Every big technology company was once just a simple startup with a vision to affect change for the better with their service or product offering. While some may not have had an idea how they were going to achieve their end goal, each one were driven by their mission; their ‘why’.
Let’s take a look at some of the most important startups from the last two decades which blossomed into more than just global companies, but more, a necessary extension of consumer’s everyday lives.
Facebook
Perhaps an obvious one, which you may have guessed was coming, though Facebook single-handedly changed our ability to communicate, while opening up endless connection abilities to people across the globe.
We all know the story; started in a dorm room at Harvard University by Mark Zuckerburg, originally for Harvard students before opening up to students from other Ivy League universities, it wasn’t until ‘The Facebook’ as it was called then, soared in popularity that Zuckerburg realised the potential and sought venture capital backing.
The rest, as they say is history. Facebook has become a global institution; far more than a social tool; a political platform, advertorial powerhouse, a millennial zeitgeist.
Amazon
Initially meant to be a simple book-selling website, founder Jeff Bezos has built a multi-service conglomerate encompassing e-commerce, cloud computing and now artificial intelligence.
On-par with Facebook in terms of impact that it has on everyday lives, Amazon is well and truly a global force which changed basic consumerism. The undisputed leader in e-commerce, Amazon is here to stay.
PayPal
Quite often excluded in talks about the heavyweights, though before fintech became ‘sexy’, you had this, at the time, quirky, almost experimental online payment aid, in response to cyber attacks.
The Paypal infrastructure helped to make online payments more secure, preventing attacks to your online banking. Setting a precedent for the ‘modern’ payment gateways, Paypal is undoubtedly the well-respected industry leader. Beginning with a simple mission to protect people’s transactions, Paypal continues to grow and is a vital part of global business on a daily basis.
Google
Does Google run the world? Perhaps there is an unspoken acceptance about this assertion. The biggest search engine on the planet, the company headquarters is almost like a futuristic scientific lab.
Armed with an almost bottomless-pit of money, they are almost like a nation state themselves and commit endless amounts to developing products which help to make people’s lives better.
Regardless of whether these are products/services for ‘business to business’ or ‘business to consumer’, Google operates in another league to everyone else, though like most successful companies of the ‘tech boom’, started in a garage with its founders.
SpaceX
Considered by some, a vanity project of Elon Musk, there is far more to it than that. With a mission to to build the technology capable of discovering more about the universe than ever before, to help us to understand how we can adapt, the findings of SpaceX have the potential to change the landscape of the world.
WhatsApp
When Facebook agreed to pay $24 billion for WhatsApp in 2014, people woke up to how important the communications company actually was.
With WiFi becoming ever more prevalent and cheaper, this free and highly efficient online messaging app is integral to most people’s daily lives.
It just takes one idea that aims to change people’s lives
Regardless of what the idea is, or what your company does, it no doubt has a mission. At Snizl, we are passionate about making sure businesses have a fighting chance of competing in a crowded advertising marketplace.
It was the reason we have spent just as long as the likes of WhatsApp programming a platform that can laser-target your ideal audience so that you can make sure that your company’s ability to help change people’s lives is given a fair shot. Learn more today about how we can help you wrestle back control and continue to affect change for the better.