Entrepreneur Friday
WHO: Holly Craig
WHAT: Magpie Lovely
WHERE: Nashville, TN
WHEN: 2009
HOW: Holly Craig was a former boutique owner and full-time mom. After her husband was offered a great new career opportunity, the family relocated to Nashville, Craig sold her storefront and its inventory, and planned to start fresh in a new town. She would have loved to find and open another retail spot, but the 10-hour days they called for weren’t possible with young kids. An online business, however, was another story.
In the spring of 2009 that Craig began developing an idea for an Internet-based eco-friendly boutique – hosting only handmade products. More…
WHO: Mehdi Maghsoodnia
WHAT: BookRenter.com
WHERE: Santa Clara, CA
WHEN: 2008
HOW: For many students, life after graduation means facing a mountain of student loan debt. When considering all of the costs associated with college – beyond tuition and into the cost of computers and textbooks – that debt can rack up, and amount to a significant setback. Mehdi Maghsoodnia saw this problem, and made it his goal to develop a solution. “In a public community college, you can end up paying more for textbooks than you do for the course credits,” says Maghsoodnia. “Why can’t it be more affordable for students? We have to make it affordable, accessible and effective.” More…
WHO: David Arrick
WHAT: Butch Bakery
WHERE: New York, NY
WHEN: 2009
HOW: David Arrick, like many, found himself – and his source of steady employment – a victim of the recession. After he was laid off, Arrick, who worked in commercial real estate, thought he’d hit it big when he landed a job in Dubai. “But then the global economy took a hit,” says Arrick, and as he packed boxes in his New York City apartment, he again found himself unemployed. “I had cashed out my 401(k) and blown through my savings,” says Arrick, “and I thought to myself, ‘how much worse could it get?’” Fortunately for Arrick, he didn’t have to find out. During a walk around his downtown neighborhood, Arrick’s attention was captured by the around-the-block line outside of a “cupcakery” on Bleecker Street. More…
WHO: Frank Zammataro
WHAT: Rentricity
WHERE: New York, NY
WHEN: 2003
HOW: While we’re still fighting to lower unemployment and stabilize the housing market, at least one business sector is going strong. GreenBiz’s semi-annual “Green and the Economy” survey shows that companies are willing to spend money on products and services that will help them be green and eco-conscious – and Frank Zammataro is taking advantage. After leaving Wall Street in 2000, Zammataro was looking for a new project – and after 9/11, an idea for a business spurred while he looked at New York City water towers. More…
WHO: Jen Bilik
WHAT: Knock Knock – fun and functional gifts.
WHERE: Venice, California
WHEN: 2002
HOW: It took a belated Christmas card, a blindside of a breakup, and a lack of motivation for Jen Bilik to launch a business. An odd combination, but for a passionate writer who suddenly found herself dabbling in graphic design, having an unexpected inspiration to try something new wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling. After leaving her in-house publishing career to freelance on her own, Bilik tried her hand in a few different projects for about six years (a period she refers to as “the abyss”). One of her projects, a children’s book, was simply not More…
WHO: Melanie Wilt
WHAT: Wilt Public Relations
WHERE: S. Charleston, Ohio
WHEN: 2008
HOW: Melanie Wilt had spent most of her working years multi-tasking. Working in communications and media positions everywhere from the agriculture to technology firms, all while doing freelance PR and spokesperson consulting and training on the side, Wilt had a great deal of experience – but she also had an itch to venture out on her own. Having grown up on a farm in Ohio, her community focused on agriculture and horticulture, Wilt had seen the impact the industry had on rural communities like her own. More…
WHO: Emily Dubner
WHAT: Baking for Good
WHERE: New York, NY
WHEN: 2009
HOW: Emily Dubner, a Harvard graduate, has been baking since she was a little girl. From decorating sugar cookies with her mom for school bake sales, to baking cookies as gifts for her college roommates, Dubner knew that baking was one of her favorite things – but it wasn’t until her mom received a gift basket of cookies from a friend that she ever thought of baking as a business. “I started thinking about the idea of an online bake sale,” says Dubner, “a company that would not only offer delicious, high-quality treats, but that would also incorporate the spirit of the bake sale by raising money for great causes.” More…
WHO: Ronni Blasz
WHAT: Skylands Saddlery
WHERE: New Jersey
WHEN: 2006
HOW: Ronni Blasz entered the business world and climbed the corporate ladder far quicker than she had imagined. After graduating from business school and beginning work in New York, she found herself in a director position at Merrill Lynch at the age of 29. She excelled – but had reservations – and when she was suddenly fired without warning, those reservations were confirmed. “I was bitter, angry, and upset,” says Blasz about her job loss, but when she was offered a consulting position with her former company three years later, with the promise of a full-time position after 60 days, she knew she needed to take it. However, 60 days came and went, and six years later, Blasz found herself still consulting – but also wanting a way out. More…
WHO: Cynthia Hayes
WHAT: Oculus Partners
WHERE: Atlanta, GA
WHEN: 2008
HOW: Some people, when they think of retirement, think of golfing, beach houses, and sleeping in – a far cry from Cynthia Hayes’ retirement dreams. They included launching a business that, not so coincidentally, would help others save for and achieve their own retirement goals. “I was feeling a bit uninspired and unfulfilled,” says Hayes, formerly a Managing Director at Merrill Lynch, “plus, I had always targeted age 55 as the time to do something on my own.” So when Merrill offered her a voluntary early retirement in April of 2008 – months before she had planned to make the jump – she leapt and started work on her new project. One full day (literally), some phone calls, and a Linked In account later, Hayes was in business. More…
WHO: Matt Buchan & Alex Garcia
WHAT: Emerson Salon
WHERE: Seattle, WA
WHEN: 2008
HOW: Not everyone can say their business blossomed at a Cyndi Lauper concert – but Matt Buchan and Alex Garcia aren’t everyone. “We had always wanted to get into the retail business,” says Buchan of the team’s goals, “but we hadn’t really found anything we were excited about.” More…
