Brian Acton was rejected by both Facebook and Twitter in 2009 before co-founding WhatsApp, which Facebook acquired for $19B

Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook in 2004

Sergey Brin

Sergey Brin and Larry Page founded Google in 1998

Blockbuster (retailer)

Reed Hastings founded Netflix in 1997 after being charged a $40 late fee for returning Apollo 13 to Blockbuster

Elon Musk co-founded PayPal, then used the proceeds to start Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink in succession

Elon Musk co-founded PayPal, then invested in Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink

Larry Ellison

Larry Ellison founded Oracle in 1977 with $2,000

Bill Gates and Paul Allen wrote BASIC for the Altair 8800 in eight weeks, founding Microsoft on the strength of one demo

Bill Gates and Paul Allen wrote BASIC for Altair 8800 in eight weeks, founding Microsoft with one demo