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5 Famous Companies that Started in a Garage

by Dakota Storage Buildings, on November 01, 2016

Famous startups that had a garage business first

What do these six businesses—all famous startups—and storage buildings have in common? 

Garage businesses!

Below are several companies that experienced meager beginnings: limited money and humble facilities. However from such places came multi-billion dollar success stories. These businesses are inspirations because they showed us that it's not where you start —a shed, garage, or basement— but how you get the job done. They are companies that started small and made it big.

Hewlett-Packard

Stanford University classmates Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard invented their first HP product, an audio oscillator, in 1939 while they were working out of their first building - a garage. It was until 1940 when they move out of their garage. The original Hewlett-Packard garage has since been refurbished and rebuilt; it stands today as California Historic Landmark No. 976, "Birthplace of Silicon Valley."

Amazon

In 1994, Jeff Bezos created the online store giant, Amazon (originally named "Cadabra" but later changed after someone misheard it as "Cadaver") and ran the site from his home. Mr. Bezos chose his Seattle, Washington home because it had one crucial requirement - a garage. He wanted to boast of having a garage start-up like Silicon Valley legends like Hewlett-Packard.

Google

Larry Page and Sergey Brin were taking up their graduate studies at the Stanford University in 1998 when they decided to develop a search algorithm that would help Internet users find information online. They worked from their friend's garage in Menlo Park, California. The project came to be known as Google.

Apple

A young Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started Apple Computers from a small garage in Los Altos, California in 1976. Built in 1952, the 61-year-old house was not only the birthplace of Apple but also the childhood home of Jobs.

Walt Disney 

Take a 10-minute drive from Disneyland Park in California, and there stands a house that belonged to Robert Disney. Behind the house is still the one-car garage that served as Walt Disney’s first Los Angeles studio started by Robert's nephews, Walt and Roy.

Fun fact: Walt Disney was one of HP's first customers. He bought eight Hewlett-Packard audio oscillators to help him develop the sound system for the animated classic, Fantasia.

Harley-Davidson

In 1901, William Harley designed a small engine that was intended to power a bicycle. He and his childhood friend, Arthur Davidson, worked on the motor-powered bicycle over the next two years in a friend's wooden garage shed in Wisconsin, but once they finished their new engine, they moved into a 10×15 foot shed in the Davidson’s backyard. Harley-Davidson is now one of the largest motorcycle manufacturers in the world. Many more garages are safekeeping their motorcycles now. They are, in essence, Harley-Davidson garages.

Buy a garage to start up a business or grow the one you already have.

Garage-based businesses are nothing to sneeze at, considering the companies mentioned above. Use one of our storage buildings to expand your business!

In addition to crafting durable, high-quality storage buildings, we offer a 6-year top-to-bottom limited warranty, excellent customer service, factory direct pricing, payment options, and several display locations.

We sell our garage sheds factory direct which means there’s no middleman. We sell them directly you. This keeps your cost down and simplifies the buying process. Also, we offer three purchasing options: buy, finance, rent. Whether you want to buy outright or arrange a loan, we have an option that will make buying a shed feasible for you.

All of our buildings can be built on-site or delivered fully intact. When you choose to have a shed or garage built on-site, we prefabricate the building in our factory and then transport the sections to your property for assembly. Learn more about our delivery process here.

If you're ready to start a business or expand the square footage of your current business, we can help. Browse our Business Expansion Package or click the button below.

Maybe your business will be the next famous startup. Wouldn't that be awesome?

Configure Your Business Expansion Shed

It’s our mission to make high-quality buildings that exceed your expectations. Learn more by visiting us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. Or you can do it the old-fashioned way by exploring our buildings in person at a display location near you.

Topics:Garage & Shed Uses

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