Burt’s Bees Growth: Craft-Fair Start-Up to Global Brand
Burt’s Bees is now a global personal care brand owned by Clorox. It began with a leftover material, a craft fair table and very little money. This article looks at what the story teaches about starting small, using what you already have, keeping your…
How 1 Risky Loan Built Chobani’s Empire
Chobani is now one of the largest yogurt brands in the US. It started with a closed factory, a bank loan and a founder who had never made yogurt for sale. This article covers what happened and what it teaches about buying distressed assets, taking on…
Canva & Melanie Perkins: From Rejection to Unicorn
Canva is now used by more than 240 million people a month. Its early years were much harder. This article looks at the story of co-founder Melanie Perkins and what it teaches about handling rejection, making a product easy to use, and testing an idea…
How Gymshark Turned a Garage Startup Into a Cult Brand
Gymshark is one of the best-known fitness clothing brands in the world, but it started with a university student, a part-time job and a garage. It is a useful story for anyone trying to build a brand without a big advertising budget. It also has limits,…
The Story of Mailchimp: From Agency to SaaS
By Mark Collins. I’m a finance enthusiast. This article is for education only and is not financial, legal or tax advice. Mailchimp is now known as a $12 billion acquisition. Its beginning was much quieter. It started as a small tool built for web design…
Madam C.J. Walker: Building a Business on Customer Needs
By Mark Collins. I’m a finance enthusiast. This article is for education only and is not financial, legal or tax advice. When people talk about Madam C. J. Walker, they often stop at one headline: “first self-made female millionaire.” Her story is more…
What Sara Blakely and Spanx Can Teach You on Starting Small
By Mark Collins. I’m a finance enthusiast. This article is for education only and is not financial, legal or tax advice. Most people hear “billionaire founder” and think the story has nothing to do with them. Sara Blakely’s early story is different. It…