Amid a spike in interest rates and a sagging stock market, James Casey, 19, borrows $100 to start UPS, in Seattle, in 1907. His timing is great: The Klondike Gold Rush has flooded the town with thousands of transient new residents, many of whom send and receive notes by messenger. Most services are unreliable and seedy. Casey succeeds by insisting that his delivery boys show up on time, wear tidy (though not yet dark brown) uniforms, and treat customers with courtesy.