These are dark days, folks.

But don't let them get you down.

Many a successful business has been started during a recession...

1. The Joe Rogan Experience

• Podcast

• Started 2009

• Earns $30 million per year

2. Okta

• Security software

• Started 2009

• $6 billion valuation in 2017

3. Airbnb

• Online marketplace

• Started 2008

• $31 billion valuation in 2017

4. On The Map Marketing

• SEO agency

• Started 2009

• $350,000 monthly revenue

5. Bitly

• URL shortening service

• Started 2008

• Sold majority stake for $63 million in 2017

6. Groove Networks

• Productivity software

• Started 2001

• Sold to Microsoft for $120 million in 2005

7. Loggly

• Cloud-based log management and analytics service provider

• Started 2009

• Raised $47 million in funding and sold for an undisclosed amount in 2019

8. EasyLunchboxes

• Meal and snack containers ecommerce

• Started 2009

• +$1 million annual revenue

9. T-Shirt Hell

• Website that sells humorous t-shirts

• Started 2001

• $1 million estimated annual revenue

10. Brown Thumb Mama

• A blog about natural living

• Started 2009

• $3,000 monthly revenue

11. Holstee

• Ecommerce

• Started 2009

• $4.9 million estimated annual revenue

12. Marques Brownlee (MKBHD)

• Tech YouTuber

• Started 2009

• Earns at least $500,000 per year

13. MonetizeMore

• Digital marketing agency

• Founder got laid off during 2009 recession, started business in 2010

• $1 million monthly revenue

14. Uber

• Ride-share app

• Started 2009

• $82 billion valuation in 2019

15. WallMonkeys

• Wall decal ecommerce

• Started 2009

• 7-figure revenues

16. Balsamiq

• Software for designers

• Started 2008

• $6 million in annual revenue

17. Brennan Dunn

• Freelance web dev, consulting, software

• Started 2008

• $20,000 per week in 2014

18. Groupon

• Ecommerce deals marketplace

• Started 2008

• $1.35 billion valuation in 2010

19. Thomas Digital

• WordPress web design agency

• Started 2009

• $48,000 monthly revenue

20. SFTourismTips

• Website with tourist tips for San Francisco

• Started 2009

• $5,000 per month

21. Asana

• Project management software

• Started 2008

• $1.5 billion valuation in 2018

22. The Adam Carolla Show

• Podcast

• Started 2009

• $5 million in 2015

23. Smart Passive Income

• A website about online business

• Started 2008

• +$150,000 per month

24. Fission Strategy

• Social media marketing agency

• Started 2008

• $1.2 million revenue in first full year

25. Stack Overflow

• Q&A website for programmers

• Started 2008

• $60 million estimated annual revenue

26. WhatsApp

• Messaging app

• Started 2009

• Sold to Facebook for $19 billion in 2014

27. GitHub

• Hosting for software development version control using Git

• Started 2008

• Sold to Microsoft for $7.5 billion in 2018

28. Quora

• Q&A website

• Started 2009

• $1.8 billion valuation in 2017

29. Chris Guillebeau

• Blogger, author, speaker

• Started 2008

• $48,500 in first 12 months

I also found this list of (mostly offline) businesses that were started during recessions, courtesy of Ryan Holiday in his book, The Obstacle Is The Way:

Do yourself a favor and run down the list of businesses started during depressions or economic crises.

Fortune magazine (ninety days after the market crash of 1929)
FedEx (oil crisis of 1973)
UPS (Panic of 1907)
Walt Disney Company (After eleven months of smooth operation, the twelfth was the market crash of 1929.)
Hewlett-Packard (Great Depression, 1935)
Charles Schwab (market crash of 1974–75)
Standard Oil (Rockefeller bought out his partners in what became Standard Oil and took over in February 1865, the final year of the Civil War.)
Coors (Depression of 1873)
Costco (recession in the late 1970s)
Revlon (Great Depression, 1932)
General Motors (Panic of 1907)
Proctor & Gamble (Panic of 1837)
United Airlines (1929)
Microsoft (recession in 1973–75)
LinkedIn (2002, post–dot-com bubble)

Full list of references, etc. in original article.

Any other successful businesses you know of that were started during a recession?