Saint-Gobain Blog Posts

Some of the world’s largest and best known companies started from humble beginnings.  One thing that many of these businesses have in common is that they have all been given a helping hand to become what they are today.

A smooth business plan

Founded by three friends, Innocent drinks began life at a music festival where the trio sold smoothies from a stall.  People were asked to put their empty bottles in a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ bin depending on whether they thought the three should quit their jobs to make smoothies.  At the end of the festival the ‘yes’ bin was full, so they resigned from their jobs the next day.  Following this, the friends had a lucky break when Maurice Pinto, a wealthy American businessman, decided to invest £250,000 in their company.  The rest, as they say, is history.

The Gates to a global brand

Microsoft was started in a garage in 1974, with a 19 year old Bill Gates and his 22 year old business partner writing a computer programme called BASIC and then selling it to a little computer company in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  BASIC was the first personal language programme for a personal computer and was the start of the company we now call Microsoft.

Both Innocent and Microsoft have gone on to be giants in their field, an achievement which was only made possible by others having a belief in the product they were selling.

Saint-Gobain’s big break

Saint-Gobain’s history, although not quite so humble, is certainly impressive and began back to 1665 when Louis XIV signed the letters patent establishing the ‘Manufacture des Glaces de Miroirs’ in Paris. 
This granted the company, along with a small number of other companies, a monopoly on production and sale of glass in France and it is from this that the business has expanded on a global scale to Saint-Gobain as we know it today.

Saint-Gobain’s story is another great example of a small company being given a helping hand by a much larger establishment.  The company has itself since gone on to support other small and start-up businesses that have the potential to provide the construction industry with innovative solutions and systems.

In 2006, we launched the NOVA international innovation competition. This was created to reward businesses offering the most innovative solutions in building materials, energy and environmental sustainability. 

We recently launched the 2012 competition and are looking for entries.  Prizes total nearly €63,000 and, as well as receiving financial incentives, the winner also gets to work closely with our team of experts in areas such as licensing, manufacturing and joint ventures.  If you or someone you know has an aspiring start-up business you can register here – you never know, it could be the start of something big!