Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Audi is now known around the world for luxury, speed, and cutting-edge engineering. Its four-ring logo is seen in showrooms, on highways, and across international racetracks. But the story behind this billion-dollar brand is not as smooth as its designs suggest. The company went through betrayal, financial collapse, two world wars, and came close to disappearing entirely. At the center is one man, a stubborn engineer whose vision refused to die even when his company did. How did a brand born from failure claw its way back to dominate the world stage? The answer is bolder and far more incredible than most people imagine.
Audi is now known around the world for luxury, speed, and cutting-edge engineering. Its four-ring logo is seen in showrooms, on highways, and across international racetracks. But the story behind this billion-dollar brand is not as smooth as its designs suggest. The company went through betrayal, financial collapse, two world wars, and came close to disappearing entirely. At the center is one man, a stubborn engineer whose vision refused to die even when his company did. How did a brand born from failure claw its way back to dominate the world stage? The answer is bolder and far more incredible than most people imagine.


![How this Broke Kid Invented Subway to Pay for College and Became an Accidental Sandwich Tycoon
With over 37,000 locations in more than 100 countries, Subway is one of the most omnipresent restaurant chains in the world!
Since its rise, dozens of chains have come along hoping to mimic its success. But did you know the brand’s story originally started in 1965 when a broke 17-year-old bootstrapper tried to find a way to fund his college education?
With the simple words, “Let’s open a submarine sandwich shop,” a 35-year-old nuclear physicist changed the boy’s life forever. And although the kid had never run a business (or even made a sub!), he soon became an accidental sandwich tycoon!
Want to learn more about Fred DeLuca’s story?
Start Small Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business [book]
Sources
Fred DeLuca
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_DeLuca
https://www.franchisesales.co.uk/resources/articles/subway-franchise-the-story-of-fred-deluca-and-subway
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/careers-leadership/subways-fred-deluca-the-accidental-sandwich-tycoon/article14052931/
https://www.indiatoday.in/food-drink/food/story/subway-founder-fred-deluca-birthday-biggest-fast-food-chain-lifefd-344617-2016-10-03
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/313130
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/subway-founder-unfortunate-piece-left-144600570.html
https://www.inc.com/magazine/201305/burt-helm/how-i-did-it-fred-deluca-subway.html
Jared Fogle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Fogle
Milad Mirg
https://www.youtube.com/c/MiladMirg
Subway
https://www.subway.com/en-US/AboutUs/History
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219062
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWRLZtYrH8E&t
https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/subway-loses-its-sandwich-dominance
https://thetakeout.com/subway-not-exactly-on-a-roll-plans-to-close-500-stores-1825570305
https://thetakeout.com/subway-wants-25-percent-more-payment-from-franchisees-1846982858
https://nypost.com/2017/12/13/struggling-subway-is-now-facing-a-franchisee-revolt/
https://elisabethdelucaopenletter.com
https://www.eatthis.com/news-subway-ignores-franchisees-open-letter/
https://thehustle.co/the-rise-and-demise-of-subways-5-footlong-promotion/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rb3bMvDdX4 How this Broke Kid Invented Subway to Pay for College and Became an Accidental Sandwich Tycoon](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Nq955f6-PM8/mqdefault.jpg)







