By now, most people think that private Zoos are dumpster fires. But if Netflix wants to do another season of Tiger King, the Phoenix Zoo would make for a much more moving and murder-less (as far as we know) place... Robert Maytag grew up around the appliance business (hence, the name—his grandfather was the founder of the Maytag corporation). But eventually, you get tired of the family business, especially if it’s something as boring as washing machines. In the spring of 1961, Robert had a wild idea. He had a vision for Phoenix, invited his friends over, and pitched it to them: the Arizona Zoological Society. They started reaching out to people in Arizona. Influential people. They got their community to rally around the idea of a zoo. But, Robert Maytag died less than a year later and if it wasn't for his wife, the zoo would've failed. She refused to let his death mess everything up. She declared it would be completed on schedule in memory of her husband. That fired the people up. Everyone in the community came together to make sure that the zoo was opened in November of ’62. At first, it struggled financially, but it got by. Over time, it accomplished some pretty cool things:
Do you ever come up with an idea while folding laundry? Why not rally the troops and do something awesome? **Here's the zoo's website. **Read more FS Stories here. If you liked reading this article, you might also like The Wedge: a quick-to-read weekly e-mail newsletter with awesome business stories that'll increase your creativity and resourcefulness just by reading them. Learn more and sign up here. Comments are closed.
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