{"id":17131,"date":"2020-04-14T12:27:11","date_gmt":"2020-04-14T16:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-715453-3009179.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=17131"},"modified":"2023-04-27T23:10:46","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T03:10:46","slug":"businesses-that-started-during-a-recession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-715453-3009179.cloudwaysapps.com\/blog\/businesses-that-started-during-a-recession\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Businesses that Started During a Recession"},"content":{"rendered":"
It might seem reckless to think about starting up a new business during a recession<\/a> when the future feels shaky and the economic impacts are impossible to predict. But it turns out, forming a startup in an economic downturn can actually work to your advantage in many ways. Not only are there plenty of new and unforeseen problems to solve, but you’re up against far fewer competitors.<\/p>\n In fact, many entrepreneurs who saw opportunities and took risks during hard economic times have ended up creating some of the most instantly-recognizable brand names we know and love today.<\/p>\n Here are just a few big-name businesses that you probably never knew were founded during recessions.<\/p>\n Year founded: 1997<\/strong><\/p>\n Legend has it that founder Reed Hastings was motivated to start an online DVD rental by mail\u00a0service\u00a0after incurring a $40 late fee from Blockbuster for failing to return his copy of Appollo 13 in a timely manner. In an ironic twist of fate several years later, the newborn company nearly crumbled when Blockbuster made the fatal mistake<\/a> of refusing to buy it out during the dot-com bubble burst of the early 2000s.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Netflix weathered the storm, however, by harnessing its innovative spirit to pioneer the streaming on-demand video service we know today, leaving it’s brick and mortar competitor permanently in the dust. Today, Netflix is worth nearly $34 billion and growing<\/a>, thanks to the current higher-than-ever demand for home-based entertainment.<\/p>\n Year founded: 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n The multibillion-dollar business was born in August 2008, when tech entrepreneurs Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky launched a simple\u00a0online platform<\/a>\u00a0to rent out an air mattress in their apartment in high-rent San Francisco. When the Great Recession hit later that same year, suddenly the need for short-term, low-commitment living quarters exploded exponentially. By March 2009, the site had over 10,000 users<\/a> and 2,500 listings, and big-name investments started flying in not long after. The rest is history.<\/p>\n Year founded: 1958<\/strong><\/p>\n The beloved grocery store had a humble start as a generic L.A.-based convenience store chain called Pronto Markets, established in the sluggish economy of the late 1950s. It wasn’t until 1967 when, inspired by a recent trip to the tropics, founder Joe Colombe rebranded his store “Trader Joe’s”<\/a> and transformed it into the eclectic tiki-themed foodie love-fest we know and love today. Today, the company operates nearly 300 stores and counting across the US.<\/p>\n1. Netflix<\/h2>\n
2. Airbnb<\/h2>\n
3. Trader Joe’s<\/h2>\n