Businesses That Started In A Garage

7. Nike Started Selling Shoes Out Of A Trunk

Founded in 1964, Nike was originally called Blue Ribbon Sports and sold shoes out of the trunk of Phil Knight’s Plymouth.

A keen but unremarkable runner, Knight developed a fascination with running shoes during his time at Oregon University when he joined the track and field team.

He wanted to test out his thesis that if he improved the design of the running shoe, it would offer a massive advantage to competitors on the track.

Bill Bowerman was Knight’s coach at the time and helped the student test out his theory by testing his products on other college students.

Bowerman co-founded the company, which struggled to make any sales in its first couple of years but has subsequently gone on to become the biggest sports brand in the world.