Ten famous companies that started during the 2008 recession
Any time world goes through a crisis (economic or otherwise)
it not only brings about a shift in the economy, but also in the way world works.
I firmly believe that an adversity is always accompanied by opportunities.
But the thing is that most people keep looking at the adversity for far too long
and keep worrying about it, and therefore pay no attention to the opportunities that come with it.
I am sure you would agree that there is no point in trying to control that which we cannot control.
Instead, I believe it’s a lot more meaningful and powerful to try controlling that which we can control.
We have seen time and again that it’s in the times of economic crisis
that some of the most impactful businesses are born.
Now, without further ado, here are some of the famous companies that started in the middle of
the 2008 Global Financial Crisis
No. 1 on the list is AirBnB!
I am pretty sure you would have or most of you, at least, would have used AirBnB
at some point in time over past few years
AirBnB has been one of the most impactful businesses of this last decade.
AirBnB was founded in August 2008.
AirBnB’s story is that Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky, they used to be roommates. They used to live in San Francisco.
So what they started doing, because the cost of their rent was really high - of course, they used to live in San Francisco…
So what they started doing is that they started thinking of renting out the floor space in their apartment
Wherein they would allow the guests to sleep on airbeds. They did this mostly to make up for the high cost of rent in San Francisco. 
In case of AirBnB, the economic downturn would have actually benefitted the company 
because it offered low-cost accomodations to people, at a time when many people were unable to afford hotels.
It’s the perfect example of how the events of crisis, such as the Great Recession, bring about a shift in the way world works.
And as we know today, fast forward 12-13 years since AirBnB started, earlier while we wouldn’t have thought about using
something like AirBnB, now we have become pretty accustomed of using such a service
No. 2 on the list is Uber!
Uber was founded by friends Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick in March 2009.
The idea for Uber was seeded when Travis and Garrett couldn’t get a taxi in Paris during a snowstorm.
If you think about it, that in 2009 they were just thinking about this, they were in Paris just seeding this idea
It’s remarkable the impact Uber has had in just about a decade.
By the way, did you know that originally uber was named UberCab, but after receiving several complaints from San Francisco taxi operators…
in 2011 it’s name was changed to Uber.
Personally, I think Uber is a lot cooler.
No. 3 on the list is WhatsApp!
WhatsApp was founded in May 2009, and that was right in the middle of the Global Financial Crisis.
It’s interesting to note that WhatsApp has been around only for a decade or so because today
it’s the primary mode of telecommunication for majority of the world. 
Looking at its early success, Facebook acquired WhatsApp back in 2014 for not 1, not 2, not 10, not 15, $19 billion.
You heard that right. Facebook acquired WhatsApp back in 2014 for $19 billion.
No. 4 on the list is Instagram!
Other than WhatsApp, Instagram has been another great success story of this past decade.
Instagram started back in 2010. Just like WhatsApp, Instagram was acquired by Facebook as well; although a couple years before WhatsApp. 
And, unlike WhatsApp, Instagram did not bag as many dollars
It was acquired in 2012, for just $1 billion. Looking at the popularity of Instagram today, I am sure you would agree that
it won’t be wrong to say that Facebook bagged a bit of a deal there. 
And, by the way, did you know what the most liked photo on Instagram is? It’s the picture of an egg. 
Yes, you heard that right, it’s the picture of an an egg. And there is nothing special about this egg. 
The picture currently has more than 54 million likes, I believe. This was posted with the sole purpose of
surpassing the previous world record of 18 million likes that was held by one of Kylie Jenner’s post.
Now, all I can say is that we live in an interesting world!
No. 5 on the list is Venmo!
Back in 2009, 2 college friends didn’t like the lofty transfer fees that came with digital payments, 
and this, we are talking about 2009. The world was a bit different to how it is today. 
so what did they do? Well, they created Venmo - for peers to exchange cash digitally 
without the lofty transfer fees. That’s it. That’s the main thing there. 
It turned out to be pretty successful because, as we know, Venmo was later bought by Braintree, 
in 2012, for $26 million. 
Interestingly enough, in 2013 Braintree was acquired by PayPal for $800 million.
So, as of today, Venmo is ultimately owned by PayPal.
No. 6 on the list if Groupon!
Groupon was launched in November 2008, right in the middle of the worst recession since the great depression.
Much like AirBnB, I think Groupon also benefitted from the downturn in economy
because of its business model. Now, who wouldn’t like deals on Products and Services, especially during a recession?
At the same time, I think Groupon also helped in easing people back into the spending mode,
by way of the deals that they offered.
No. 7 on the list is Pinterest!
The image-sharing based social network started back in January 2010.
More than 300 million people use Pinterest every month.
Pinterest went public in 2019, and currently it is valued at more than $12 billion.
For a company that started in a recession, just about a decade ago, I would say it’s come a long way.
No. 8 on the list is Slack!
What we know as Slack Technologies today was founded in Canada, in 2009.
Back in the day the company was known as Tiny Speck. 
Tiny Speck’s first product was a computer game called Glitch, which was ultimately shut down in December 2012.
After the closure of Glitch, the company launched the workplace messaging app, Slack. 
Slack went on to be a smashing smashing success.
Later on, the company renamed itself from Tiny Speck to Slack Technologies. 
The story of Slack, I believe, is masterclass in two very critical areas of entrepreneurship - 
1. Perseverance 2. Pivoting.
No. 9 on the list is Square!
Jack Dorsey and Jim Mckelvey co-founded Square in February 2009. 
The idea of Square occurred to Jack Dorsey when his friend Jim was unable to complete
a 200-dollar sale because he couldn’t accept credit cards.
And, remember, this was way back in 2009.
So, what did they do? They both decided to develop a mobile-based credit card-reader, 
which could take payment via phone’s audio jack.
Did you know that the name ’Square’ comes from company’s square-shaped readers?
No. 10 on the list is… 
Warby Parker!
Warby Parker launched in February 2010. The company’s ‘home-try-on program’ caught on with people
because they would let people choose up to 5 frames from the website, and let them try at home for up to 5 days. 
Absolutely free of charge. This innovative and disruptive approach helped Warby Parker find their feet in the market,
and the rest, as we know, is history.
Today, Warby Parker is valued at more than $1.75 billion, which, I believe, is very well deserved.
There you go, guys. So, these were the 10 famous companies that started during the 2008 recession.
Drop in a comment below and let me know which of these is your favourite company, and why.
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All right folks. Take care, and until next time, keep moving forward!
