The financial crisis sparked creativity among inventors, leading to some of today’s best-known companies.
According to the LA Times, the recession inspired aspiring inventors to pursue their creations, in part because they were unemployed and tired of endless job fairs.
An economic downturn can provide an opportunity for companies to launch and be successful because there’s less competition for talent and office space, according to VentureBeat. During times of economic growth, the market can become oversaturated with businesses going after the same resources.
Uber, Airbnb, and mobile payment companies Square and Venmo launched during the recession. Some new companies were geared towards helping cash-strapped consumers, such as Groupon, which made couponing cool again. According to Time magazine, Groupon started to become popular with consumers toward the end of the recession in 2009.
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