Entrepreneur Origin Stories

2026-09-04

Hewlett-Packard and the light bulb that built Silicon Valley

The founding of Hewlett-Packard, from a cramped Palo Alto garage and a light-bulb circuit to the culture, missed bets, and operating lessons that outlasted its founders.

0:00 / 11:25

Hewlett-Packard and the light bulb that built Silicon Valley

Entrepreneur Origin Stories

2026-08-28

WhatsApp and the message that refused to become a network

Jan Koum and Brian Acton built WhatsApp around simple, private messaging, then faced the cost of scaling a founder promise inside Facebook.

0:00 / 10:34

WhatsApp and the message that refused to become a network

Entrepreneur Origin Stories

2026-08-21

McDonald’s and the system behind the arches

The McDonald brothers streamlined a struggling barbecue drive-in into the Speedee Service System, then watched Ray Kroc turn that operating insight into a global franchise empire.

0:00 / 10:23

McDonald’s and the system behind the arches

Entrepreneur Origin Stories

2026-08-14

Toyota and the loom that taught cars how to move

From Sakichi Toyoda's self-stopping looms to Kiichiro's automotive gamble and a 1950 labor crisis, Toyota turned a manufacturing principle into a global operating system.

0:00 / 10:08

Toyota and the loom that taught cars how to move

Entrepreneur Origin Stories

2026-08-07

LEGO and the brick that clicked

From a 1942 factory fire to a 1958 patent and a 2003 crisis, Ole and Godtfred Christiansen built LEGO by choosing a system that could outlast any single toy.

0:00 / 10:29

Entrepreneur Origin Stories

2026-07-31

Disney and the Folly That Worked

Walt and Roy Disney turned a failed first studio, a lost cartoon rabbit, and a ruinously expensive feature film into an entertainment company built on stories, systems, and risk.

0:00 / 10:29

Entrepreneur Origin Stories

2026-07-24

Nike and the waffle iron

A documentary founder story of Nike, from Phil Knight's paper about Japanese running shoes and Bill Bowerman's handmade experiments to the waffle sole, the Swoosh, and the costs of scale.

0:00 / 10:08

Entrepreneur Origin Stories

2026-07-17

Patagonia and the company that chose purpose

A documentary founder biography of Patagonia, from Yvon Chouinard's backyard forge and the clean-climbing decision to the ownership structure that sends excess profits toward environmental work, with lessons for founders and operators.

0:00 / 10:40

Patagonia and the company that chose purpose

Entrepreneur Origin Stories

2026-07-10

NVIDIA and the Thirty-Day Company

A documentary founder biography of NVIDIA, tracing Jensen Huang and his cofounders from a Denny's booth through a near-fatal chip mistake, CUDA's long bet, the deep-learning breakthrough, and the lessons founders can take from building for a market before it is obvious.

0:00 / 10:19

Entrepreneur Origin Stories

2026-07-03

Starbucks and the Third Place

A documentary founder biography of Starbucks, tracing the leap from a small Seattle coffee-bean shop to Howard Schultz's cafe vision, the expansion that followed, and the lessons founders can take from its third-place promise.

0:00 / 10:18

Entrepreneur Origin Stories

2026-06-26

FedEx and the overnight promise

A documentary founder biography of Fred Smith and Federal Express, from a Yale idea and a Memphis night hub to the company that made overnight delivery feel ordinary.

0:00 / 10:59

Entrepreneur Origin Stories

2026-06-19

Spanx and the red backpack

A documentary founder biography tracing Sara Blakely's path from selling fax machines to building Spanx: the white-pants problem, the manufacturer rejections, the Neiman Marcus bathroom pitch, Oprah's boost, the cost of category creation, and the lessons founders can carry from it.

0:00 / 10:58

Hewlett-Packard and the light bulb that built Silicon Valley

The founding of Hewlett-Packard, from a cramped Palo Alto garage and a light-bulb circuit to the culture, missed bets, and operating lessons that outlasted its founders.

0:00 / 11:25

WhatsApp and the message that refused to become a network

Jan Koum and Brian Acton built WhatsApp around simple, private messaging, then faced the cost of scaling a founder promise inside Facebook.

0:00 / 10:34

McDonald’s and the system behind the arches

The McDonald brothers streamlined a struggling barbecue drive-in into the Speedee Service System, then watched Ray Kroc turn that operating insight into a global franchise empire.

0:00 / 10:23

Toyota and the loom that taught cars how to move

From Sakichi Toyoda's self-stopping looms to Kiichiro's automotive gamble and a 1950 labor crisis, Toyota turned a manufacturing principle into a global operating system.

0:00 / 10:08

LEGO and the brick that clicked

From a 1942 factory fire to a 1958 patent and a 2003 crisis, Ole and Godtfred Christiansen built LEGO by choosing a system that could outlast any single toy.

0:00 / 10:29

Disney and the Folly That Worked

Walt and Roy Disney turned a failed first studio, a lost cartoon rabbit, and a ruinously expensive feature film into an entertainment company built on stories, systems, and risk.

0:00 / 10:29

Nike and the waffle iron

A documentary founder story of Nike, from Phil Knight's paper about Japanese running shoes and Bill Bowerman's handmade experiments to the waffle sole, the Swoosh, and the costs of scale.

0:00 / 10:08

Patagonia and the company that chose purpose

0:00 / 10:40

NVIDIA and the Thirty-Day Company

0:00 / 10:19

Starbucks and the Third Place

0:00 / 10:18

FedEx and the overnight promise

A documentary founder biography of Fred Smith and Federal Express, from a Yale idea and a Memphis night hub to the company that made overnight delivery feel ordinary.

0:00 / 10:59

Spanx and the red backpack

0:00 / 10:58