Duolingo was started by Professor Luis von Ahn of Carnegie Mellon University along with his graduate student Severin Hacker. Originally the concept behind Duolingo had a double purpose of teaching users a new language while also having users translate documents in the process. The latter feature has since been removed. Originally launching the beta version in 2011, the software quickly gained a waitlist of over 300,000 users. The ios version of the app was officially launched on Nov 13, 2012 and the android version was released in May of 2013. The app garnered over a million downloads within the first three weeks of its android launch and quickly became the #1 education app in the Google Play store. Citing “free education” as a source of inspiration, Duolingo’s founders showed that affordability can sometimes be the selling point of a product.

Venmo was founded by Andrew Kortina and Iqram Magdon-Ismail, who were roommates at the University of Pennsylvania. While helping a friend open a yogurt shop, the duo realized that most point-of -sale software was terrible. This lead the roommates to seek a possible alternative payment system. While at a jazz concert the two roommates thought it would be convenient if they could by an MP3 of the show instantly via text message. This concept eventually lead to an early Venmo prototype that transferred money through text messages. Eventually this was changed and Venmo became an app of its own. The roommates then raised money through venture capitalists and eventually sold the company to Braintree for $26.2 million. This simple entrepreneurial story shows that something big can result from simply observing everyday problems and attempting to solve them in unique ways.

Brian Spaly and Andy Dunn are the founders of the e-commerce apparel company Bonobos. Brian Spaly began designing men’s pants while studying at Stanford and later decided to pursue the business legitimately. As the business grew, Spaly’s roommate Andy Dunn decided to join the company as a business partner. Additionally, the business partners received financial assistance from various angel investors. By 2007 they had officially launched Bonobos as an exclusively online business. Following the success of Bonobos pants, the company expanded into various other men’s clothing items. In 2017, Walmart acquired the company for a sum of $310 million. While not sold in Walmart, Bonobos will be sold online through Walmart’s recently acquired Jet.com. The success of Bonobos is a product of both the drive and commitment shown by its founders, combined with an innovative and simple product.