Fred Smith was an undergraduate student at Yale University in 1965.
As part of the course, he wrote an economic article that explores the process of freight transportation in the United States.
He concluded that the shippers relied on the transport of large packages through the United States by means of road transport or passenger aircraft.
Smith thought of a more efficient idea of transportation.
He wrote a last minute document about how a company that transported small essential items by plane could be a much better business. However, he did not go into detail about how to run such a business.
His work was qualified as "C". But Smith did not abandon the idea and launched the company in 1971.
But within three years of the company's founding, Federal Express was on the verge of bankruptcy. I was losing more than $ 1 million per month due to rising fuel costs. At its peak, the company had only $ 5,000 in its name. Smith made a final presentation to General Dynamics to get more funds. The request was rejected. Most ordinary people would have resigned at that time and close the business. Not Fred Smith. What he did next is the most daring move by the founder of a company. Smith flew to Las Vegas and played Black Jack this weekend with the remaining funds of the company. Yes, all $ 5,000. On Monday, the company management made a pleasant surprise. FedEx had $ 32,000 in its bank account, which was enough to cover the fuel for its aircraft and continue to operate for a few more days. Soon after, the company was able to raise significant funds. Today, FedEx is a global giant with operations in more than 220 countries and territories and annual sales of $ 45 billion.
