Built from Scratch: How a Couple of Regular Guys Grew the Home Depot from Nothing to $30 Billion

One of the greatest entrepreneurial success stories of the past twenty years

When a friend told Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank that “you’ve just been hit in the ass by a golden horseshoe,” they thought he was crazy. After all, both had just been fired. What the friend, Ken Langone, meant was that they now had the opportunity to create the kind of wide-open warehouse store that would help spark a consumer revolution through low prices, excellent customer service, and wide availability of products.

Built from Scratch is the story of how two incredibly determined and creative people—and their associates—built a business from nothing to 761 stores and $30 billion in sales in a mere twenty years.

Built from Scratch tells many colorful stories associated with The Home Depot’s founding and meteoric rise; shows that a company can be a tough, growth-oriented competitor and still maintain a high sense of responsibility to the community; and provides great lessons useful to people in any business, from start-ups to the Fortune 500.

Bernie Marcus is a cofounder of The Home Depot and currently serves as chairman of the board. From the company's inception until 1997, he served as CEO. With his wife, Billi Marcus, he founded the Marcus Foundation and the Marcus Developmental Resource Center, which provides support services for mentally impaired children and their parents. He is chairman of the Centers for Disease Control Foundation. He sits on many boards of directors, including the New York Stock Exchange, and participates in many civic organizations, including the City of Hope, a cancer research center, and the Shepherd Spinal Center.

Arthur Blank is a cofounder of The Home Depot and is the company's president and CEO. He serves on the board of trustees of several organizations, including the North Carolina Outward Bound School, the Carter Center, Emory University, and the National Conference of Christians and Jews. He was inducted into the Babson College Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs and was honored by the City of Hope for his fund-raising leadership. He has established the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation with his wife, Stephanie, and his children.

Bob Andelman is the author of 11 books, including his first biography, Will Eisner: A Spirited Life. Three of his co-authored books - Built From Scratch (written with the founders of The Home Depot), The Profit Zone (with Adrian Slywotzky) and Mean Business (with Albert J Dunlap) - were business bestsellers. His latest books include The Profiler (with Pat Brown) and his first work of fiction, The Consulate, a spy thriller written with Thomas Stutler. He also wrote a trio of sports-related books: Stadium For Rent, Why Men Watch Football, and The Corporate Athlete.

As the host of "Mr. Media" -- the popular online radio and TV show -- Andelman has posted more than 700 interviews with Hollywood, pop culture and media celebrities since beginning in February 2007.

Andelman lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.


From the Hardcover edition.