Arthur Blank was fired from his first job before co-founding The Home Depot at age 36, a venture early customers dismissed as impractical. The story surfaces as a case study in founder resilience and late-career company formation, drawing renewed attention to Blank's unconventional path to building one of America's largest home improvement retailers. Blank launched The Home Depot after his dismissal from Handy Dan Home Improvement Centers, a termination that effectively forced the founding moment. Early customer skepticism, captured in the phrase 'these guys are nuts,' reflected the market's initial resistance to the warehouse-format retail model the company pioneered. The Home Depot's subsequent scale validated the format: the company grew into a dominant big-box retailer with operations across North America. For founders and investors, the timeline underscores that significant company-building can follow professional setbacks and begin well into a career, with the warehouse retail model itself originating as a contrarian bet that the market eventually rewarded.
Flipkart will launch a food delivery pilot in Bengaluru by mid-August, charging restaurants a 10-11% commission compared to the 25-35% levied by Swiggy and Zomato. The move targets growing restaurant discontent with incumbent platforms and aims to drive daily engagement across Flipkart's 500 million registered users.
Maruti Suzuki crossed two lakh domestic units in July 2026 for the first time, recording 42.4% year-on-year growth. Total sales including exports and OEM supplies reached 2,41,421 units, with all passenger vehicle segments posting gains.
Air India's net loss more than doubled to ₹22,238 crore in FY26, prompting Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran to extend the Vihaan.AI turnaround timeline from five years to as long as a decade.
UpGrad's all-stock acquisition of Unacademy, valued at Rs 1,955 crore, is set to close within three weeks after CCI clearance and near-complete investor sign-offs. The deal combines upGrad's upskilling business with Unacademy's test prep and medical education platforms, with Gaurav Munjal staying on as CEO.
