How much does it really cost to produce a T-shirt? In most cases, you’ll never know, but EVERLANE wants to change that. EVERLANE was launched in 2011 as an online clothing retailer with transparent pricing. Instead of just a sticker price, clothes sold through EVERLANE include a breakdown of the production costs. The company wants to educate consumers by letting them know where they source their materials from, how much they cost, and how much the company makes. Their radical approach was the brainchild of Michael Preysman. It apparently struck a chord with consumers, as the company now generates over $40 million in revenue. The success of the company may surprise some, as they mostly offer no-frills, modern designs. The clothes available from EVERLANE can resemble the simplistic items that you’d find at Old Navy or Gap.. So, how did a clothing retailer with minimalist designs succeed in a …
The Rise of Airbnb: Taking Over the Hospitality Industry
Airbnb was founded in 2008 with just a single listing. A little over a decade later, you can browse close to two million listings, which includes over 30,000 tiny houses and 5,000 castles. About 150 million users offer up their homes and properties in over 65,000 cities across the globe. That’s quite the operation.. So, how did Airbnb go from renting a single room with an air mattress to a $31 billion company with millions of listings? Here is a closer look at what it took for the founders of Airbnb to disrupt the hospitality industry. Renting Out an Apartment to Cover Rent The story of Airbnb starts in 2007 in San Francisco. Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia were designers that met at the Rhode Island School of Design and moved out west after college. As with many young professionals in Silicon Valley, Chesky and Gebbia were struggling to pay …
Siete Foods: Reinventing Classic Mexican-American Food
If you’ve browsed the chip aisle of your local grocery store in the past year or two, you’ve likely seen Siete tortillas & tortilla chips. The popular brand is relatively new to the scene, yet it’s slowly reinventing the way people think about Mexican-American food. Instead of wheat or corn, the tortilla chips are grain-free. They are made with natural alternatives, such as almonds and chickpeas. Despite the massive popularity of Siete Family Foods, the company is still a family-owned and operated business. The Garzas are the family behind the brand, led by siblings Miguel and Veronica. They recently obtained $90 million in funding and appear ready to take over the natural foods industry. So, how did a Mexican-American family launch the fastest-growing company in the natural food industry? Here’s the story of entrepreneurs Miguel and Veronica Garza – the founders of Siete Family Foods. Who Are …
UFC to Podcast Heavy-Hitter: Joe Rogan Hits the Mark
Joe Rogan is a household name, even if you don’t quite remember what he’s famous for. Some people remember Joe Rogan from his time on NewsRadio. Others think of his stint as the original host of Fear Factor. However, his acting career pales in comparison to his position as one of the most successful podcasters in recent history. So, how did Joe Rogan go from supporting actor on a sitcom to the host of a wildly popular podcast? Certainly not from blending in with the rest of the crowd.. Facing Fear Comes Naturally to Joe Rogan Joe Rogan helped people face their fears on Fear Factor, which is something that he strongly believes in. Early in his life, Joe overcame his own fears by taking up martial arts. He’s stated that he was “terrified of being a loser” growing up. Practicing martial arts was a natural …
Wash, Rinse, Repeat: Briogeo CEO Nancy Twine Renews Hair Care
Nancy Twine has the distinction of being the youngest African-American to launch a line of hair care products at Sephora. After spending seven years working on Wall Street, she ditched finance for beauty. She’s now the CEO of a multi-million-dollar company and carving out a niche in a crowded industry. So how did Nancy Twine go from managing investments to managing one of the fastest-growing hair care lines? It turns out this wasn’t a sudden career change. Nancy started making natural hair care products years before reaching Wall Street. Let’s take a detailed look at the history of Briogeo and the CEO behind it. Who Is Nancy Twine? Nancy Twine is the founder and CEO of Briogeo. She founded the company in 2013 before the age of 30 after working for one of the largest financial companies in the world. However, her experience with making organic …
Tory Burch: The Grateful Billionaire
The Tory Burch story is an aspirational example of hard work, dedication, and gratitude paving the way to great success. Successful entrepreneurs take advantage of every opportunity, adding knowledge to a growing arsenal of experience that can be drawn upon later. By remaining true to herself as a thoughtful risk-taker, she carved out a career that would take her to the top. Tory consistently applied the values she developed throughout her life to her business decisions & by doing so.. she has managed to create one of the most powerful brands in history. Tory Burch Learned About Philanthropy as a Child You might be surprised to learn that Tory Burch—one of the world’s few self-made female billionaires and an international fashion industry icon—started life as a self-professed tomboy. Tory grew up in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania alongside her three brothers, spending much of her free time climbing trees …
How Singer Vehicle Design Reimagined Classic Car Restoration
From car designer to rock musician to car restoration expert, the career of Rob Dickinson has most certainly come full circle. As the singular vision behind Singer Vehicle Design, Rob Dickinson has helped breathe new life into the car restoration world. Specifically, he helps revitalize the cult-favorite Porsche 911. Starting at $475,000 and quickly climbing to prices exceeding $1.8 million, the Singer Porsche 911 Reimagined is the dream vehicle of car aficionados everywhere. Each car is carefully restored to make it roadworthy and the envy of other motorists. What led a rock singer to the world of car restoration? What makes Singer Vehicle Design stand out and command such high prices for classic cars? To answer these questions, we need to take a closer look at the history of Rob Dickinson and the cars he loves. So Who Is Rob Dickinson? Rob Dickinson was born and raised …
Halo Top: How the Ice Cream Brand Achieved Freezer Domination
Halo Top is not your ordinary ice cream. It’s a low-sugar ice cream created in a kitchen and now found on store shelves around the world. Launched in 2011, Halo Top became an overnight sensation in 2016 and sold to Wells Enterprises in 2019 for an undisclosed sum. Insiders predict the deal was potentially worth close to $2 billion. The man behind the wildly successful ice cream is Justin Woolverton. Woolverton was a corporate lawyer by trade, which came in handy as he built his ice cream empire. The company has faced a few legal hurdles, including a lawsuit from a New Jersey Dairy Farm and a class-action lawsuit from an unsatisfied customer. Despite some hiccups, Woolverton and his company have persevered. So, how did Woolverton go from mixing ingredients in his kitchen to selling millions of dollars’ worth of ice cream? Let’s take a closer look at his …
More Than Shoes: Allbirds Founders Brown & Zwillinger Make a Difference
Starting a footwear company without branding or flashy marketing ads seems as if it would be a recipe for disaster. For Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger, it was the key to their success. The story appears unlikely but true. Tim Brown, a former professional footballer, and Joey Zwillinger, the president of a biotech firm, built Allbirds. For those who aren’t familiar with the brand, Allbirds is a New Zealand-American shoe company founded in 2016. Allbirds has a small line of footwear for women, men, and children, featuring shoes made from sustainable sources such as wool and castor bean oil. The company was valued at over $1.4 billion in 2018 and continues to grow. They’ve made shoes worn by the biggest celebs. They’ve managed to do all this in just a few years with a product line that only includes a few different shoes and a limited selection of colors. …
How CEO of 23andMe Anne Wojcicki Modernized DNA Testing
If there’s a gene for entrepreneurship, the Wojcicki family has it. Susan Wojcicki is the CEO of YouTube. Her sister Janet is a leading anthropologist and epidemiologist. Their youngest sister Anne is the CEO and co-founder of 23andMe, the world’s first direct-to-consumer genetics testing service. And yes, their mother Esther Wojcicki wrote a book about parenting, which is called How to Raise Successful People. (The key is letting your child lead, she says.) Perhaps it was the family’s propensity for entrepreneurship that prompted Anne to explore the idea of an FDA-approved genetics testing service for anyone willing to part with $100 and some saliva. The core concept is not, after all, something many entrepreneurs consider. She herself, however, says her idea emerged because she is “obsessed with bringing the consumer voice to healthcare.” 23andMe has certainly given individual people unprecedented access to their own genetic information, data that even …