There’s no doubt about it: the best business partners are friends or Business BFFs. They know what each other needs. They can bounce ideas off each other and help with everything from marketing to design and finance. Many of the most successful companies in history have been started by two or more people who knew each other well and were best friends!
Entrepreneurial ventures started by Business BFFs
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield- Ben & Jerry
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are business BFFs who started Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream in Vermont. They later moved to New York City, where they opened their first store in a small space at 53 Spring Street. In 1979, the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). By 1989, it had grown from one store with $3 million in sales to more than 100 locations across the country with annual sales of $200 million—and today, it’s estimated to be worth about $1 billion!
Ben & Jerry’s is now one of America’s most popular brands; its products have been featured on national television shows like The Colbert Report and 30 Rock.
There are even several charitable initiatives associated with this renowned brand name: Ben & Jerry’s Foundation works toward promoting social justice issues through education programs that focus on everything from climate change awareness to LGBTQ rights issues.*
Nathan Blecharczyk, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia- AirBnB
Nathan Blecharczyk, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia were roommates in San Francisco. They all had similar ideas about the sharing economy: they wanted to make money by renting out their extra space.
In 2008 they started AirBnB with the vision that people would pay for what they didn’t need anymore and travel around the world without needing a car or hotel room whenever they travelled somewhere new. Their company has been valued at over $30 billion since its launch five years ago!
Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal- Flipkart
Flipkart was founded by business BFFs Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, both IIT Delhi alumni who had met at college. The company started with a capital of $60,000 (about Rs 3 crore at that time), and its two founders funded it.
Sachin and Binny were both in their 20s when they launched Flipkart in 2007. Their vision was to sell books online — something that had never been done before then!
They began with a small team of five people, who spent months learning how to use Amazon’s platform before starting their site on an eBay-like model where sellers could list their products for free but would have to pay Flipkart commission if they sold anything through the site.
Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal- Meesho
Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal met at a business school in India, where they both were studying. They were both working on their startups during this time, and when they decided to join forces and start Meesho, the two had very different ideas about what they wanted to achieve.
Meesho is a mobile app that allows users to chat with local businesses in real-time via text message or voice call. The idea behind Meesho is that it makes it easier for people who might not know each other well enough (such as friends) but still want access to various services together.
In addition, Meesho also gives users access to personalised recommendations based on their past purchases from those same companies, which has been very useful to many users so far!
Justyn Howard, Gil Lara, Aaron Rankin and Peter Soung- Sprout Social
Sprout Social was founded in 2010 and has raised $250 million from investors, including Accel Partners, Greylock Partners and Thoma Bravo. More than 1,000 companies use the company’s social media management platform to manage their online presence.
Prabkiran Singh and Siddharth Munot- Bewakoof
Prabkiran Singh and Siddharth Munot met at IIT Roorkee, where they were roommates. After graduation, they started Bewakoof with a small team of four people. It’s now India’s most significant casual wear and merchandise platform, with over 50 million users across 150 countries who use our apps to find t-shirts and merchandise at home! Bewakoof’s biggest strength is leveraging moment marketing and pop culture that is relatable and quirky to own by young adults as wardrobe essentials
Bill Gates and Paul Allen- Microsoft
Bill Gates and Paul Allen were both born in Seattle, Washington. They met at Lakeside School, where they attended the same class together. After dropping out of Harvard University to start Microsoft in 1975, it’s no surprise that this duo has become one of the wealthiest people on Earth today!
In addition to being friends who worked together at Microsoft from its inception until 1982, when Gates left to pursue his interests (and later become a billionaire), there are several other similarities between these two entrepreneurs:
- Both dropped out of Harvard University before earning their degrees because they wanted more freedom than what was provided by college life back then, which led them to start successful companies instead.
- Both recognised early on that computers could change how people lived their lives forever—and went about creating products based on this idea so others would benefit from it too!
Conclusion
The next time you look for a new business opportunity, consider who your best friend is and see if they can help you grow your company. If you’re not sure of the answer, ask them!
