Two sound-studio partners thought they could build a quieter .22 can in a garage. Eighteen years later, SilencerCo runs an 80-yard indoor range, an integrally suppressed pistol, and a lobbying habit - and the federal tax on the thing they sell just dropped to zero.
You may never shop for Helen of Troy. You may already own three of its products. The company behind OXO, Hydro Flask, Osprey and a crowded bathroom shelf has spent five decades mastering the art of being everywhere without being obvious.