How Domino's Went from $14 to Billions! Part 1

In 1960, when Domino’s Pizza first opened, the entire day’s sales were only $14.

But no one knew that a newspaper-selling boy — who grew up without a father’s support and without a mother’s love — would one day become the owner of more than 18,000 pizza outlets.

However, this victory against circumstances was not simple.

The pizza store that started with borrowed money faced countless hardships during its journey to success. Sometimes the owner was abandoned, sometimes all his savings were lost to fraud, sometimes he was betrayed by partners, and most importantly — even the store’s original name belonged to someone else.

There were million-dollar lawsuits and even disgusting viral videos that damaged the reputation he had built over years.

This is the story of Thomas Monaghan, who built a billion-dollar empire from zero despite all these struggles.

Thomas Monaghan was born on March 25, 1937, in Michigan, USA, in a middle-class family.

His father worked as a truck driver and his mother worked in a nursing school.

When Tom was only 4 years old, his father died.

His mother, unable to support the children, placed Tom and his brother Jim into government care for seven years.

Tom’s childhood was extremely difficult.

He grew up without parental love, living in foster homes and strict boarding schools. He struggled in school, barely passed high school, and although he got admission to the University of Michigan, he didn’t even have money for tuition.

Life kept giving him shocks. Eventually, he started delivering newspapers door-to-door. From here he began learning the basics of business and saving money. But even his small savings were lost in a fraud.

In 1959, Tom’s brother Jim came to him with an idea that would change his life.

Jim worked as a postman and also part-time at a restaurant owned by Dominick DiVarti. The owner wanted to sell a closed restaurant cheaply. The price was $500, but the buyer also had to pay a $2,000 debt.

The brothers took a $900 loan and bought the restaurant. They kept the same name, and the previous owner even taught them recipes and sauce-making techniques.

They opened officially on December 9, 1960 — and earned $14 on the first day.

At first they had no telephone; customers came in person. Later they started delivery service by hiring factory workers on commission.

After six months, daily profit reached $7, but when the nearby college semester ended, sales dropped to $28.

Soon disagreements began between the brothers. After a fight, Jim left the business. Tom gave him a Volkswagen car (used for delivery) in exchange for his 50% share. Jim happily accepted — not knowing he made a terrible deal.

Now Tom became the 100% owner, but he had to work full-time. He often slept in the restaurant and survived on burnt pizzas.

Slowly sales increased again. Tom researched other pizza stores and improved recipes. An Italian restaurant owner gave him a special sauce recipe, and customers loved it.

Someone advised him to open another branch, so he brought in a partner — but this became his biggest mistake.

The new partner Jim Gilmore joined without paying the promised $500 and took 50% profit share. He mismanaged the store, possibly stole cash, and avoided losses due to clever contract terms.

Eventually, the matter went to court. The partnership ended, but Tom suffered heavy losses.

Then another problem appeared: the restaurant name.

The original owner demanded Tom stop using “Dominick’s.”

Tom was shocked because he had worked hard promoting that name. Someone suggested choosing a similar name so customers could still find him in the phone book.