RXBar: Dyslexic Entrepreneur Advantage
One successful entrepreneur was so dedicated to perfection he fired his own mother, but the high standards he set for his business is what grew RXBar to be sold to Kellogg’s for $600 million in 2017. RXBAR’S CEO The entrepreneur is Peter Rahal, CEO and co-founder of @RXBar alongside his childhood best friend Jared Smith. The clean label protein […]
Vitamix: Blender as a Best Friend
Product warning: May cause dancing in the kitchen and obsession with liquifying all meals. Vitamix isn’t just a blender, it’s a lifelong companion. While many consumers are deterred by the thought of paying $250-500 for a smoothie maker, those who have taken the plunge swear it changed their life. VITAMIX’S HISTORY @Vitamix has always been an advocate […]
Shopify: Fixing Your Own Problems
Many would be entrepreneurs have a business idea but lack the expertise to execute it. Lucky for Tobias Lütke, when he noticed there was a need for an e-commerce platform, he had the programming experience necessary to create a website for it, now known as Shopify. The need arose in 2004 when Lütke wanted to sell […]
BaubleBar: Best Friends and Business
Attentive customer service is at the forefront of every company’s focus these days, but BaubleBar takes their customer service one step further to give their customers the perfect shopping experience. CO-FOUNDERS Amy Jain and Daniella Yacobovsky are best friends and businesses partners, normally a risky move but the perfect balance for them. They met while at analyst […]
Simply Gum: Chew on That
Chewing gum is chewing gum, right? Until you look up the actual definition: a sweetened and flavored insoluble plastic material used for chewing. Or: Chewing gum is some kind of flavored and sweetened rubber material for chewing. Right on par with this generation’s healthy, natural and organic movement, one entrepreneur looked at her purple, unnatural […]
Our Coffee with a Cause: Philanthropy and Business
The unemployment rate for college educated adults with Autism is 85%. That number is even higher for autistic adults and teens who do not have higher education. Stacey Wohl, a single mother of two autistic children, wanted to do something about the lack of career opportunities for young adults with disabilities, so in 2015, she […]
Urbio: From Start Up to Steamroller
How to start your own business with no experience? Design a product people can’t help but throw their money at. Urbio became a distinguished name in the design world after its appearance on Shark Tank in 2013, but even before the incredible publicity of being caught in a bidding war between sharks, the company made waves […]
Crocs: A Billion Dollar Fashion Crime
If a failing company asked you for marketing help, would you tell them to stay ugly? After a rollercoaster of sales that’s exactly what Crocs did, and it seems to be working. The controversial @Crocs shoe dates back to 2002 when Scott Seamans, Lyndon “Duke” Hanson, and George Boedecker, Jr. banded together to create an affordable foam boating shoe, […]
Red Bull Energy: Creating Brand Myth
Spawned from jet lag, Red Bull is a perfect example of how to grow in a market that you created. Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz was overseas in Thailand for his job as a toothpaste salesman when he needed a boost of energy to help fight the time change. He happened upon Krating Daeng, created by Chalea Yoovidhya, […]
ModKat Litter Box: Invention Out of Necessity
It’s a funny thing; when you put people in small spaces and force them to maximize the efficiency of every item in their tiny apartment, incredible inventions come out of it. Rich Williams attributes his successful reinvention of the humble litter box to his two cats Mika and Sashi, his modern but small Brooklyn apartment, […]
