
Pathwwway success stories come into play. Pathwwway curates the top 5 small
garage startups that are presently industry-leading brands raking in billions.
#1 Hewlett-Packard
In
1939, Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett were Stanford graduates. They were also
founding HP in Packard’s garage! With just USD 538, the duo turned an
investment into billions of dollars. The garage, which is now a museum and
tribute to the spirit of Silicon Valley and considered by many to be the
birthplace of it, is located at Addison Avenue in Palo Alto, CA. The first
product was none other than an audio oscillator and the first customer of HP
was Walt Disney, another garage startup turned corporate conglomerate.
Walt
Disney required 8 oscillators to develop a sound system for the movie Fantasia.
HP may have started with electrical devices, but now they are known for
manufacturing personal computers, computing accessories and software. Their
roots lie in niche technological innovations of different sorts. HP is now
known for agricultural products, high-tech audio engineering and test
equipments.
#2 Maglite
The
year was 1950 and Croatian immigrant Tony Maglica was moving to North America.
Seeking to fund his innovative entrepreneurial venture, Tony saved USD 125 in
1955 and started working out of a garage in Los Angeles, CA. He incorporated
Mag Instrument in 1974 and released the first flash-light in 1979. MagLite is
now a household name synonymous with durable, lasting flashlights.
Maglica
began life as a machinist. Maglica was so successful that he created a solid
foundation for his business, creating his own machine store Mag Instruments. He
manufactured flash-lights which became the standard issue for US police
officers. This Pathwwway success story took off because of the hard work and efforts of its
enterprising founder.
#3 Mattel
Harold
Matt Matson and Elliot Handler were the founders of Mattel in an Southern
Californian garage. At the point where they started the business, they were so
broke, they started using picture frame scrapes for creating doll-houses. The
doll-houses started outselling picture frames and they soon turned into the
largest toy company in the world, right behind LEGO.
#4 Yankee Candle Company
Michael
Kittredge was a 16-year-old in 1969 when he started the Yankee Candle company.
This innovative young teen created a scented candle in his garage deploying
melted crayons. The candle was originally a gift for his mother. But his
candles caught on, as neighbours loved the product and expressed interest in
buying it. Four years later, Kittredge ran out of room in his MA garage and
moved the Yankee Candle Company to a store near the Mount Holyoke college
campus within 5 years to become the top candle company in the US. Yankee Candle
Company calls this tale an American success story.
#5 Microsoft
Bill
Gates and Paul Allen in 1975 founded Microsoft with just some resources and
garage space. Unlike tech titan Apple, which also commenced operations in a
garage, Microsoft focused on the software market. Working hand-in-hand with IBM
at the start, the company licensed its first operating system for USD 80,000.
Now, the Pathwwway success story has an impressive profit margin and revenue
generation.