It’s common knowledge that Apple was started by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in the Jobs family garage.

    Other garage-founded titans include Amazon, Google, Mattel, Hewlett Packard, and Microsoft— which Bill Gates and Paul Allen also developed at the sketchy Sundowner Motel in New Mexico.

    Similarly, Facebook’s origins in Mark Zuckerberg’s dorm room at Harvard were already pretty well known, then became even more known after the release of the film The Social Network. Another tech company famously starting in a dorm was Dell, founded in Michael Dell’s room at the University of Texas.

    But many other companies have started in the unlikeliest of places, from a closet to a crypt. Here’s a look at some sites where a big business was once small — and what’s happening at those spots now.

    众所周知，苹果公司是由史蒂夫•乔布斯和史蒂夫•沃兹尼亚克在乔布斯家的车库里创立的。

    从车库走出的大公司还包括亚马逊、谷歌、美泰、惠普和微软——创业之初，比尔•盖茨和保罗•艾伦也曾窝在新墨西哥州一家非常寒掺的汽车旅馆开发软件。

    马克•扎克伯格在哈佛大学宿舍创办Facebook的故事已经广为人知，特别是在电影《社交网络》上映之后。另一家诞生在大学宿舍的公司是戴尔，这家电脑公司是迈克尔•戴尔在德克萨斯大学宿舍创立的。不过还有许多公司诞生在让人意想不到的地方，比如杂物间或地下室。现在我们就来看看一些大企业的“龙腾之地”，以及这些地方如今的模样。

    Papa John's

    The pizza chain now has more than 4,600 locations in 34 countries, but it all started with a broom closet in a bar.

    As a young man, John H. Schnatter had worked at a lot of pizzerias. In 1984 after graduating college, he was managing a bar his father co-owned, Mick’s Lounge in Jeffersonville, Ind.

    He sold his car to buy out the other owner. Then Schnatter tore down the bar’s broom closet, installed a pizza oven, and got to work. He recalls jumping up and down with excitement the night they did $2,300 worth of business in that broom closet, thinking they were rich. “And then all of a sudden it took off.”

    Mick’s Lounge is still open and serving food, but once Papa John’s became franchised, the original was no longer a Papa John’s -- and Schnatter is no longer an owner of the bar.

    棒约翰比萨

    这家比萨连锁巨头如今在34个国家拥有4600多家门店，但这一切皆源自一个不起眼的酒吧杂物间。

    约翰•H•施德纳年轻时在很多家比萨店工作过。1984年大学毕业后，他开始在印第安那州杰斐逊维尔经营一家他父亲与人合办的酒吧：Mick’s Lounge。

    施德纳卖掉了他的车，买下了另一位合伙人的股权。然后，他拆掉了酒吧的杂物室，安了一个比萨炉。他至今还记得，有一天晚上他们在那间杂物室里做成了一笔2300美元的生意，他高兴得上蹦下跳的样子，仿佛他们已经变得非常富有。“就这样，生意一下子火起来了。”

    那家Mick’s Lounge酒吧如今还在营业，但在棒约翰公司走上连锁模式后，那间杂物室就不再属于它了，而施德纳也不再是这家酒吧的老板。

    Pan American World Airways

    For much of the 20th century, the iconic office building spanning Park Avenue above Grand Central Terminal in New York, now the MetLife building, was the Pan Am building, home to what was once the largest air carrier in the country.

    But the Pan American company’s origins are in Key West, Fla., where beginning in 1927 it provided passenger and delivery service to and from Cuba. That service made it “the first United States international air service in scheduled operation,” according to the historic sign marking the spot. In 1928, Pan Am opened Pan American Field in Miami, on part of the land now occupied by Miami International Airport.

    The Key West wood frame structure is now Kelly’s Caribbean Bar Grill and Brewery, owned by Top Gun star Kelly McGillis, with its wing-shaped bar nodding to the spot’s place in aviation history.

    泛美世界航空公司

    在20世纪的相当长时间里，纽约中央车站附近那座位于公园大道的地标性建筑，也就是现在的大都会人寿保险公司大厦，一直是泛美航空的总部。泛美曾经是全美最大的航空公司。

    但泛美航空的诞生地其实在佛罗里达州基韦斯特市。早在1927年，它就在那里提供来往古巴的客运和货运服务。这项服务使它成为“美国第一家有固定航程的国际航空服务公司”。1928年，泛美航空在迈阿密修建了泛美机场，后者现在是迈阿密国际机场的一部分。

    泛美航空在基韦斯特的木结构建筑，现在变成了凯莉加勒比烤肉啤酒吧，它的老板是曾出演过《壮志凌云》女影星凯莉•麦吉利斯。酒吧的机翼造型象征着此地在航空史中的重要地位。

    Cabela's

    The outdoor superstore has more than 50 enormous outposts across the country, with the 2013 Waco store opening attracting a line in the rain beginning at 8 a.m.the day before.

    But the company got started very humbly in 1961 by Dick Cabela, who died in February 2014.

    Cabela first placed a newspaper ad to sell fishing flies in a local paper, but the ad received just one response. He then lowered his price, and more people responded. From there he grew a mailing list. Dick and his wife, Mary, first ran their burgeoning business from their kitchen in Chappell, Neb. When it outgrew the kitchen, Cabela’s moved to the basement of Dick’s father’s furniture store in 1964.

    After moving to a few other locations, in 1969 their next site began to show signs of the scale we know Cabela’s for today: it was a 50,000 square-foot former John Deere building in Sidney, Neb.

    卡贝拉公司

    户外连锁店卡贝拉在全美拥有50多家大型门店，2013年它在德州韦科市的新店开张时，许多人前一天早上8点就冒雨在门口排起了长队。

    但这家公司在1961年的起步之路却异常艰辛。创始人迪克•卡贝拉已于2014年2月去世。

    卡贝拉最早在当地一家报纸上登广告卖钓鱼用的假蝇，但这则广告只吸引来一位客户。降低售价后，客户大幅增长。之后他开始做邮寄广告。卡贝拉和太太玛莉最早是在内布拉斯加州查普尔市的自家厨房里做这桩生意的。1964年，这对夫妇又将办公地搬到了卡贝拉父亲经营的家具商店的地下室。

    又搬了几次地方后，在1969年，他们将营业场所迁至内布拉斯加州悉尼市一座原本归美国迪尔公司所有，面积约5万平方英尺的建筑。就是在那里，卡贝拉开始显露出我们今天所熟知的规模。

    Paul Mitchell

    In 1980, the English stylist Paul Mitchell, and hair care professional John Paul DeJoria, were looking for a career change. The friends and business partnerslaunched John Paul Mitchell Systems with $700, a post office box, and an answering machine, enlisting a female friend to voice the outgoing message.

    The first products were Shampoo One, Shampoo Two, and The Conditioner in the black and white packaging they’re still known for, because color was too expensive.

    In 1983, they purchased 30 acres in Hawaii, a solar-powered, off-grid farm. There, they learned of the wild ginger (awapuhi) that Hawaiian natives used to soften and condition their hair, which they incorporated into the John Paul Mitchell Systems hair care line.

    The John Paul Mitchell Systems Awapuhi Farm still grows the titular ingredient used in the pair’s hair care products, as well as other organic fruits and vegetables. Today, John Paul’s and Paul’s mini-compounds at the lush retreat are available as accommodations, and guests dine on locally grown food. The farm is also open for tours.

    宝美奇

    1980年，英国造型师保罗•米切尔和护发专家约翰•保罗•迪佐利亚四处寻找转变职业的机会。这对朋友兼合作伙伴随后用700美元作为本钱，成立了约翰保罗米切尔系统公司，当时的全部家当只有一个信箱和一台答录机，然后她们找来一位女性朋友录了应答信息。

    他们最早的产品是黑白包装的“香波1号”、“香波2号”和护发素，当时之所以用黑白包装，是因为彩色太贵了，但这个传统却一直延续了下来。

    1983年，他们在夏威夷买下了一片占地30英亩，利用太阳能供电的农场。正是在那里，他们得知夏威夷土著平时用当地的野生姜来护理头发，于是他们便将夏威夷白姜当作该公司护发产品的原料之一。

    如今，这座夏威夷白姜农场仍然种植着这种作物，以及其它有机水果和蔬菜。农场和小楼也对游客开放，旅客可以在那里享受当地生长的食物。

    The Virgin Group

    Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, began his first enterprise, Studentmagazine, with a group of friends. The twist in this taleis that the office was located in a church crypt that the vicar allowed Branson and his team to use.

    After that, Branson launched a mail-order low-priced record business under the name Virgin (because they were newcomers to business), which became brick-and-mortar record stores, which became Virgin Records and eventually led to Branson becoming one of the richest men in the U.K.

    维珍集团

    维珍集团的创始人理查德•布兰森首次创业，是与一群朋友共同创办了《学生》杂志。经牧师允许，他们将杂志社的办公地放在了一座教堂的地下室里。

    布兰森后来又创办了一家经营邮购低价唱片业务的公司。之所以取名“维珍”，是因为对他们来说，这是一个全新的业务。布兰森随后开起了多家实体店，并将公司更名为“维珍唱片”，它最终使布兰森跻身英国顶级富豪之列。

    Krispy Kreme

    In 1937, Vernon Rudolph set up a doughnut bakery in Winston-Salem, N.C., using a secret recipe for a yeast doughnut that he bought from a French chef in New Orleans.

    Those first Krispy Kremes were intended to be sold to grocery stores, but they smelled so good baking that the doughnuts enticed pedestrians to stop inside and ask to buy them.

    Although the building was a rental, Rudolph cut a (doughnut) hole in the wall and began selling his sweet wares to passersby, and an empire was born. There are now 925 Krispy Kreme stores internationally.

    That first location is still operational today in what’s now called historic Old Salem, with a 24- hour drive-through.

    Colleen Kane is a New York-based freelance writer.

    卡卡圈坊

    1937年，弗农•鲁道夫在北卡罗来纳州温斯顿塞勒姆市开了一家甜甜圈店，它所使用的发酵秘方，是鲁道夫花重金从新奥尔良一个法国大厨手中买来的。

    该店的第一批甜甜圈本来是想卖给当地的食杂店，但制作过程散发的香味，惹得路人纷纷驻足，要求购买。

    虽然鲁道夫的这家店是租来的，不过鲁道夫还是在墙上打了个洞，通过这种方式向行人售卖甜甜圈，一家商业帝国由此诞生。现如今，全球的卡卡圈坊门店多达925家。

    那个地方现在仍在营业，不过现在是一家名叫“老塞勒姆”，24小时营业的汽车餐厅。（财富中文网）

    本文作者Colleen Kane是一名常驻纽约的自由撰稿人。

    译者：朴成奎

    审校：任文科