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. Great Stories "Ming the Merciless": The inside account of the man who fired Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus "My people don't drive Cadillacs!" How Ross Perot almost got involved with The Home Depot "Take this job and shove it!" The banker who put his career on the line to get The Home Depot the loan that enabled it to survive "Folks, I tell ya, if these Atlanta stores were any bigger, we'd be paying Alabama sales tax." Home Depot's first good ol' southern advertising campaign A Company with a Conscience When disasters like the Oklahoma City bombing or Hurricane Andrew happen, Home Depot associates don't ask for permission torespond. They react from their hearts--whether that means keeping their store open all night or being on the scene with volunteers and relief supplies. The Home Depot doesn't just contribute money to organizations like Habitat for Humanity and Christmas in April, but also provides its people to help lead and grow