Guinness World Records, Tour de France, and the Michelin Guide. All were promotions for OTHER businesses that turned into companies of themselves. I love stuff like this. Here’s a quick background on each... 🍻Guinness World Records🍻 In the 1950s, the managing director of Guinness beer got into a debate about the fastest game bird in Europe. He realized there was no book to settle arguments like this so they made one. It was meant to be a giveaway in pubs. It turned into a global best-seller and a standalone brand. 🚴 Tour de France🚴 In 1903, a struggling sports newspaper in France called L’Auto needed a way to beat its competition. So they created the most epic bike race anyone had ever seen 2,000+ miles around France. The paper’s circulation exploded. The race outlived the newspaper and became the most prestigious cycling event in the world. 🍽️ Michelin Guide 🍽️ In 1900, the Michelin tire company had one problem: not enough people were driving. So they published a guidebook full of maps, hotel listings, and restaurant reviews all to encourage road trips and wear out tires. Eventually, they added a star rating system for food. That turned into the Michelin Guide we know today the gold standard in fine dining.