10 Famous Businesses That Started in a Recession

The following 10 major corporations were started during economic slumps.

1. Hyatt Corp. opened its first hotel at the Los Angeles International Airport during the recession of 1957 to 1958.
2. FedEx Corp. began operations on April 17, 1973 as Federal Express by founder Frederick W. Smith. The company delivered 186 packages to 25 cities on its first night of operations
3. Microsoft Corp. was created by Harvard University dropout Bill Gates, Microsoft was located in Albuquerque, N.M when it started.
4. CNN was started in recession year 1980; it was a little-known station called The Cable Network News.
5. MTV Networks debuted in the economic slump of 1981.
6. Trader Joe's started as Pronto Markets in the slow financial times of 1958. In 1967, the company changed its name to Trader Joe's.
7. Sports Illustrated magazine launched in August 1954 at the tail-end of a recession.
8. GE (General Electric Co.) born in 1876 was established during a six-year recession in 1876 by American inventor Thomas Edison. By the way, Edison one time said, "There are no rules around here. We are trying to accomplish something."
9. HP (Hewlett-Packard Development Company LP) was stared with a $538 investment in a Palo Alto garage at the end of the Great Depression.
10. Burger King Corp. is another recession startup. The company began in 1954 during an economic downturn.

Copyright 2010 by Ernie Zelinski — All Rights Reserved