Biology of Business

G

68 companies

General Electric (GE)

Conglomerate / Industrial

GE was the world's most valuable company in 2000 - $500 billion market cap, Jack Welch on magazine covers, diversified across jet engines, power turbi...

4 mentions

Google

Technology / Search / Advertising

Google's dominance didn't come from better algorithms alone - it came from organizational innovations that maintained breakthrough capacity even at sc...

3 mentions

General Motors (GM)

Automotive Manufacturing

General Motors produced 189,000 battery electric vehicles in North America during 2024 yet simultaneously shut down its Cruise robotaxi division after...

2 mentions

Grab

Technology/Transportation/Fintech

The ride-hailing startup that beat Uber by recognizing what multinational tech giants always miss: local markets aren't just different - they're diffe...

2 mentions

Groupon

E-commerce / Daily Deals

Groupon reached $1 billion in revenue faster than any company in history - 2.5 years. Forbes called it the fastest-growing company ever. The 2011 IPO...

2 mentions

General Motors

Automotive Manufacturing

General Motors held the #1 global automaker position for 77 years - until it didn't. The company that defined industrial centralization in the 20th ce...

1 mention

GitHub

Software Development/Technology

GitHub is the code hosting platform where 100+ million developers store 420+ million repositories. The company demonstrates three biological principle...

1 mention

Glencore

Commodity Trading/Mining

One of the world's largest commodity trading and mining companies, founded in 1974 and headquartered in Switzerland. Glencore operates the opposite st...

1 mention ftse100

Gojek

Technology / Super-App

Gojek (formerly Go-Jek) represents successful defense against invasive species through capital matching. By raising $5B+, Gojek prevented Grab from mo...

1 mention

Goldman Sachs

Financial Services/Investment Banking

September 2008: Lehman Brothers collapses. Bear Stearns is gone. Merrill Lynch sells itself to Bank of America in a desperate weekend deal. Goldman Sa...

1 mention sp500

Google/Alphabet

Technology

Technology conglomerate known for both innovation and deliberate project shutdowns. Google has systematically killed dozens of projects (Google+, Wave...

1 mention

G. Heileman Brewing Company

Beverages

Heileman's 1996 bankruptcy collapsed a company that had grown through acquisition to become America's fifth-largest brewer. The company owned dozens o...

Defunct

GameStop

Retail - Video Games

GameStop is a video game retailer that became the center of a historic short squeeze in 2021. The company has been transforming toward e-commerce and...

russell2000

Gander Mountain

Retail - Outdoor

Gander Mountain's 2017 bankruptcy and partial acquisition by Camping World demonstrated how outdoor retail was consolidating around survivors who coul...

Defunct

Gannett (GateHouse Media)

Media & Publishing

Gannett is a diversified media company operating local media organizations and digital marketing services across the United States. The company publis...

russell2000

Gap

Fashion Retail

Fashion retailer representing traditional slow-fashion model. With 6-9 month design-to-store cycles, Gap achieves only 38% gross margins with 40-50% m...

sp500

Garden Fresh Restaurants

Restaurant

Garden Fresh Restaurants' May 2020 bankruptcy permanently closed both Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes chains. The company operated 97 buffet location...

Defunct

Gateway

Technology

Gateway's 2007 acquisition by Acer for $710 million ended the cow-spotted computer company. Gateway had pioneered direct PC sales alongside Dell but c...

Defunct

Gawker Media

Digital Media

Gawker Media's 2016 bankruptcy was unusual—killed not by business failure but by litigation funded by a billionaire with a grudge. Peter Thiel, outed...

Defunct

GE Aerospace

Aerospace / Aviation

GE Aerospace generated $38.7 billion in 2024 revenue, but 70% came not from selling engines, but from servicing the 70,000 commercial and defense engi...

GE Capital

Financial Services

By 2007, GE Capital contributed over 50% of GE's profits while accumulating $500 billion in liabilities across real estate, leveraged buyouts, and con...

GE Healthcare

Healthcare Technology

General Electric spun off GE Healthcare in January 2023 as the conglomerate executed its forced trifurcation. The healthcare business posted $19.7 bil...

GE Vernova

Energy Infrastructure

When GE Vernova separated from its parent in April 2024, it carried $119 billion in backlog orders and technology generating a quarter of the world's...

Geberit

Sanitary Systems & Piping

Geberit dominates European sanitary systems by owning the invisible infrastructure behind every toilet and sink - not the fixtures consumers see, but...

smi

Geely Automobile Holdings

Automotive

Multi-brand portfolio architecture mirrors adaptive radiation across market niches: Geely Holding's 2024 aggregate sales reached 3.34 million units (+...

hsi, hangseng

GEICO

Insurance

GEICO is Berkshire Hathaway's insurance subsidiary that generates $12 billion annually - yet receives only $2 billion back for reinvestment. The other...

General Electric (Decline)

Conglomerate

GE's fall from most valuable company to split-up demonstrates how conglomerate complexity can hide rot. Jack Welch's legendary management masked GE Ca...

Declining, Former Dow 30

General Electric Aviation

Aerospace/Manufacturing

GE Aerospace generated $38.7 billion in revenue for 2024 (up 9% year-over-year) with a profit margin of 19.7%, but the company's metabolic reality cen...

General Growth Properties

Real Estate - Retail

General Growth Properties' 2009 bankruptcy was the largest real estate collapse in U.S. history at $27 billion in assets. The mall REIT had expanded a...

Defunct

General Mills

Packaged Foods

General Mills generated $19.5 billion revenue in fiscal 2025 (ended May), down 1.9% from 2024 as inflation-weary consumers reduced packaged food purch...

sp500

General Motors (2009)

Automotive

General Motors' 2009 bankruptcy was the fourth-largest in U.S. history at $89 billion in assets, forcing government intervention to preserve a company...

NYSE:GM

General Motors (Pre-Bankruptcy)

Automotive

GM's 2009 bankruptcy—the largest industrial bankruptcy in history—demonstrates how legacy costs can crush even dominant organisms. The company that on...

Defunct, Former Fortune 500

Genesis Global

Cryptocurrency Lending

Genesis Global's January 2023 bankruptcy revealed that the crypto industry's contagion from 2022 was still claiming victims. The lending platform, own...

Defunct

Genmab A/S

Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals

In 2024, Genmab generated DKK 21.5 billion (USD 3.1 billion) in revenue—a 31% increase—almost entirely from two products it doesn't manufacture: DARZA...

omx

Getaround

Transportation

Getaround, the peer-to-peer car sharing company, saw its SPAC valuation collapse from $1.2 billion to under $50 million as unit economics proved unwor...

Declining

Gilt Groupe

E-commerce

Gilt Groupe's 2016 sale for $250 million to Hudson's Bay represented a 75% markdown from peak $1.1 billion valuation. The flash sale pioneer created u...

Defunct

Gimbels

Department Store

Gimbels' 1987 closure ended the retailer immortalized in 'Miracle on 34th Street,' demonstrating how department stores faced existential pressure from...

Defunct

GitLab

Technology / Software

The all-remote software company that proves distributed work isn't about Zoom - it's about intentional topology. GitLab is the exemplar of distribute...

russell2000

Givaudan

Flavors & Fragrances

Givaudan commands 25% of the $30B global flavors and fragrances market through a biological strategy invisible to end consumers: chemical signaling ma...

smi

Givenchy

Luxury Fashion

In September 2024, LVMH appointed Sarah Burton—former creative director of Alexander McQueen—to lead Givenchy. Her debut collection launched in March...

Glacier Bancorp

Regional Banking

Glacier Bancorp is a regional multi-bank holding company providing commercial banking services through its bank subsidiaries in the Western United Sta...

russell2000

GlaxoSmithKline

Pharmaceuticals

GSK's 2024 performance—7% revenue growth, 13% core profit growth, 71 medicines in clinical development—masks a deeper strategic challenge: vaccine sal...

ftse100

Global Crossing

Telecommunications

Global Crossing's 2002 bankruptcy was among the largest of the telecom bust, destroying $50 billion in market value. The company had built fiber optic...

Defunct

Global Payments Inc.

Payment Processing

Global Payments is a payment technology and software company delivering payment processing and software solutions to merchants, financial institutions...

russell2000

GlobalFoundries

Semiconductor Manufacturing

Semiconductor manufacturing company that acquired IBM's semiconductor fabrication business in 2015. GlobalFoundries valued the fabs and manufacturing...

Gold's Gym

Fitness

Gold's Gym's May 2020 bankruptcy collapsed the iconic bodybuilding brand that launched Arnold Schwarzenegger's career. The company had franchised glob...

Bankrupt, Defunct

Goodman Group

Industrial Property

Goodman Group operates as ecosystem engineer for the logistics economy, constructing specialized habitats that reshape commercial behavior. The compan...

asx200

GoodRx Holdings

Healthcare Technology

GoodRx is a consumer-focused digital healthcare platform that helps Americans find affordable and convenient healthcare. The company offers prescripti...

russell2000

Google Cloud

Cloud Computing

Google's cloud computing platform, launched in 2008 but remaining a distant third to AWS and Azure. Captured approximately 13% global market share by...

Google Ventures

Venture Capital

Google's venture capital arm operates like a mycorrhizal network—channeling resources from Google's massive root system to promising startups while ex...

Private

GoPro Inc.

Consumer Electronics

GoPro is a technology company known for its action cameras and mountable and wearable camera accessories. The company develops and markets devices, so...

russell2000

Gopuff

Delivery & Logistics

Instant delivery service operating own micro-fulfillment centers for convenience items. Delivers snacks, drinks, and essentials in 30 minutes or less....

private

Gordmans

Retail

Gordmans filed bankruptcy twice - in 2017 and 2020 - before liquidating entirely. The Midwestern off-price retailer had been spun off from Boscov's, a...

Defunct

Gorillas

Delivery & Logistics

German ultra-fast grocery delivery startup promising delivery in 10 minutes. Raised over $1 billion in funding during the quick-commerce boom. Faced c...

private

GoTo Group (Gojek + Tokopedia)

Technology & E-commerce

GoTo is Indonesia's largest technology group, formed from the merger of Gojek and Tokopedia, offering ride-hailing, e-commerce, and financial services...

idx

Gottschalks

Retail

Gottschalks' 2009 liquidation closed a 105-year-old California department store chain. The company operated 58 stores in secondary Western markets whe...

Defunct

GoTV Networks

Media

GoTV Networks, a mobile video pioneer, collapsed in 2007 after betting on mobile TV before smartphones existed. The company raised $20M to deliver vid...

Defunct

Grammarly

Software

Grammarly provides AI-powered writing assistance across applications. Network effects through viral adoption with first-mover advantage.

private

Great Wall Motors

Automotive

Niche specialization in SUVs and pickup trucks creates competitive moats through accumulated domain expertise analogous to koalas evolving digestive s...

csi300, hsi

Gree Electric Appliances

Home Appliances

Gree Electric is the world's largest manufacturer of residential air conditioners, dominating the Chinese market with vertical integration and manufac...

csi300

Greensill Capital

Financial Services

Greensill Capital's 2021 collapse destroyed a $7 billion supply chain finance company in days when Credit Suisse froze funds and insurers withdrew cov...

Defunct, ftse250

Greylock Partners

Venture Capital

Reid Hoffman didn't just co-found LinkedIn—he codified why it worked. When he joined Greylock Partners in 2009, he brought an explicit thesis: invest...

Private

Grooveshark

Music Streaming

Grooveshark's 2015 shutdown from copyright lawsuits demonstrates how unlicensed music services face legal destruction. The streaming service allowed u...

Defunct

GTL Limited

Telecommunications

GTL Limited's 2012 bankruptcy represented India's largest corporate debt default at the time - $2.8 billion owed to 26 banks. The telecom infrastructu...

Defunct

Guaranty Bank (Texas)

Banking

Guaranty Bank's 2009 FDIC seizure was the largest Texas bank failure ever and the tenth-largest nationally. The bank had $13 billion in assets concent...

Defunct

Guitar Center (Bankruptcy)

Music Retail

Guitar Center's 2020 bankruptcy demonstrates how private equity debt can crush even category-dominant retailers. The music instrument giant controlled...

Bankrupt

Gymboree

Retail - Children's Apparel

Gymboree's two bankruptcies (2017, 2019) and ultimate liquidation demonstrated how children's apparel retail was being disrupted from multiple directi...

Defunct

Gymboree Corporation

Retail

Gymboree's 2017 and 2019 bankruptcies collapsed a children's clothing retailer that Bain Capital had acquired for $1.8 billion in 2010. The LBO loaded...

Defunct