Ikea

In the early 1940s, most small-town Swedish children were busy with socializing and schoolwork, but not Ingvar Kamprad, who was obsessed with selling matches to his neighbors (the business-savvy child would ride his bicycle from house to house). Success with matches led to other bulk products like fish, pencils and Christmas-tree decorations. Little did Kamprad know that his efforts would grow into a $12.2 billion multinational retail business with more than 150 instantly recognizable blue-and-yellow megastores.

In 1943 Kamprad created Ikea with a cash gift from his father. The name was derived from his initials plus the first letters of the farm and village where he grew up (Elmtaryd, Agunnaryd). The idea was–and still is–to create and sell innovative design at a great price. Initially he sold such items as pens, picture frames and nylon stockings. But he was interested in the work of mid-century furniture designers like Charles Eames, Arne Jacobsen and Russel Wright. Eventually Kamprad turned his focus to mail-order catalogs and stores that could sell his wares on a mass scale. At the time, cash-and-carry furniture was unheard of, as was the idea that all Ikea products–from furniture to the now famous mobile kitchens–could be packed in flat, stackable boxes that could be mailed or transported and reassembled at home. Furniture shopping has never been the same since Kamprad threw his wrench into the system. –By James Scully