The Origin Stories of 6 Famous Car Companies

The creative minds at The Zebra have put together an infographic that tells the stories of six famous car brands and how they began. Before they were multimillion dollar companies with hundreds of thousands of employees and offices around the world, these companies started small. They only grew through the grit, persistence and imagination of entrepreneurs who had big dreams for the future of their brand.

Included in this infographic, you’ll find the unlikely beginnings of brands you see on your commute to work every day. You may even drive one of their cars yourself. Brands like Mini Cooper, Jeep and Lamborghini have some surprising stories to tell about their histories. You’ll find that some of them didn’t even begin in the automotive industry. 

Every entrepreneur knows the fear of failure. At one point or another, you’ll be short on funds, behind on sales or wondering if shutting down may simply be easier. The founders of these car companies experienced difficulties and challenges from the very beginning, but they chose the path of innovation, creation, and imagination to build their brands from scratch in the face of adversity. As a result, their products are a daily part of our lives and are recognizable around the world as icons of their brand.

As an entrepreneur or small business owner, you’ll likely come across your own adversity, if you have not already. How will you approach it? Do you play it safe and stick to what you know, or will you follow in the footsteps of these incredible entrepreneurs who started small and finished big?