Famous Technology Garage Start-Ups

What exactly goes on in that garage of yours? Odds are that your garage is used to bring the car in out of the rain or snow, as storage for lawn implements, and maybe for the occasional oil change or other maintenance task. In garages around the world, some pretty amazing things might be happening at this very moment. After all, the garage is where it all began for a handful of major companies.

Hewlett Packard

For example, did you know that HP was started in a garage? William Hewlett and David Packard became friends in 1934 during a two-week camping trip following graduation from Stanford University. They rented a garage in Palo Alto and got to work with a mere $538 and a used drill press. Their first product was an audio oscillator used to test sound equipment, with paint baked on the panels in the oven in the kitchen. The HP Model 200A put them on the map, and the rest is history.

Wall Street Journal

Microsoft

In 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen developed software that created programming language for use with personal computers (PCs).  Working grueling  24-hour shifts in Albuquerque, New Mexico where there got their start, they used BASIC computer language which helped make PCs accessible and useful for anyone. Microsoft was officially registered in 1975, and computers became a household staple within the next several decades.

Wired

Apple

Stephen Jobs and Steve Wozniak formed Apple Computer Company in 1976 on April Fools’ Day. This time the garage was in Los Altos, and the product was a computer circuit board that sold for $666.66. Incidentally, Jobs had telephoned Hewlett several years earlier when he was 12 and needed advice on building a frequency counter. He got his computer parts and a summer job!

robertholmgren

So, the next time you need inspiration, try the garage. Wi-Fi and laptops make it easy. Where are some places you go to work?