Who founded The Coca-Cola Company, and what is his entrepreneurial story?

When talking about the founder of Coca-Cola, we have to mention a pharmacist named John Pemberton.

His story is quite dramatic. Pemberton himself fought in the American Civil War, was wounded, and consequently became addicted to morphine for pain relief. As a pharmacist, he was particularly keen to invent something that could replace morphine and also be invigorating to help him overcome his addiction.

Initially, he concocted a drink containing alcohol and cocaine (which was a legal drug at the time), called "Pemberton's French Wine Coca," which was quite popular back then.

However, this didn't last long, as his city, Atlanta, began to enforce prohibition. Left with no choice, Pemberton had to reluctantly modify the formula, removing the alcohol and turning it into a non-alcoholic beverage. He took this new formula to a pharmacy, where it was mixed with soda water and sold by the glass at the soda fountain for five cents a cup.

The name "Coca-Cola" and the classic, flowing script logo we see today were not Pemberton's ideas. They were the brainchild of his partner and accountant, Frank Robinson. Robinson thought the two "C"s would look great in advertising, so he created the name and the logo.

The most interesting part, however, is that while Pemberton invented Coca-Cola, he was not a good businessman. He was constantly plagued by financial problems and poor health. Before his death, he gradually sold off his company shares, reportedly for a total of only about $1,750.

The person who truly took Coca-Cola to the world and transformed it into a business empire was Asa Candler, who later bought the entire company. Candler was a natural marketing genius; through extensive advertising, free sample coupons, and other methods, he turned Coca-Cola from a pharmacy drink into the globally recognized brand it is today.

So, to summarize: a pharmacist, seeking to solve his own troubles, inadvertently created the formula; a business-minded partner gave it a name and an image; and finally, a marketing genius propelled it to worldwide fame.