Nike's empire began with a single storefront, which opened across the street from this bar in the '60s as "Blue Ribbon Sports." Among its employees: Olympic runner Steve "Pre" Prefontaine.
Students at NYU (a 2011 Most Innovative Company) are drawn to this close-to-campus cafe, known for free Wi-Fi and good eats. Order a cup of the house blend and a chicken pesto sandwich.
Philip Lim was so inspired by the fashions at this luxe retailer--where he once worked--that he decided to pursue a career in design. His first step? Landing an internship with Katayone Adeli.
This hospital is the heart of SynCardia’s artificial heart business. Of the 368 devices implanted in U.S. patients, 113 have been performed here--more than at any other clinic in the country.
Can’t get enough of Charles Barkley, Turner’s opinionated and loquacious NBA analyst? Good, because he loves eating at this chain, which was started by TBS and CNN founder Ted Turne
In 2009, Univision sponsored a Times Square ball-drop to celebrate the last minute of analog TV in the U.S. The next year, the network scored its first-ever weekly ratings win among adults 18-49.
After full days of app-development, staffers at Voxiva (a 2011 Most Innovative Company) break bread at this British pub around the corner from their D.C. office.
John DeWeese and Octavio Good, founders of WordLens (a 2011 Most Innovative Company), regularly frequent this pizza joint, which they can see from their office windows.
ARM's microprocessors are in almost all the world’s smartphones, so its employees have a lot to accomplish every day. But after work, they relax at this local pub, which is more than 300 years old.
"Real Housewives of New Jersey" cast member Teresa Giudice flipped a table here while filming the show's first-season finale, which drew record ratings for Bravo (a 2011 Most Innovative Company).
This center houses two of the country's most powerful supercomputers, but they'll soon be supplanted by Dawning Information's Tianhe 1A, which can process 2.57 quadrillion operations per second.
Behold, the store that launched a thousand ad campaigns: In 1902, Caleb Bradham, inventor of Pepsi (a 2011 Most Innovative Company) sold his product here.
SolarCity (a 2011 Most Innovative Company) installed 650 KW of solar panels atop five rooftops on this eBay campus, making it the largest commercial solar installation in San Jose.
The documentary “Jordan Rides the Bus,” which is set here, chronicles the perplexing minor-league career of basketball’s greatest player. Watch it on ESPN (a 2011 Most Innovative Company).
Google's co-founders park their personal planes (including a 767) at a field here in exchange for a hefty fee, and permission to let the government use the planes to conduct scientific experiments.
The iPhone app Hipstamatic--which lets anyone create avant garde photos by tapping a button--got art world validation at this gallery, which hosted an exhibit of all-Hipstamatic photos.
In 1997, Canyon Video charged CEO Reed Hastings a $40 late fee for "Apollo 13," sparking the idea for Netflix. The store used to be at this exact location, which is now, ironically, a post office.
Before they had an office, Jenn Hyman and Jenny Fleiss, the founders of Rent the Runway (a 2011 Most Innovative Company) worked from this food oasis, home to such eateries as Buddakan and Sarabeth's.
Shazam (a 2011 Most Innovative Company) can identify more than 10 million tracks from just a few notes, making it a great tool for people attending this year's South By Southwest music festival.
Let there be light: The solar-power system in this cathedral was designed, financed, and installed by SolarCity (#38 on Fast Company's 2011 list of Most Innovative Companies)
In May 2010, Charles Okeke left this clinic with a Total Artificial Heart from SynCardia (a 2011 Most Innovative Company), becoming the first patient to await a heart transplant at home.
Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe's (a 2011 Most Innovative Company), pursued his MBA on this campus. His first post-grad gig? Working for drugstore chain Owl-Rexall.
In 2016, this stadium will host the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four. Broadcasts will alternate between Turner’s cable stations and CBS, as part of a $10.8 billion deal stretching over 14 years.
On February 6, 2010, Ustream (a 2011 Most Innovative Company) made its first foray into pay-per-view, charging users $5 to watch Dane Cook’s stand-up act live from this arena.
"Hey Jude," the Beatles' top-selling digital track, was originally recorded at this studio in 1968.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos owns three linked units in this jewel overlooking Central Park (and a Barnes & Noble). He bought it for $7.6 million, roughly 0.9% of what Amazon paid for Zappos in 2009.
Azul Airlines (a 2011 Most Innovative Company) flew 2 million people in the year following its December 2008 debut--an impressive takeoff. This airport, one of Brazil's busiest, serves as Azul’s hub.
Located just a few blocks from Coke HQ, this eatery bills itself as the world’s largest drive-in restaurant, and holds the largest independent Coca-Cola fountain account in the U.S.
When he first moved to Los Angeles, Conan O'Brien, founder of Conaco Productions (a 2011 Most Innovative Company), worked at this retailer. No word on whether or not he was replaced with Jay Leno.
