Co-founder of Home Depot who, after being fired from Handy Dan Home Improvement in 1978, turned the trauma into the founding of the world's largest home improvement retailer.
Home Depot as adversity-driven innovation: Marcus and Arthur Blank were fired the same day from Handy Dan and immediately began planning what would become Home Depot — opening two Atlanta stores in 1979. The Home Depot concept (warehouse-sized stores, broad selection, knowledgeable staff, low prices) disrupted the fragmented hardware and home improvement market. Built to revenues of $100B+. Marcus's story is canonical in entrepreneurship culture as an example of failure as catalyst.
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