5 business ideas that went from zero to hero
The secret recipe to any successful business is an original business idea. For entrepreneurial minds, this means finding something that society needs or desires before they even realise that they do! As with any business planning, thorough research must take place before embarking on any business endeavour – and no idea is a recipe for instant success. Except for the extraordinary case, successful business ideas take years to get off the ground and a lot of hard work and time to achieve the anticipated level of success and growth, and with this comes risk!
For these five businesses, their ideas and execution resulted in enormous, somewhat unprecedented growth! Let’s take a look and get inspired!
- Apple
Apple is the result of ambition. Picture two men, with only high school certificates sitting in their parent’s garage building computers in whatever spare time they found between tech jobs at Atari and Hewlett Packard. Within 5 years, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak had created one of the biggest tech companies around. Fast forward to today and Apple is one of the biggest players in the technology industry. Creating anything from phones, computers, watches and so much more. By the way, at one stage Apple was almost insolvent and was then resuscitated through the genius of Steve Jobs.
Approximate revenue per annum > USD $200 billion
2. Groupon
Human beings love to save money. Whether it’s a discount on our coffee or a special price on a new car – discounts make people happy! Groupon began as a way for Andrew Mason (founder) to get the leverage required to cancel a mobile phone contract and his ‘side hustle’ has since grown into an international business. Groupon has an app where users can search for deals in various locations in industries such as hospitality, entertainment, services and more.
Approximate revenue per annum > USD $2 billion
3. Instagram
Instagram is an app that almost everyone has on their mobile phone. It’s as popular as Facebook (or some may argue even more popular as time goes by!) which makes it hard for us to believe that it only came on the scene just over 10 years ago.
Inspired by the growing success of camera phones, Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom (founders) created an app and worked at a rented a desk in a shared office space on the weekends and worked tirelessly at their idea. It didn’t take off immediately and with a few tweaks, Instagram began making a profit – sparking the interest of Facebook, who bought it off Mike and Kevin for $1 billion USD.
Approximate revenue per annum > USD $20 billion
4. Etsy
An ‘eBay’ for custom-made arts and crafts, Etsy is a go-to site for those wanting creative gifts, unique pieces or who simply want to ‘support local’. It began small and as time passed grew into the e-commerce giant it is today, with millions of users selling their wares to both local and international markets.
Approximate revenue per annum > USD $600 million
5. Under Armour
A business built out of necessity – Under Armour was created by athlete, Kevin Plank after realising that no sportswear suited his goals (i.e. a lightweight undershirt that keeps you dry during exercise). Frustrated with the competition, he saw a hole in the market and decided to fill it. His side hustle began with car sales, as he sold his creations from his boot, driving up and down the east coast of the U.S. Individual sales morphed into larger-scale production as the brand grew and within 2 years, he had a headquarters and warehouse facility of his own.
Approximate revenue per annum > USD $4 billion
Noticed a gap in the market and are wanted to chat it through? Or maybe you prefer the security of buying an already established business? Contact Core Business Brokers today, on (02) 9413 2977, or email Roy at [email protected]. Our industry expertise and years of business knowledge will help guide you on your journey, whatever that may be.
