One great place to build your business is at events where your targets participate. During breaks, I know that I just have 5-odd minutes to attract, listen, interact and create touchpoints. I am amazed at the number of people wanting to know why I founded a company during a recession than the services DJargon offers. To be politically correct… during a slowdown. I reason with them that it is only now that one can have the roots in place and learn the hard lessons without huge losses. They nod their heads approvingly.  When the same question came back at me during every other tea break and cocktail dinners I thought it would be nice to do a bit of research on companies founded during recession.

It was satisfying for me to find that most of the great companies were founded during recessions. GE started during the plunge in 1873, Disney started during the black recession of 1923-24, HP started during the Great Depression, and Bill Gates founded Microsoft during the recession of 1975.

Great companies manage their people and money really well. And exceptionally well during a recession.

I never consider my company as a start-up. I see it as a budding great company where survival doesn’t take the priority but values and fundamentals do.

bill gates GE HP Microsoft recession research slowdown start-up