Boulton and Watt Priced Steam Power by the Coal It Saved
Two centuries before venture capital, Matthew Boulton and James Watt charged mine owners one third of the fuel their engine saved, and counted every stroke to collect it.
history
11 articles
Founders Before VC: Cyrus McCormick and the Seventeen Years Between a Working Reaper and a Market
McCormick's reaper cut oats in 1831, but he had sold fewer than 100 by the end of 1846. What changed was not the machine alone: a written warranty, pay-after-harvest terms, a factory in Chicago and agents paid on cash collected.
Founders Before Venture Capital: George Eastman Sold the Darkroom, Not Just the Camera
In 1888 George Eastman sold a $25 camera that went back to his factory for developing. The camera was the front end; the product was the service behind it.
Henry Ford Failed Twice Before Ford Motor Company
Before venture capital existed, Henry Ford lost two car companies within three years, then built a third with a coal dealer, a machine shop that supplied the parts and also bought in, and a checking account that nearly hit zero.
Founders Before Venture Capital: Hewlett and Packard Started a Company Before They Chose a Product
In 1937 Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard postponed the question of what to make. By 1939 they sold a $54.40 audio oscillator from a Palo Alto garage, paid for by $538, a spouse's salary and customer orders.
Founders Before VC: Gardiner Hubbard, Alexander Graham Bell, and the Telephone You Could Only Rent
In 1877 the telephone's backers chose to lease every instrument instead of selling it. What the surviving documents show about that decision, and which famous Western Union stories do not hold up.
Founders Before VC: Josiah Wedgwood Sold Pottery the Way Startups Sell Software
In the 1760s and 1770s a Staffordshire potter used a royal order, a London showroom, a printed catalogue, and a partner in town to find his market. His letters show which of these moves he planned, and which popular stories about him do not hold up.
Founders Before VC: Richard Arkwright, Partner Money and Patent Licences
Arkwright funded his spinning mills with partners from his first customer industry, built his own demand when buyers refused his yarn, and sold licences on a patent that the courts later struck down.
Shibusawa Eiichi Sold Shares in a Country That Had No Shareholders
Before venture capital, Shibusawa Eiichi helped start companies in Meiji Japan by pooling many investors' money, writing the rules, and standing between rivals. The records show a slower start and a different role than the legend.
Founders Before VC: Isaac Singer and Edward Clark
An inventor with no money and a lawyer paid in equity turned an expensive, litigated machine into a household purchase, and they did it without outside investors.
Founders Before VC: Zhang Jian Paid for a Cotton Mill With Rusting Government Machines
In 1895 a top imperial scholar set out to build a cotton mill in Nantong. He could not raise the cash, so he took idle official spinning machines as half of his capital and kept control of the company himself.