Apple, the second most valuable publicly traded firm in the world (behind Microsoft), started off as a side project. On nights and weekends, Steve Wozniak worked on the Apple I in his cubicle at Hewlett-Packard, where he designed scientific calculators during the day. Wozniak pleaded with HP five times to create the Apple I, but each time he was rejected. Fortunately, Steve Jobs saw the promise in Wozniak's side project, and Apple was founded.

These days, Apple Inc. is a multinational technology firm based in the United States that specializes in consumer goods, software, online services, and so on. The story of the Apple company, which grew from a side hustle to major success, inspires a lot of people all over the world.

Headquarters: California, U.S.

Year Founded: 1976

Founders: Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne

Industry: Computer hardware and software, Digital distribution, Consumer electronics, Media, Financial technology, Cloud computing, Artificial intelligence, Fabless silicon design,…

Website: apple.com

This is possibly the most famous side-hustle story in history, thanks to the 2010 film "The Social Network." In case you missed it, here is a reminder: In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg and four undergraduate buddies created what would become Facebook in his Harvard dorm room. Initially, membership was limited to Harvard students, but it was soon expanded to include students from other colleges and, later, anybody with a valid email address. Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard in his sophomore year to devote his whole attention to Facebook, but he returned in 2017 to earn an honorary degree.

Facebook may be accessed from any device that has Internet access, including computers, tablets, and smartphones. Users can establish a profile after registering, which includes personal information. They can exchange text, photographs, and multimedia with other users who have consented to be their "friends", depending on the privacy settings, with the general public.

Headquarters: California, U.S‎.
Year Founded: 2004
Founders: Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin
CEO: Mark Zuckerberg
Website: facebook.com

Kevin Systrom worked for Nextstop, a location recommendation firm started by ex-Google workers and ultimately acquired by Facebook in 2009. In his leisure time, he created Burbn, a platform that merged location check-ins with popular social games. After realizing that Burbn was too complicated, he teamed up with Mike Krieger and chose to focus on one specific feature: photo-sharing. As a result, Instagram was born, which they eventually sold to Facebook for $1 billion.

Now, Instagram is a popular photo and video-sharing social networking service. Users can post photos and videos that can be modified with filters and categorized using hashtags and geotagging. Posts can be shared with the general public or with followers who have been pre-approved. Users can view trending material and browse other users' content by tags and places.

Headquarters: California, U.S‎.

Year Founded: 2010

Founders: Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger

CEO: Kevin Systrom

Website: instagram.com

The next company that grew from side hustles to major success is Craigslist. Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist, is a perfect example of someone who made the best of a bad situation. Newmark was laid off from his work as a computer engineer at Charles Schwab Corporation in early 1995. Rather than seeking a new job, Newmark compiled a calendar of art and technology events in San Francisco and began distributing it to friends. His invention had evolved into the website we now know as Craigslist by the following year.

Craigslist is a classified ad website in the United States offering sections for employment, housing, for sale, wanted ads, services, community service, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums.

Headquarters: San Francisco, California, U.S.

Year Founded: 1995

Founders: Craig Newmark

Services: Web communications

Website: craigslist.org

Kevin Plank was a football player at the University of Maryland in the mid-1990s, where he claims to have been the "sweatiest guy on the field". He invented a synthetic undergarment that kept him dry after becoming frustrated with having to put cotton tees under his jersey. Kevin Plank founded Under Armour with money he earned from a side gig selling roses on Valentine's Day. He started the company from his grandmother's house, but it was not long until it was bringing in millions, if not billions, of dollars.

Under Armour, Inc. is a footwear, sports, and casual clothing manufacturer based in the United States. In addition, Under Armour also serves worldwide, with international headquarters in many different countries, such as Hong Kong, Austin, Guangzhou, Houston, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Munich, New York City, etc.

Headquarters: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.

Year Founded: 1996

Founder: Kevin Plank

Industry: Textile, Sports Equipment

Products: Footwear, Sportswear, Clothing, Toiletries,…

Website: underarmour.com

Do you enjoy what you do at work so much that you spend all of your spare time doing it? Palmer Luckey was the one who accomplished it. During the day, he worked at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies, where he invented head-mounted displays (HMDs). He came up with the notion of making a new HMD that was affordable for gamers in the evenings. In 2012, he founded Oculus VR with four other people and released the Rift, a virtual reality gaming headset. They then launched one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns in history to raise $2.4 million, which they used to make VR headsets available to developers.

Oculus is now a branch of Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook Inc.), which makes virtual reality headsets such as the Oculus Rift and Oculus Quest.

Headquarters: United States

Year Founded: 2012

Founder: Palmer Luckey

Product type: Digital services, Virtual reality devices

Website: oculus.com

Sal Khan was a hedge fund analyst with Connective Capital Management in 2004. He coached his cousin in mathematics over the internet using Yahoo's Doodle notebook while he was not at work. Other family and friends began to request tutoring, and in 2006, he began posting educational videos on YouTube in response to the huge demand. Khan's lectures had grown in popularity outside of his immediate circle, to the point where he quit his hedge fund position and founded Khan Academy, which is now one of the most popular non-profit online learning platforms in the world.

Khan Academy is now known as a non-profit educational organization with the objective of developing a set of online resources to assist students in their studies. The organization creates video tutorials using brief lessons. It also has supplemental practice tasks and tools for instructors on its website. Users of the website and application can access all resources for free.

Headquarters: California, U.S.

Year Founded: 2008

Founder: Salman Khan

Website: khanacademy.org

Groupon would not have evolved to be what it is now if co-founder Andrew Mason had not begun it as a side venture. Mason obtained the first $1 million in seed money from Eric Lefkofsky, the current Groupon chairman and Mason's former supervisor at a Chicago web design firm. Originally called "The Point," Groupon was a program that allowed people to collaborate on various social goals. The Point was too complicated for Mason, Lefkofsky, and a third co-founder, Brad Keywell, so they simplified it to just a website that connected subscribers with local businesses—Groupon.

Now, Groupon is a global e-commerce platform based in the United States that connects users with local merchants in 15 countries through activities, travel, commodities, and services.

Headquarters: Illinois, U.S.

Year Founded: 2008

Founders: Andrew Mason, Eric Lefkofsky, Brad Keywell

Industry: Electronic commerce

Website: groupon.com

Houzz is the next company on the list of top companies that grew from side hustles to major successes. Alon Cohen and Adi Tatarko were just like any other couple in the Bay Area in 2009. Tatarko was working in a Hebrew language school she had helped establish, while Cohen was a senior director of engineering at eBay. After experiencing difficulties with their own home remodeling, they founded Houzz, a website that provides DIY home improvement and interior design advice as well as the ability to search for local pros. What began as a side project quickly grew into a full-time business with over 17 million users.

Nowadays, Houzz has developed as an online community, website, and software for architecture, interior design, and decorating, as well as landscape design and home renovation in the United States.

Headquarters: California, U.S.

Year Founded: 2009

Founders: Adi Tatarko, Alon Cohen

Industry: Interior design, Remodeling

Website: houzz.com

The tenth place on the list of top companies that grew from side hustles to major successes is Imgur. Imgur is competing with Under Armour for the distinction of being the most well-known side hustle created by an undergraduate. Alan Schaaf, a computer science student at Ohio University, established the image-sharing website as a side project in 2009. Imgur was an instant hit, with 1 million total website visits per day in just five months— even before Schaaf graduated!

Nowadays, people all over the world know Imgur as an American online image sharing and image storage website with a focus on social gossip. Viral photos and memes, particularly those shared on Reddit, have been hosted on the service.

Headquarters: California, U.S.

Year Founded: 2009

Founder: Alan Schaaf

Website: imgur.com