Ralph Lauren didn't start out famous or with family money. In 1967, he started his business with a $50,000 loan and a simple idea: a line of neckties that were wider and bolder than anything available in men’s stores at the time. The tiny bet on ties has become a lifestyle and fashion brand that extends from apparel to fragrances and house paint, Lauren told Forbes in an interview. His rise from a small necktie line to a global name decades later remains a useful lesson for anyone trying to build something from very little.
A loan that seemed a huge gamble
