How world's top brands got started

Wooden Toys (1923)

Founders - Ole Kirk Christiansen - First location - Billund, Denmark

The toy brand that’s best known for its plastic, interlocking bricks was founded by a carpenter. Struggling to find enough wood to build furniture during Denmark’s recession of the 1930s, Ole Kirk Kristiansen began turning wood scraps into children’s toys. Some of LEGO’s first products included toy trains, automobiles, and a wooden duck on wheels that quacked when pulled.