Alibaba’s Taobao emerged during the SARS epidemic of 2003 and Apple’s iPod took to market as the dotcom bubble burst in 2000. Airbnb was founded in 2008 and some of the world’s most powerful companies were started during steep economic slumps, including Uber (2009), Microsoft (1975), Disney (1923), General Motors (1908) and General Electric (1890).

One …