With Nothing

Six startups that started with nothing.

Wernher von Braun worked himself up as an engineer in Nazi Germany with one thing: the ability to solve problems. Steve Jobs started in a garage. Jeff Bezos started in a garage. Elon Musk started poor in South Africa.

What they have in common is not recognition, not naturally-born connections, not given ability. What they have in common is: they saw something others didn't. And they were crazy enough to do something about it.

In DIP work, I see this pattern return. Inclusive production doesn't begin with budget. It begins with observation. You see a problem somewhere. You see an opportunity somewhere. And then you set in motion what's needed.

Most people who don't become entrepreneurs don't because they have no money. They don't because they don't dare stand out. They don't because they see too much weight in genes and fortune.

Thiel would say: that's unhealthy thinking. That's inviting your own loss before you start.

Von Braun became the crucial instrument of the space program. Jobs built a billion-dollar business from 500 dollars. Bezos built from garage to probably larger than any empire.

Not because they had inheritance. Because they didn't wait until they had everything. They started with what they had. They learned from what they didn't know.

This is inclusive entrepreneurship. Not for rich kids only. For anyone who feels something must change.

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Source: Business history and biographies