Businesses That Started In A Garage

15. Spanx Founder Sara Blakely Was “every Department” At The Beginning

After failing to become a lawyer, Sara Blakeley worked selling fax machines for seven years during the 90s before she realized that this wasn’t how she wanted to spend her life.

During this time as a saleswoman, Blakeley had developed all the necessary skills to sell a product that she didn’t care about and realized that she would be unstoppable if she started a business selling something that she was passionate about.

Enter Spanx – an undergarment design for women that the 27-year-old founded in 1998.

Blakeley felt there weren’t enough options for women in the undergarment business and started creating and selling her own brand.

Operating out of her apartment, she was working 24/7 to get her products out there, and she was doing everything from packaging to modeling.

The hard work paid off, as the mother of four is now worth over $1 billion.