All of these companies were started between 50 and 150 years ago, when there was much less competition. These days you need a better story for how you're going to win a market and keep it.
While that's true that there were fewer people starting businesses, there were also proportionally fewer consumers in the world. I'm not sure things were any easier 50-150 years ago in that respect.
IMO only VCs want a bullsh!t "story". The rest of the world just wants X for $C and doesn't have access to it yet because the competitors aren't big enough. Brand loyalty, network effects, and cost of switching applies to some certain markets, but also doesn't apply to a lot of markets.
Nobody reads the story behind the founding of Taco Bell or Del Taco. They just get hungry, see the sign, and eat. Billion dollar business right there.
