Small Passion Project to Big Business
I've been familiar with the site Bring A Trailer for a while. I glean some ideas from it for a side project related to a niche Porsche 944 content site. And I just generally knew it was a cool, up-and-coming site. But I didn't know its humble beginnings.
I stumbled across some interviews with Randy Nonnenberg, the founder of Bring a Trailer. He just loved finding cool cars for sale online, even tough he didn't necessarily plan on buying them. In 2007 he started posting a "find of the day" on a website he set up. That gained a following and turned into the full-fledged auction site it is today.
One of the draws is the commenting feature on each listing. The audience gets to comment and offer their opinions on the vehicles, which creates some buzz around many of the listings.
It's such a great example of just doing something you enjoy and seeing where it goes!