India is currently home to the third-largest startup ecosystem globally, and the country’s growth trajectory points to further expansion. It’s important to take a moment to reflect on, accept, and learn from both failures and success stories while helping India succeed. On January 16, National Startup Day, it’s a good idea to research well-known businesses that started out small, faced obstacles, and went on to achieve remarkable success. This is a list of businesses that were on the verge of failing but have subsequently prospered!
Ten businesses that came dangerously close to failing
Airbnb
Airbnb underwent an incredible journey from its difficult start. The company encountered serious difficulties when it first started in 2008, including rejections from a number of well-known Silicon Valley investors. Co-founder of Airbnb Brian Chesky also discussed in an interview the emails he received from seven investors who first rejected the idea.
Nevertheless, Airbnb overcame this early setback to become one of the most valuable firms in the world. The company used a novel strategy to raise money by designing special cereal boxes with themes based on the 2008 presidential candidates, called “Obama O’s” and “Cap’n McCains.” These creative cereal boxes, made out of cardboard and hot glue, assisted Airbnb in raising the tens of thousands of dollars needed to keep the company afloat in its early phases.
The business faced difficulties when the pandemic first started. As a result, Airbnb was forced to reevaluate its approach and move quickly, announcing plans to improve its short-term rental booking platform in a number of ways. Its rehabilitation was greatly aided by this initiative. The Work From Home trend was also a big plus for the organization.
GoDaddy
Before starting his own business, GoDaddy’s founder, Bob Parsons, faced a number of difficulties in life, including his service in the Vietnam War. Ironically, it was during his time serving in Vietnam that Parsons acquired a mindset that would prove advantageous in both military and business endeavors: a worldview that revolved around viewpoint adaptation. Parsons discovered in Vietnam that living meant accepting each day as it came. He previously told Inc. about how changing his perspective enabled him to get through difficult circumstances. In 2001, four years after the company’s founding, GoDaddy was having trouble, and Parsons considered closing it down to save his whole wealth.
But then something happened in Hawaii that made him focus again. Parsons’s insight came when he noticed the happy disposition of valets as they parked cars. He realized that being a valet would be his worst-case situation, even if he went bankrupt. This change in viewpoint lessened the sense of how serious failure was, which helped him to be optimistic. Reports surfaced shortly after this modification, claiming that GoDaddy turned a profit a few months later.
Uber
Uber packed a whole lifetime of drama into its first full year of operation. The original UberCab app wasn’t released until the summer of 2010, despite co-founders Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp having the idea in the early months of 2009. UberCab changed its name to Uber after receiving its first cease-and-desist letter not long after it launched. A fundraising agreement between Uber and Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of Netscape and Andreessen Horowitz, fell through in less than a year. (Details regarding the incident remain secret.)
Uber encountered many difficulties throughout the years, including a class-action lawsuit, a wrongful death lawsuit, charges of illegal activities, protests, sabotage claims, accusations of misogyny and sexism, privacy issues, and safety concerns. Despite this long list of problems, Uber is still growing. In addition, the company is starting a lot of new projects.
Tesla
Who would have thought that Tesla may fail? Let’s begin with Elon Musk, the creator of Tesla. Musk said, “I didn’t really think Tesla would be successful.” “I assumed we would probably fall short. However, I believed that we could at least dispel the myth that people hold—that an electric automobile must be unattractive, sluggish, and dull like a golf cart. At first, Tesla did not present itself as a direct rival to conventional automobiles.
There were plenty of difficulties associated with this disruptive mindset. The business struggled with serious quality problems in 2008 and barely avoided going bankrupt. Missing deadlines on a regular basis drove off potential clients. Furthermore, Musk’s tweets provoked disagreements with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and between January and September of 2018, a noteworthy 41 executives left the company. Tesla is still thriving in spite of its critics and skeptics.
The corporation attracted a number of well-known supporters despite recognizing detractors as a risk in their 2019 annual report. VW CEO Herbert Diess acknowledged Tesla as a strong rival. The future seems bright now that battery prices are starting to drop and Tesla is becoming more adept at utilizing economies of scale.
Starbucks
The CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, started II Giornale, a coffee shop with an Italian motif. He presented the idea to venture capitalists in its early phases. 217 of the 242 people that were approached said no. But in the end, II Giornale prevailed and bought Starbucks. But by 2008, Starbucks might have to file for bankruptcy. The business overcame this issue by making creative and strategic actions.The company went from almost bankrupt to billion-dollar successes.
KFC
The creator of KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), Harland Sanders, built a well-known fast-food franchise all over the world. But after a major setback, there was a point at which Colonel Sanders considered giving up on the KFC brand. Sanders was the manager of a single roadside eatery that served KFC at first. Unfortunately, traffic was diverted away from his business due to the construction of a wider road nearby. In an effort to promote his unique recipe, Sanders set out on a journey after falling into desperation and visited over 1000 businesses. After facing indifference at first, the 75-year-old succeeded in selling his recipe for $15 million. Even though Sanders died at the age of 90, his legacy endures because to the iconic KFC logo, despite the fact that he never achieved global renown during his lifetime.
FedEx
The story of FedEx is arguably one of the most well-known instances of startups that were on the verge of failing. Frederick W. Smith founded the company in 1971, using his $4 million personal fortune as well as an extra $90 million in fundraising to get things going. FedEx’s primary goal was to establish overnight shipping as the first worldwide parcel delivery service. But three years after it started, rising fuel prices became a serious danger. The business was on the verge of bankruptcy and was losing $1 million every month.
The company’s account shrank to $5,000 during this terrible situation—not enough to fuel the flights for Monday. Smith made a bold decision to stop this crisis after being refused additional funding. Over the weekend, he took a plane to Las Vegas and bet the final $5,000 the company had on a blackjack game. Amazingly, the company’s account increased to $32,000 by Monday morning, allowing it to carry on with business as usual for a few more days. Smith was able to get an additional $11 million in finance during this crucial time, giving FedEx a lifeline. FedEx is a massive corporate entity today.
Netflix
Success in the corporate world depends on your ability to see opportunities and take advantage of them. Netflix demonstrates this at several key points in its journey to become the world’s leading streaming service. When the creators realized there was potential in offering clients online DVD rentals, that was the first big breakthrough. When the streaming prospects were realized, a further big step was taken.
However, when it came to these two aspects of its company, Netflix found itself in a vulnerable position. Discontent among subscribers over a projected corporate split led to 800,000 consumers quitting. This choice has to be quickly reversed. Netflix flourished as a massive force in streaming and content development despite this setback, highlighting the need of quickly recognizing and fixing errors.
Apple
Even if you don’t own one, there’s a good chance you’ll come across an Apple device somewhere. Interestingly, before to the release of the iPhone and iPad, the world’s first trillion-dollar firm was on the verge of bankruptcy. When Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded the company in a garage, Apple first specialized in building personal computers. Notwithstanding its early successes, the business was in disarray by the mid-to-late 1990s. When Jobs returned from his hiatus in the 1980s, he found Apple on the verge of bankruptcy and only a few days away from total bankruptcy. Apple’s fortunes were restored by a series of noteworthy successes including products such as the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. These devices have made a lasting impact on the global technology scene.
Ford
As any of the aforementioned businesses will attest, failure frequently leads to success. Over Ford’s lifetime, the company’s history was mostly one of constant success and growth. But as the twenty-first century progressed, Ford was impacted by the collapse of the American auto industry. The consequences included layoffs, plant closings, and the need to sell off a number of brands that were acquired in earlier decades. The need for a government-backed rescue plan arose. Still, Ford quickly bounced back, setting out on a course for expansion and recuperation. The declaration of record profits exceeding $10 billion in 2015 marked the climax of this revival.
