I think "back then" it worked a bit differently. I think a lot of these inventers at the time worked on their own. They might have gotten funding from people like JP Morgan and such, but not "really" a company per se.
I generally really like history, but I really don't know much about how "inventions" are done back then. When making the cotton gin did Whitney work for someone, or what he on his own. Bonus fact he made the first revolvers for Colt.....
I think they got funding from other big business guys, hay I have this idea for a repeating gun, the Volcanic gun company makes a few but it really does not go anywhere, falls apart and the gamble does not pay off. They try again, this time a guy that does Shirts buys in and the next thing you know we have Winchester, he foot the bill and took the risk.
I think this is the way it should work. Winchester gambled and won, and "put" or "allowed", whatever people that knew what they are doing run the show.
I need to read up more on this part of history.