We all know about the variety of tech giants that are now known globally around the world, and it is hard to imagine them as being startups.
Tech and Other Successful Companies That Started in Parents’ Basements Created By: JES
It is amazing just how many now-famous entrepreneurs decided to start their first business from a basement, and when you think about it this makes sense. It enables them to devote more time to the business because it was set up at home, and it meant they didn’t need to find money to rent business premises. Many were also very young when they started, so the basement was often in their parents’ home.
Some Companies That Are Now Global
There are many tech companies that started out as a one-man venture from a basement, such as IMMEX, although you would never think of it when you see them today. So, let’s take a look at some of the big names that were once run from basements:
Amazon
Yes, Amazon was once a startup basement tech company! Obviously, this is a company that uses tech to provide its services, and when Jeff Bezos first started out, it was in a double garage. He then moved to a basement warehouse with a few staff before the whole thing exploded and Amazon took over the online retail world. Today, Amazon is a global giant and is worth a cool $1 trillion, which means that Jeff Bezos is a very wealthy man, to put it mildly!
FreshBooks
Many people and businesses now rely on FreshBooks, the cloud-based accounting software. However, there was a time when just a handful of people used it each month. In fact, Mike McDerment who founded the business ran it from his parents’ basement for more than three years to save money. These days, he doesn’t have to worry so much, as it brings in around $8 billion a year.
Virgin Group
We all know that Virgin has its fingers in a lot of pies, including tech products and services among other things. But there was a time when Richard Branson was a 16-year-old kid working out of someone else’s basement as part of his faltering steps into the world of entrepreneurism. Of course, these days, it is a different story and Virgin Group is now worth a whopping $5 billion.
Epic Games
In 2017, Fornite was released and became a huge hit, and it came from Epic Games. The founder of Epic Games, Tim Sweeney, was still at university when he started his games development venture back in 1991, and he was working from his parents’ basement. The company is now valued at around $15 billion.
So, as you can see there are many huge tech companies that had a very modest start in a basement.