I find lists to be helpful in managing my thoughts. One list that I have been compiling is of companies that were founded during recessions, depressions and other times of economic upheaval.
It’s inspiring to see that some of the biggest brands we recognize today, from tech giants to retail powerhouses, were formed during challenging financial times.
So here it is, the big list of 150 companies founded during the harshest of economic times. There are stories underneath each of these new beginnings, but I haven’t delved into each of them. A small handful can even be name changes of existing companies, but overall, the takeaway is profound. When we think something is useless, or stupid, or will fail, there are examples everywhere to prove us wrong.
The Big List of 150 Companies Founded During Economic Downturns:
- General Electric (GE) – 1892, Panic of 1893
- IBM – 1911, Panic of 1910-1911
- Disney – 1923, Post-World War I recession
- Hewlett-Packard (HP) – 1939, Great Depression
- Burger King – 1953, Recession of 1953
- Hyatt – 1957, Recession of 1958
- Trader Joe’s – 1958, Recession of 1958
- Intel – 1968, Recession of 1969–1970
- FedEx – 1971, Nixon Recession
- Microsoft – 1975, 1973–1975 Recession
- Apple – 1976, 1973–1975 Recession
- The Home Depot – 1978, 1980 Recession
- Adobe Systems – 1982, Early 1980s Recession
- Electronic Arts (EA) – 1982, Early 1980s Recession
- Symantec – 1982, Early 1980s Recession
- Compaq – 1982, Early 1980s Recession
- Cisco Systems – 1984, Early 1980s Recession tail end
- Airbnb – 2008, Great Recession
- Groupon – 2008, Great Recession
- Uber – 2009, Great Recession
- WhatsApp – 2009, Great Recession
- Venmo – 2009, Great Recession
- Instagram – 2010, Great Recession aftermath
- Pinterest – 2010, Great Recession aftermath
- Square – 2009, Great Recession
- Warby Parker – 2010, Great Recession aftermath
- Snapchat – 2011, Great Recession aftermath
- Mailchimp – 2001, Early 2000s Recession
- Netflix – 1997, Asian Financial Crisis
- Google – 1998, Asian Financial Crisis aftermath
- PayPal – 1998, Asian Financial Crisis aftermath
- Expedia – 1996, Early 1990s Recession aftermath
- eBay – 1995, Early 1990s Recession aftermath
- Craigslist – 1995, Early 1990s Recession aftermath
- Salesforce – 1999, Dot-com Bubble Burst aftermath
- Zynga – 2007, Early 2000s Recession aftermath
- Cloudflare – 2009, Great Recession
- Slack – 2009, Great Recession
- Zoom – 2011, Great Recession aftermath
- Stripe – 2010, Great Recession aftermath
- Credit Karma – 2007, Great Recession
- Lyft – 2012, Great Recession aftermath
- WeWork – 2010, Great Recession aftermath
- Blue Apron – 2012, Great Recession aftermath
- GitHub – 2008, Great Recession
- Pandora – 2000, Dot-com Bubble Burst
- Tesla Motors – 2003, Early 2000s Recession aftermath
- SquareSpace – 2004, Early 2000s Recession aftermath
- Turner Broadcasting System – 1970, Nixon Recession
- CNN – 1980, 1980 Recession
- Whole Foods Market – 1980, 1980 Recession
- Autodesk – 1982, Early 1980s Recession
- Sun Microsystems – 1982, Early 1980s Recession
- Amgen – 1980, 1980 Recession
- Genentech – 1976, 1973–1975 Recession
- SAP – 1972, 1973 Oil Crisis
- VMware – 1998, Asian Financial Crisis aftermath
- Red Hat – 1993, Early 1990s Recession aftermath
- Akamai Technologies – 1998, Asian Financial Crisis aftermath
- Logitech – 1981, Early 1980s Recession
- Activision Blizzard – 1979, 1980 Recession
- Oracle – 1977, 1973–1975 Recession
- SAS Institute – 1976, 1973–1975 Recession
- Tommy Hilfiger – 1985, Early 1980s Recession aftermath
- Chipotle Mexican Grill – 1993, Early 1990s
- Five Guys – 1986, Early 1980s Recession aftermath
- Intuit – 1983, Early 1980s Recession
- Dollar Tree – 1986, Early 1980s Recession aftermath
- Dollar General – 1939, Great Depression
- TD Ameritrade – 1975, 1973–1975 Recession
- Charles Schwab – 1971, Nixon Recession
- Morningstar, Inc. – 1984, Early 1980s Recession aftermath
- Monster.com – 1994, Early 1990s Recession aftermath
- GoDaddy – 1997, Asian Financial Crisis
- Costco – 1983, Early 1980s Recession
- Citrix Systems – 1989, Late 1980s Recession
- Symphony Technology Group – 2002, Early 2000s Recession
- Shutterfly – 1999, Dot-com Bubble Burst
- Angie’s List – 1995, Early 1990s Recession aftermath
- Yelp – 2004, Early 2000s Recession aftermath
- SurveyMonkey – 1999, Dot-com Bubble Burst
- Zendesk – 2007, Great Recession
- Kickstarter – 2009, Great Recession
- Under Armour – 1996, Early 1990s Recession aftermath
- Virgin Atlantic – 1984, Early 1980s Recession
- Indigo Books and Music – 1996, Early 1990s Recession aftermath
- ModCloth – 2002, Early 2000s Recession
- Shopify – 2004, Early 2000s Recession aftermath
- Zappos – 1999, Dot-com Bubble Burst
- SoundCloud – 2007, Great Recession
- Vimeo – 2004, Early 2000s Recession aftermath
- Rackspace – 1998, Asian Financial Crisis aftermath
- JetBlue Airways – 1998, Asian Financial Crisis aftermath
- Hulu – 2007, Great Recession
- Box – 2005, Early 2000s Recession aftermath
- Tinder – 2012, Great Recession aftermath
- Blue Nile – 1999, Dot-com Bubble Burst
- Wipro – 1945, World War II
- Sony – 1946, Post-World War II
- Polaroid – 1937, Great Depression
- Xerox – 1906, Panic of 1907
- Reed Elsevier (RELX Group) – 1903, Panic of 1903
- United Technologies – 1934, Great Depression
- LexisNexis – 1973, 1973 Oil Crisis
- Vanguard Group – 1975, 1973–1975 Recession
- Infosys – 1981, Early 1980s Recession
- Biocon – 1978, 1980 Recession
- Paramount Pictures – 1912, Panic of 1910-1911
- Conde Nast – 1909, Panic of 1907 aftermath
- Morgan Stanley – 1935, Great Depression
- Texas Instruments – 1930, Great Depression
- Mattel – 1945, World War II aftermath
- Hilton Hotels – 1919, Post-World War I recession
- Baskin Robbins – 1945, World War II aftermath
- Bacardi – 1862, American Civil War
- Al Jazeera – 1996, Early 1990s Recession aftermath
- Qualcomm – 1985, Early 1980s Recession aftermath
- Kia Motors – 1944, World War II
- Allstate – 1931, Great Depression
- Berkshire Hathaway – 1839, Panic of 1837
- Rockwell Automation – 1903, Panic of 1903
- Nokia – 1865, Finnish Famine
- Shell – 1907, Panic of 1907
- Merrill Lynch – 1914, World War I
- Electronic Data Systems (EDS) – 1962, Recession of 1960–61
- Dell Technologies – 1984, Early 1980s Recession aftermath
- Mosaic (web browser) – 1993, Early 1990s Recession aftermath
- iRobot – 1990, Early 1990s Recession
- Lululemon Athletica – 1998, Asian Financial Crisis
- BlackRock – 1988, Late 1980s Recession
- DreamWorks Animation – 1994, Early 1990s Recession aftermath
- Animoto – 2006, Mid-2000s slowdown
- Priceline.com – 1997, Asian Financial Crisis
- Roku – 2002, Early 2000s Recession
- Sephora – 1970, Nixon Recession
- SolarCity – 2006, Mid-2000s slowdown
- Patagonia – 1973, 1973 Oil Crisis
- Blue Origin – 2000, Dot-com Bubble Burst
- Bose Corporation – 1964, Recession of 1960–61
- Spotify – 2006, Mid-2000s slowdown
- Dropbox – 2007, Great Recession
- Kaspersky Lab – 1997, Asian Financial Crisis
- SpaceX – 2002, Early 2000s Recession
- Twitter – 2006, Mid-2000s slowdown
- Honeywell – 1906, Panic of 1907
- Caterpillar Inc. – 1925, 1920s pre-Great Depression economic fluctuations
- Harley-Davidson – 1903, Panic of 1903
- Hertz – 1918, Post-World War I economic downturn
- Revlon – 1932, Great Depression
- LEGO – 1932, Great Depression
