Airbnb was founded in 2008 by Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk, three friends living in San Francisco. The idea was born out of necessity when Chesky and Gebbia decided to rent out air mattresses in their apartment to conference attendees who couldn’t find hotel space. They called it “AirBed & Breakfast,” and it was a simple concept offering a place to sleep and a bit of breakfast the next morning.

What began as a small side hustle quickly turned into a tech-driven marketplace that reimagined how people travel and find accommodation. Airbnb has since grown into a global platform, listing millions of properties in over 190 countries. It connects hosts who want to rent out their homes or rooms with travellers seeking unique and affordable lodging options outside traditional hotels.

Airbnb’s real innovation lies in how it opened up a new kind of travel economy. It empowered ordinary people to become hospitality providers, created entirely new income streams, and encouraged more authentic, local travel experiences. The platform also brought flexibility to travellers — from treehouses to luxury villas, Airbnb made the world feel more accessible.

Through design simplicity, trust-building features, and global reach, Airbnb transformed a basic idea into a cultural and economic force, permanently reshaping the way the world thinks about accommodation.

Beyond Meat was founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown, driven by a vision to reduce the environmental and ethical impact of traditional meat consumption. Brown, who had a background in clean energy, wanted to create plant-based products that closely mimicked the taste, texture, and appearance of animal meat without using any animal ingredients.

The company started with a focus on improving the science behind meat alternatives. Rather than offering just another veggie burger, Beyond Meat used innovative plant-based protein sources like peas and rice to replicate the structure of muscle and fat found in animal products. Their flagship item, the Beyond Burger, quickly caught attention for its meat-like qualities, even sizzling and “bleeding” like a real beef patty.

Today, Beyond Meat is a leading player in the plant-based food industry, with its products available in major grocery chains and fast-food restaurants around the world. The company has also expanded its line-up to include sausages, meatballs, and chicken alternatives.

Beyond Meat didn’t just create a new kind of food it helped shift global perceptions around what meat can be. By offering a familiar experience with fewer environmental costs, the company opened the door to more sustainable eating habits and pushed plant-based innovation into the mainstream.

Netflix was founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph as a DVD rental-by-mail service. At the time, renting movies typically meant driving to a store and dealing with late fees. Netflix offered a more convenient, subscription-based model that allowed users to order DVDs online and receive them by mail a simple idea that quietly reshaped home entertainment.

As internet technology evolved, so did Netflix. In 2007, the company made a bold pivot to streaming video, allowing users to watch shows and movies instantly over the internet. This shift marked the beginning of a new era in media consumption, moving away from physical media and scheduled programming toward on-demand content.

Today, Netflix is a global streaming powerhouse available in over 190 countries. It’s not only a platform for existing films and series but also a major content creator. With Netflix Originals like Stranger Things, The Crown, and The Witcher, the company has become a dominant force in entertainment production.

Netflix revolutionized how people watch content introducing binge-watching, personalized recommendations, and original programming tailored to global tastes. It redefined television and film distribution, forced traditional networks to adapt, and helped shape the streaming economy that now includes dozens of competitors.

OpenAI was founded in December 2015 by a group of tech leaders including Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, and others. Their mission was to ensure that artificial intelligence would benefit all of humanity. At its core, OpenAI began as a non-profit research lab focused on advancing AI in a safe and responsible way, free from corporate influence.

In its early days, OpenAI published research and developed tools in the open, promoting collaboration and transparency. Over time, it transitioned to a “capped-profit” model to attract funding while staying aligned with its ethical goals. The company made headlines with breakthroughs in natural language processing, eventually releasing ChatGPT — an AI-powered chatbot that gained widespread attention for its conversational abilities.

Today, OpenAI is a leader in the AI field, offering tools like GPT-4 and DALL·E that are used across industries, from education and business to art and software development. Its innovations have made complex AI accessible to the public, transforming how people work, create, and communicate.

OpenAI didn’t just build powerful AI — it changed the conversation around what AI can and should be. By prioritizing responsible development and human-centred design, OpenAI has helped shape the future of technology in a way few companies have managed to do.

Shopify was founded in 2006 by Tobias Lütke, Daniel Weinand, and Scott Lake. The idea stemmed from their frustration with the lack of good e-commerce software while trying to launch an online snowboard store. Instead of settling for clunky platforms, Lütke, a software developer, built his own solution — one that was clean, flexible, and user-friendly. This system eventually became Shopify.

Originally just a tool for their own store, Shopify quickly attracted attention from other small business owners who wanted an easy way to sell online. Today, Shopify is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms in the world, powering millions of online stores and enabling sales in nearly every country. From solo entrepreneurs to major global brands, the platform has become a key engine of digital commerce.

What set Shopify apart was its simplicity and scalability. It removed the need for deep technical knowledge, allowing anyone to build a professional online storefront. With tools for everything from payments to shipping and marketing, it offered an all-in-one solution that levelled the playing field.

By making e-commerce accessible to the masses, Shopify helped spark a new wave of entrepreneurship. It turned the internet into a marketplace open to all, not just large corporations fundamentally reshaping how products are sold and businesses are built.

Slack was founded in 2013 by Stewart Butterfield, Eric Costello, Cal Henderson, and Serguei Mourachov. Interestingly, the tool was born out of a failed gaming project called “Glitch.” While the game didn’t succeed, the internal communication system the team developed turned out to be far more valuable. That system evolved into Slack short for “Searchable Log of All Conversation and Knowledge.”

Initially launched as a messaging tool for teams, Slack quickly gained popularity for its clean interface, real-time messaging, and powerful integrations with other workplace tools. It offered a flexible alternative to email, allowing teams to organize conversations into channels and collaborate more efficiently.

Today, Slack is widely used by businesses of all sizes, from startups to global enterprises. It supports voice and video calls, app integrations, file sharing, and more all in one unified platform. In 2021, Salesforce acquired Slack in a major tech deal, recognizing its central role in the future of digital workspaces.

Slack changed the way teams communicate by making work conversations faster, more transparent, and easier to manage. It didn’t just replace email it helped redefine modern teamwork by creating a digital office hub for the remote and hybrid age.

Snowflake was founded in 2012 by Benoit Dageville, Thierry Cruanes, and Marcin Żukowski all data experts with deep experience in database architecture. They saw a growing need for a new kind of data platform that could handle the scale and flexibility demanded by modern businesses. Their goal was to build a cloud-native solution from the ground up, free from the limitations of traditional on-premise data systems.

What they created was a cloud-based data warehouse that allows companies to store, manage, and analyse massive amounts of data with remarkable speed and efficiency. Unlike legacy systems, Snowflake separates storage and compute, meaning users can scale each independently depending on their needs a key innovation that set it apart early on.

Today, Snowflake is used by thousands of organizations across industries for everything from business intelligence to real-time analytics. It supports seamless data sharing across teams and even across companies, enabling collaborative insights without complex integrations or data duplication.

Snowflake’s breakthrough was in making big data accessible, flexible, and cloud-first. By simplifying how businesses work with data, it has transformed analytics into a powerful, everyday tool no longer reserved just for specialists. The company's successful IPO in 2020 further cemented its role as a major force in the future of data.

TikTok, owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, was launched internationally in 2017. ByteDance was founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming, initially focusing on content discovery through artificial intelligence. Before TikTok’s global rise, ByteDance had already launched a similar short-video app in China called Douyin. TikTok was created as the international counterpart, and it quickly exploded in popularity.

What began as a platform for sharing 15-second lip-syncing and dance videos has grown into a cultural phenomenon. TikTok now hosts a vast range of content, from comedy sketches and educational tips to product reviews and global trends. Its appeal lies in its user-friendly video editing tools, personalized algorithm, and ability to make content go viral almost overnight.

TikTok revolutionized the social media space by putting creation and discovery front and centre. Unlike traditional platforms that prioritize your friends' content, TikTok’s "For You" page uses AI to surface videos tailored to your interests, regardless of who you follow. This opened the door for everyday users to become global influencers with just a smartphone and a good idea.

By lowering the barriers to content creation and shifting how users engage with media, TikTok has reshaped online entertainment. It’s not just an app it’s a launchpad for trends, careers, and conversations across the world.

Uber was founded in 2009 by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp, two entrepreneurs who wanted to solve the problem of unreliable and expensive city transportation. The idea came to life when they struggled to find a cab in Paris, leading them to imagine a service where you could request a ride at the tap of a button. Initially launched as “UberCab” in San Francisco, the service offered a sleek, app-based way to book black cars.

What began as a niche luxury option soon evolved into a massive platform that now spans ridesharing, food delivery (Uber Eats), freight, and even autonomous driving research. Operating in hundreds of cities worldwide, Uber has become a daily utility for millions of users, offering convenience, speed, and often lower costs than traditional taxis.

Uber’s core innovation was using technology to match riders with drivers in real time, removing friction from an outdated industry. Its app-based model introduced features like dynamic pricing, driver tracking, and cashless payments — all now standard in the gig economy. It also opened the door for flexible, independent work for drivers.

While not without controversy, Uber dramatically changed how people think about personal transportation. It disrupted a legacy industry and played a central role in the rise of app-based services that blend tech with everyday logistics.