We tell the part
between small
and big.
HOW IT GOT BIG is an independent documentary project about the companies, products and brands people encounter every day.
We look beyond polished origin myths to understand how companies actually grew: the early ideas, wrong turns, lucky breaks, critical decisions and moments that changed their trajectory.
Our goal is simple.
Tell the story. Not the legend.
What We Cover
Who started the company, what they were doing before, and why they began.
Where companies started, and what the place meant to the founding story.
What was first sold, and how different it was from what the brand became.
The choices that set trajectories in motion — including those made under constraint.
What went wrong, how it happened, and what the company did next.
The moments after which the company was never quite the same.
How money was made, and what was unusual or counterintuitive about it.
The moments when the company almost didn't continue, and what changed.
How We Research
Stories are built primarily from primary and contemporary sources: company filings, historical archives, newspaper and magazine reporting from the relevant period, books, interviews, and where appropriate, court records and public documents.
We avoid relying on retrospective accounts and polished corporate histories as primary sources. Origin stories told by companies about themselves frequently omit the messier, more interesting parts.
All statistics appearing in our documentaries and editorial content are sourced and cited. Placeholder statistics used during production are clearly identified as such until they can be replaced with verified figures.