Ventures have changed. During the Industrial Revolution, startups were started within a company -- Andrew Carnegie was a bond broker and speculator who got into a (very risky) sideline in steel; Du Pont was a gunpowder company before they started messing around with chemistry[1].
The auto business was enormously profitable for GM and Ford, but there were thousands of equally promising auto startups at the same time. Most of them built prototypes bespoke for rich people; none of them are still around.
[1] And cars. They used to own about a fourth of GM, until they were forced to divest.
The auto business was enormously profitable for GM and Ford, but there were thousands of equally promising auto startups at the same time. Most of them built prototypes bespoke for rich people; none of them are still around.
[1] And cars. They used to own about a fourth of GM, until they were forced to divest.