We must recognize the repercussions on the global economy due to the 2008 Great Recession. A widespread number of jobs were lost, business failures as a consequence of not securing funding, and overall economic chaos.
Nevertheless, amidst this chaos, several entrepreneurs were still optimistic and saw an opportunity to start their own businesses. Some of them even because of the loss of their jobs. So, securing funding during and after the 2008 financial crisis was after all possible for some of the startups.
Now, 15 years later, some of those startups have even disrupted traditional industries. So which were the successful startups that overcame the entire situation and made a name for themselves? Let’s explore!
- Airbnb (2008)
The reason Airbnb came to life is simple – so they can pay their rent. After the 2008 financial crisis, while struggling to make ends meet, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia noticed that many hotels in the city were fully booked due to a conference in San Francisco. So they realized that they could rent out their living space to attendees who were unable to find an available place. Initially, they were met with a lot of rejections from investors. But as time passed, it started gaining traction and momentum as more and more people were looking to make a little cash during this 2008 financial crisis.
- Uber (2009)
Successful ideas come from necessities. And Uber was no exception. It all started because the creators, Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick, simply couldn’t find a taxi ride in Paris. Actually, initially, they focused on providing luxurious rides to executives, especially those who were on business trips. While this was certainly not for those affected by the economic downturn, it did present, however, a great opportunity for those who were laid back and looking for methods to make money quickly. And what a great success it was! After all, it altered the entire ride-sharing industry.
- WhatsApp (2009)
Yep, even WhatsApp is on the list! As most of us already know, it is the most used app for mobile messaging – in the world!! But what you might not know is that its founders, Jan Koum and Brian Acton, were inspired to implement their idea after being fired from Yahoo!. As I said, many (amazing) ideas came out while people were unemployed. But the idea behind WhatsApp came from its creators, who recognized the immense potential of growth the application industry had at that time, a year after the App Store was launched. And Yahoo! was operating only on computers. This only proves that regardless of the external factors that were affected by the ‘08 crisis, there were still industries ready to boom.
- Venmo (2009)
Let’s face it – everyone in the US has heard of or even used Venmo. But similar to Uber, the idea for Venmo came from personal frustration. The creators, Andrew Kortina and Iqram Magdon-Ismail, two friends, actually, were trying to pay each other without going through the trouble of cashing out money or writing a cheque. Although launched just months after the 2008 financial crisis, Venmo survived and even flourished, as a matter of fact, despite this economic uncertainty. But being free to use played an influential role in the growth of the mobile payments trend. And we all loved the concept of sending money to each other just through a few clicks.
- Pinterest (2010)
Okay, we must admit – currently, Pinterest might be the least successful startup in its industry to emerge from the financial crisis. Yet, the social media platform was once at its peak. So, we could still consider it a success story. So, how did Pinterest manage to succeed during such a tumultuous time? Easy – unlike other social media platforms that depended on advertising revenue, Pinterest was built around providing a valuable user experience that kept people engaged. And they accomplished that by investing heavily in building a strong community of users who could share their interests. Let’s face it, especially females, we all had at least once in our lives a Pinterest board. It’s true that a large number of businesses have been impacted by the 2008 recession. But we must acknowledge that this opened the door to opportunities for many people who were forced to adapt to such a challenging period.
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