Fun facts
Business Fun Facts
98 fact-checked business facts, each with the trivia question, the verified answer, and the story behind it.
In which U.S. state did 17-year-old Fred DeLuca open the tiny storefront sandwich shop funded by a $1,000 loan in 1965?
Subway's Fred DeLuca started his first sandwich shop at age 17 using a $1,000 loan from a family friend to pay for a tiny storefront in Connecticut.
Read the fact →What was the profession of Peter Buck, the family friend who lent Fred DeLuca the $1,000 to open his first sandwich shop in 1965?
Subway's Fred DeLuca started his first sandwich shop at age 17 using a $1,000 loan from a family friend to pay for a tiny storefront in Connecticut.
Read the fact →What kind of business arrangement did Ray Kroc secure with the McDonald brothers in 1954, rather than buying their restaurant outright?
McDonald's founder Ray Kroc was 52 years old, working as a milkshake machine salesman, when he discovered the McDonald brothers' restaurant and bought the franchise rights.
Read the fact →According to the well-known account of Ray Kroc's career, which two brothers had built and operated the original restaurant whose franchise rights he purchased in 1954?
McDonald's founder Ray Kroc was 52 years old, working as a milkshake machine salesman, when he discovered the McDonald brothers' restaurant and bought the franchise rights.
Read the fact →After nearly losing his pizza business to over-expansion in the 1960s, what operational shift did Tom Monaghan make to rebuild it into a national chain?
Domino's Pizza began when Tom Monaghan bought a single pizzeria with borrowed money, then lost it all trying to expand too fast before reinventing the delivery model.
Read the fact →Before it was renamed Domino's, what was the name of the single pizzeria Tom Monaghan bought with borrowed money in 1960?
Domino's Pizza began when Tom Monaghan bought a single pizzeria with borrowed money, then lost it all trying to expand too fast before reinventing the delivery model.
Read the fact →In what U.S. state did Dave Thomas open the single restaurant in 1969 that grew into a nationwide franchise empire?
Wendy's Dave Thomas was adopted and never finished high school, yet built a 6,800-restaurant empire starting from a single Ohio location in 1969.
Read the fact →Which fast-food chain was founded in 1969 by Dave Thomas, an adoptee who never finished high school?
Wendy's Dave Thomas was adopted and never finished high school, yet built a 6,800-restaurant empire starting from a single Ohio location in 1969.
Read the fact →At what age did Colonel Harland Sanders first successfully franchise his fried chicken recipe?
Colonel Sanders was rejected over 1,000 times before KFC succeeded; he was 62 when he franchised his first restaurant.
Read the fact →According to analysts, why did Cadbury's board ultimately accept Kraft's hostile takeover bid in 2010?
Kraft's 2010 hostile takeover of Cadbury succeeded partly because the British company's board feared activist investors more than American ownership—a defensive surrender.
Read the fact →Which company was the target of the 1989 leveraged buyout so large that bankers had to invent new debt structures to finance it?
RJR Nabisco's 1989 leveraged buyout created $20 billion in debt—so massive that bankers had to invent new financial structures, permanently changing how Wall Street funds acquisitions.
Read the fact →Which activist investor's 1985 hostile takeover of TWA left the airline so debt-laden that it later had to sell off its prized international routes?
Carl Icahn's 1985 takeover bid for TWA forced the airline to sell its London routes to survive—creating a precedent that hostile raiders could dismantle century-old companies piece by piece.
Read the fact →Which type of establishment did Howard Schultz seek to replicate in the U.S. after observing them during his trip to Italy in the 1980s?
Starbucks' global success partly stems from Howard Schultz visiting Milan and copying Italian espresso culture—a business model borrowed from another continent.
Read the fact →Howard Schultz credited a 1983 trip to which Italian city for inspiring him to bring espresso bar culture to Starbucks?
Starbucks' global success partly stems from Howard Schultz visiting Milan and copying Italian espresso culture—a business model borrowed from another continent.
Read the fact →What was cited as the main cause of Subway's shrinking U.S. store count in the 2010s, even as customer demand held steady?
Subway passed McDonald's in U.S. restaurant count around 2000 but eventually declined due to franchisee profitability issues, not customer demand.
Read the fact →Which fast-food chain completed the world's first fully autonomous drone pizza delivery in 2016?
Domino's pizza delivery drone completed its first autonomous delivery in New Zealand in 2016, years before competitors seriously pursued the technology.
Read the fact →At any given time, how many KFC executives are permitted to know the company's complete secret recipe?
KFC's secret recipe is locked in a vault at its Louisville headquarters, and only two executives know the complete formula at any time.
Read the fact →KFC keeps its secret blend of 11 herbs and spices locked in a vault in which U.S. city?
KFC's secret recipe is locked in a vault at its Louisville headquarters, and only two executives know the complete formula at any time.
Read the fact →Which fast-food chain reportedly earns more from leasing land and buildings to its franchisees than from selling food?
McDonald's real estate portfolio is worth more than its food business; the company makes billions annually just by leasing land to franchisees.
Read the fact →McDonald's is the only major global market to serve zero beef and zero pork menu items in which country?
McDonald's adapted its menu so drastically for India that it became the only major market where the chain serves no beef or pork whatsoever.
Read the fact →What was the name of the second election-themed cereal, sold alongside 'Obama O's,' that helped fund Airbnb's early days in 2008?
Airbnb's founders couldn't afford rent in 2008, so they bought cereal boxes, designed them, and sold 'Obama O's' and 'Cap'n McCain's' for $40 each to fund their struggling startup.
Read the fact →How much did Airbnb's cash-strapped founders charge for each box of their 2008 novelty cereal, 'Obama O's'?
Airbnb's founders couldn't afford rent in 2008, so they bought cereal boxes, designed them, and sold 'Obama O's' and 'Cap'n McCain's' for $40 each to fund their struggling startup.
Read the fact →What valuation did Sara Blakely's Spanx reportedly reach despite never taking on outside investors?
Spanx founder Sara Blakely built a $1.2 billion shapewear empire without outside investors or a business degree, using $5,000 in personal savings and door-to-door retail pitching.
Read the fact →How much personal savings did Sara Blakely use to launch Spanx before it grew into a billion-dollar shapewear brand?
Spanx founder Sara Blakely built a $1.2 billion shapewear empire without outside investors or a business degree, using $5,000 in personal savings and door-to-door retail pitching.
Read the fact →What was Fred DeLuca's original financial goal in borrowing $1,000 to open his first sandwich shop in 1965?
Subway founder Fred DeLuca started his first sandwich shop at age 17 with a $1,000 loan from a family friend to pay for college tuition, accidentally creating a 37,000-location empire.
Read the fact →At what age did Fred DeLuca open his very first sandwich shop, the seed of what became Subway?
Subway founder Fred DeLuca started his first sandwich shop at age 17 with a $1,000 loan from a family friend to pay for college tuition, accidentally creating a 37,000-location empire.
Read the fact →Which entrepreneur transformed a small California burger stand he purchased in 1954 into the McDonald's global franchise empire?
Ray Kroc didn't invent McDonald's—he bought a small San Bernardino burger stand in 1954 and turned it into a $200 billion empire by obsessing over systems, not food.
Read the fact →In what year did United Airlines and Continental Airlines merge, a deal so complex that their computer systems couldn't communicate and the frequent-flyer program had to be rebuilt from scratch?
When United and Continental merged in 2010, they had to completely rebuild their frequent-flyer program because neither airline's computer systems could actually talk to each other.
Read the fact →Which pair of brothers founded a discount grocery business that they later split into two separate rival chains, Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd?
The Albrecht family (Aldi founders) split their empire over a family feud about whether to sell cigarettes, creating two rival supermarket empires.
Read the fact →What contested product reportedly led brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht to split their discount grocery chain in two?
The Albrecht family (Aldi founders) split their empire over a family feud about whether to sell cigarettes, creating two rival supermarket empires.
Read the fact →Estée Lauder built her cosmetics fortune using a skincare formula originally created by which family member?
Estée Lauder's cosmetics fortune was built on her uncle's rejected skincare formula. She repackaged it and became a billionaire.
Read the fact →What product did Shopify founder Tobi Lütke sell online before building the e-commerce platform that became Shopify?
Shopify's founder Tobi Lütke taught himself to code from free online tutorials, then sold snowboards online before building the platform.
Read the fact →According to eBay's well-known founding story, Pierre Omidyar built the site's first version in 1995 to help his girlfriend sell what collectible item?
eBay accidentally became a mega-company because its founder Pierre Omidyar built it to help his girlfriend sell Pez dispensers online.
Read the fact →Before founding his e-commerce empire, Jack Ma worked in a job earning roughly $12 a month — what was that job?
Alibaba's Jack Ma was rejected by Harvard 10 times and worked as an English teacher earning $12/month before founding his empire.
Read the fact →Which e-commerce company did Jack Ma go on to found after being rejected by Harvard multiple times and working as a low-paid English teacher?
Alibaba's Jack Ma was rejected by Harvard 10 times and worked as an English teacher earning $12/month before founding his empire.
Read the fact →From where did Jeff Bezos personally ship Amazon's first-ever order in 1995?
Amazon's first product ever sold was a book about computers, shipped by founder Jeff Bezos from his garage in 1995.
Read the fact →The book that became Amazon's very first product sale in 1995 covered which subject?
Amazon's first product ever sold was a book about computers, shipped by founder Jeff Bezos from his garage in 1995.
Read the fact →The curved arrow beneath the word 'Amazon' in its logo is designed to resemble what facial expression?
Amazon's arrow logo points from A to Z deliberately, but also subtly curves into a smile to suggest customer satisfaction.
Read the fact →In Amazon's logo, the curved arrow connects which two letters to represent the company's vast product range?
Amazon's arrow logo points from A to Z deliberately, but also subtly curves into a smile to suggest customer satisfaction.
Read the fact →In what decade was Volkswagen founded as part of a state-sponsored 'People's Car' initiative?
Volkswagen's VW logo was originally designed under Nazi Germany's regime as part of the state-sponsored People's Car initiative.
Read the fact →Which country's government commissioned the 'People's Car' project that gave rise to Volkswagen and its logo?
Volkswagen's VW logo was originally designed under Nazi Germany's regime as part of the state-sponsored People's Car initiative.
Read the fact →In what year did Pepsi unveil the redesigned logo whose leaked strategy document was compared to Barack Obama's campaign branding?
The Pepsi logo was briefly redesigned in 2008 with a $1 million rebrand that copied the Obama campaign's visual strategy.
Read the fact →Which soft drink brand's 2008 logo redesign was reported to cost $1 million and drew comparisons to the visual branding strategy of Barack Obama's presidential campaign?
The Pepsi logo was briefly redesigned in 2008 with a $1 million rebrand that copied the Obama campaign's visual strategy.
Read the fact →In what year did a Portland State University design student create Nike's Swoosh logo for a modest fee?
Nike's Swoosh was designed by a graphic design student for $35 in 1971, and she almost didn't get paid at all.
Read the fact →The designer of Nike's iconic Swoosh logo was originally paid how much for her work in 1971?
Nike's Swoosh was designed by a graphic design student for $35 in 1971, and she almost didn't get paid at all.
Read the fact →Which co-working startup's 2019 IPO collapsed after investors learned its founder had personally profited hundreds of millions while the company posted massive annual losses?
WeWork's IPO collapsed when the public saw founder Adam Neumann collected $700 million in personal profits while the company lost billions annually.
Read the fact →Roughly how much money did MoviePass burn through in about 18 months before its 2019 collapse?
MoviePass burned through $200+ million in 18 months by literally losing money on every subscription sold, ignoring basic math until collapse.
Read the fact →What fundamental flaw in MoviePass's pricing model caused it to lose money on every single subscription sold?
MoviePass burned through $200+ million in 18 months by literally losing money on every subscription sold, ignoring basic math until collapse.
Read the fact →Which online pet supply retailer became a symbol of dot-com excess after running a Super Bowl ad featuring a sock puppet mascot in 2000?
Pets.com spent $2 million on a Super Bowl ad featuring a sock puppet, then folded 268 days later with $125 million unspent in the bank.
Read the fact →In what year did Henry Ford introduce his landmark policy of paying factory workers $5 for a day's work?
Henry Ford paid workers $5 daily (1914)—double the standard wage—not primarily for charity, but to reduce turnover and increase productivity.
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