If you read this article, you are probably looking into starting a new business from a great and unique idea. But as a starting entrepreneur, you are scared to venture into something that you are not sure of. You might think it’s feasible and doable. Still, with limited resources, you are afraid that it will fail.
And here you are, looking for a list of companies with the most impressive success stories to motivate you. So, look no further as we compiled 10 Startups companies founded in the last 10 years that started from scratch and are now worth more than millions.
1. Canva
Founder: Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht
Year Founded: 2013
Valuation in 2021: $ 40 Billion
Canva is one of the most popular multibillion-dollar companies in the world. It all started its journey way back in 2007 when Melanie Perkins was still studying at Western Australia. Back then, she tutored other students using design programs like Photoshop and InDesign. However, this software was hard to learn and use. That’s when she decided to design an online, collaborative, and easy-to-use graphic design program.
Today, Canva is one of the most popular and most valuable startups, raising $200 million in fresh funding and valuing $40 billion. This makes Canva the most valuable startup worth more than millions founded by a woman in the world.
2. Uber
Founder: Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick
Year Founded: 2009
Valuation in 2020: $ 46 billion
Available in more than 60 countries worldwide, this billion-dollar business was first developed in 2009 by Garrett Camp, a computer programmer. The idea came up after his friends had spent $800 hiring a private driver. Uber’s vision started after he wanted to find a way to reduce the cost of direct transportation and make it affordable by sharing the cost with people. Not soon later, Travis Kalanick joined Camp and started the company.
Starting as Ubercab, Uber’s service and mobile app have now more than 75 million users worldwide. It allows those who need a lift from their pick up and destination location. More than that, you can pick the level of luxury of service you want. You can even decide to share a ride with other people to save the fare. Today, It has become one of the biggest startups worth more than millions, with more than $82 billion in 2019.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the company and is now only worth $42 billion in 2020.
3. Snapchat
Founder: Evan Spiegel
Year Founded: 2011
Valuation in 2021: $88.15 billion
Snapchat was first launched in July 2011 and attracted millions of users worldwide. It was first established as an IOS app called Picaboo, which lets users have a disappearing messaging feature.
Today, it’s the most used photo and video-based messaging app used by many users. Not only that, but it also now functions as a complete social media app that lets users share stories, text, and more. Many popular internet personalities and famous artists use this app, and it has an estimated 200 million users daily.
And best of all, the company is now worth more than $88 billion and is considered as one of the best performing tech stocks in 2019.
4. DoorDash
Founder: Tony Xu, Stanley Tang, Andy Fang, and Evan Moore
Year Founded: 2013
Valuation in 2021: $28 Billion
The idea of DoorDash started back in 2012 after the company’s four founders found out that one of the faced by many businesses in Palo Alto, California is delivery. Thus, in January 2013, Palo Alto delivery was born that was later renamed to DoorDash.
Starting as a small team of four who worked as students in the morning and delivery drivers at night, DoorDash now works hard to provide the best delivery service in the United States. Since then, it has gained a fair number of competitors like Postmates, Seamless, and Ubereats.
In 2021, the company is now estimated to be valued at $28 billion. Although DoorDash remains a private company, it plans to continue raising money and launching more products and services soon.
5. Juul
Founder: Adam Bowen and James Monsees
Year Founded: 2015
Valuation: $ 12 Billion
Juul is one of the successful companies founded in 2015. The story of this famous e-cigarette company started in 2005, when two former cigarette smokers, James Monsees and Adam Bowen, met in a product design class at Stanford University. This led them to develop an e-cigarette called Ploom. It was later renamed Pax Labs and Juul electronic e-cigarette was introduced in June 2015.
The popularity of the company and product grew in 2017 after an extensive social media campaign. By 2018, the market share grew up to 72%. However, the company went under fire over the last few years after several controversies, such as criticism by the FDA and total product bans in some countries. In 2019, the company’s valuation plunged from $38 billion to $12 billion.
6. Udacity
Founder: Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig
Year Founded: 2011
Valuation as of 2021: $1 Billion
The story of Udacity began when Stanford instructors Peter Norvig and Sebastian Thrun offered their “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” course online for free. More than 160 thousand students globally enrolled.
And then, the idea to democratize education at a global scale was born, and Udacity was founded and introduced at the 2012 Digital Life Design Conference. As of today, it has reached 1.6 million users with more than 200 courses for free. It is now a leading inspiration for learners worldwide, reaching millions of people and teaching them the most thrilling and groundbreaking fields in the world.
7. Vox Media
Founder: Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett
Year Founded: 2011
Valuation: $1 Billion
Vox Media started in 2005 as a sports blog network called SB Nation by founders Tyler Bleszinski, Jerome Armstrong, and Markos Moulitsas. As the reputation of the site grew, it was later rebranded as Vox Media in 2011.
This mass media company is now operating for different parts of the world, including Chicago, Los Angeles, and London. It covers various topics such as sports, video games, politics, pop culture, and more. The network also features over 300 sites with moreover 400 writers around the globe. Vox Media now owns several companies, including Vox.com, Eater, New York Magazine, SB Nation, and more.
8. Jet.com
Founder: Marc Lore, Mike Hanrahan, and Nate Faust
Year Founded: 2014
Valuation in 2021: $1.4 billion
The idea of Jet.com came after founder Marc Lore speculated that customers are willing to wait to obtain their goods if they can save money on the purchase. Jet.com aims at customers who care more about saving money than the convenience it brings.
In 2014, the company launched Jet Insider, which offered free six months site membership to spread the word about the company before its complete public launch. The company also raised $220 million through three rounds of funding before its launch. It also hit over $1 million in sales on its first day launched in July 2014.
9. Blue Apron
Founder: Matt Salzberg and Ilia Papas
Year Founded: 2012
Valuation: $2 billion
Blue Apron initially started to give people an easy way to make dinner without the hassle of shopping and planning. The company delivers proportioned ingredients and recipes to its subscribers to make and eat a fresh meal for dinner.
By August 2012, the company started sending its first 30 orders to its subscribers. Today, a blue apron sells more than 3 million meals each month. Since then, the startup has tripled its size and has expanded to several industries like Wine, Kitchen Tools, and Cookware.
10. Lyft
Founder: Logan Green and John Zimmer
Year Founded: 2012
Valuation as of 2019: $24 Billion
The idea of Lyft started when one of the founders, Logan Green, had the inspiration after sharing rides from the University of California campus to visit his girlfriend in Los Angeles. He first searched Craigslist share boards but wanted to eliminate the anxiety of not knowing who you will be riding with.
In 2012, Green and another founder John Zimmer launched Lyft as a service on Zimride, a long-distance carpooling company established in 2007. In 2013, the company sold Zimride to focus exclusively on the growth of Lyft.
Today, it became a close competitor to other ride-hailing markets such as Uber and is not valued at $24 billion.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the most successful companies that started as startups. There are other great companies who now worth more than a million or even billions. There is a lot of learning from the stories, such as:
- There is no idea too small for success. Most of these companies started as an idea created through experience or even when simply talking in your parents’ garage. You might think it’s not feasible now, but every idea can lead to success with the proper refinement and consultation.
- You don’t need a massive amount of money to get started. Sure, you might need a small loan, but raising millions of dollars to start a business does not automatically mean success. As a starting entrepreneur, you can start from a small scratch and see where it can lead you.
As a startup, you just need to find the right people to invest, validate, and help you improve your idea. If you are looking for someone to help validate your idea, Flexilabs can help you. Contact us now!