How America's biggest businesses were founded -

Great change is born from great frustration. From long stretches of trial-and-error to miraculous twists of fate, check out this gallery to find out how some of America's biggest and most successful companies got started. 

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Marriott International - A Mormon missionary in the heat of a Washington, D.C. summer started a root-beer stand in 1927. That nine-stool summer stand turned into a winter menu, which turned into 56 restaurants and 30 years of experience in the food business.

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Marriott International - In 1953, when air travel was taking off, J. Willard Marriott was able to invest $7 million into a motor hotel by the Washington National Airport. Today, the Marriott's hotel and restaurant business is worth $3.5 billion!

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Dropbox - Drew Houston's empire of cloud-based file sharing all started because he was a forgetful university student.

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Dropbox - Houston kept forgetting his USB, which led him to imagine a way to store files virtually rather than physically. Forgetful university students everywhere salute him!

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Coca-Cola - Did you know the first version of Coca-Cola was created to treat a morphine addiction? Civil War veteran John Pemberton created it by experimenting with coca leaves and kola nuts.

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Coca-Cola - Pemberton initially advertised the medicinal tonic, which he called "Pemberton’s French Wine Coca," as capable of reducing nervousness and regulating organ behavior.

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Amazon.com - The largest online retailer in the world was born from a fear of regret! Jeff Bezos wanted to participate in the internet business boom back in 1994, but he was working a full-time, stable job.

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Amazon.com - He said quitting his job was easy when he framed it against the regret he'd feel for the rest of his life. Bezos started the online bookstore in his garage, and within the first two months Amazon.com sold to every state and 45 other countries. 

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FedEx - When the computer information age was up-and-coming, Frederick Smith was a below-average student at Yale University who submitted a paper suggesting an overnight delivery service. 

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FedEx - After creating the company on his own, Smith said he didn't know what grade he got on his paper, but "probably made my usual C." As revenge, the return address for sample packages in FedEx advertisements was Yale.

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Walt Disney Company -

The fantastic empire of animation and entertainment all started when Walt Disney's neighbors in Missouri asked him to draw pictures of his horse.

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Walt Disney Company - Disney went on to become a newspaper cartoonist, a commercial artist, and finally to create his own cartoon studio and become one of the biggest household names in America. Check out these fascinating facts about Disney parks!

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Boeing - If you need something done fast, it's better to do it yourself. William E. Boeing cracked a plane he'd bought and was told he couldn't get replacement parts for months. Well, he didn't like that.

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Boeing -

Boeing angrily told a friend they could build a better plane anyway, and the two set off to create a seaplane in 1916. It worked so well that Boeing couldn't help but begin his aircraft legacy.

Along with Boeing, check out the companies that make the most political contributions in America. 

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General Motors - William C. Durant originally founded a horse-drawn carriage company before founding General Motors. In fact, he was initially opposed to automobiles since they were loud, smelly, and dangerous.

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General Motors - In 1900, however, Durant saw the opportunity to focus on improved safety of automobiles—in which he previously wouldn't let his daughter ride—and quickly became a pioneer in the American automobile industry. 

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Google - As most brilliant things do, Google came from the curious mind of a bright student. Larry Page was a computer science Ph.D student at Stanford and was writing his dissertation on the structure of the World Wide Web when he had his "aha!" moment.

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Google - Page was interested in how web pages linked together, and believed the number and nature of the links was quite valuable. Now, Google is one of the most valuable tools in modern society.

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Mattel - One of the top toy makers in the country, and the reason for Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels, all started by using picture frame scraps to create doll houses after World War II.

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Mattel - Ruth and Elliot Handler were selling picture frames and needed to make some extra cash, but quickly realized the toys they made from the scraps were more lucrative. They listened to their market, and flourished!

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John Deere - The plow that changed the way farmers work was first dreamed up in the 1800s. There are many stories about how this machine came to be...

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John Deere - One story is that John Deere worked at his father's tailor shop, polishing needles by running them through sand, and he there discovered that a plow made of polished steel would be much more efficient than iron.

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Wrigley's - William Wrigley Jr. moved to Chicago in 1891 with just $32 to his name. He started a soap business and would add a free can of baking powder as incentive for his customers, but soon found that the baking powder portion was actually more popular.

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Wrigley's - After switching to the baking powder business and offering free gum as incentive, the same thing happened—gum became more popular! He was quick to adapt, and it earned him a fortune.

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Toys"R"Us - Most people think Babies"R"Us was an afterthought of the popular toy store, but Charles Lazarus initially started making furniture and toys for babies during the post-war baby boom of 1948.

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Toys"R"Us -

Customers asked Lazarus for toys geared towards older children as well, and the popular brand as most now know it was born. 

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Trader Joe’s - The employees don't wear tropical shirts for nothing! Joe Coulombe's chain of convenience stores weren't unique, so he decided to introduce a South Seas motif to stand out. 

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Trader Joe’s - Coulombe capitalized on the international flavors that well-traveled Americans couldn't get in their local grocery stores, and his store now has a wealth of loyal shoppers.

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Under Armour - In 1996, in his grandmother's basement, a sporty young man was tired of swapping out sweaty shirts all the time, and he noticed that his compression shorts somehow stayed dry.

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Under Armour - Kevin Plank put two and two together and created a shirt that used a similar moisture-wicking synthetic fabric, perhaps unknowingly sparking a revolution in the sportswear industry. 

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Yankee Candle Company - A poor 16-year-old couldn't buy his mother a Christmas gift, so he melted crayons down to create a scented candle. To his surprise, a neighbor offered to buy it. With the profit, he then made another candle for his mother and one more to sell.

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Yankee Candle Company -

Michael Kittredge learned a lot about business early on, and went on to create the premier scented candle brand in the country.

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