Posted May 21, 2012
THE CHALLENGE
Will frugal entrepreneurs pay for fancy extras?
WHAT THEY DID: Even in the Digital Age, people use business cards. But Richard Moross, 34, figured out that small businesses, watching every dime, aren't keen on paying a pricey traditional printer- nor do they want to go too cheap. In 2004 he launched Moo.com, a digital business-card company now based in London and Providence. Moross says he differentiated it by offering top-quality heavy stock, at prices only about 20% higher than the cheaper stuff. It also prints in tiny 50-card runs-and offers custom ized options. "A realtor can show different residential properties on every card;' he says. After attract ing $5 million in venture capital funding, the company has grown to 95 employees and annual revenue in the "tens of millions:'
THE CHALLENGE
Taking an ordinary commoditized product and making it something special
WHAT THEY DID: Tired of stressful careers in New York, Rob Israel, 49, and his wife, Renee, 43, decided to chuck it all and start a business. They moved to Boulder and opened a mall kiosk selling all-natural, fresh popcorn. Drawing on Renee's adver tising background at Digitas, they launched Doc Popcorn and built a following with flavors like Sinfully Cinnamon. "We'd seen what hap pened with Auntie Anne's Pretzels, turning a commoditized product into something special;' says Rob.
Expanding to malls and places like Denver's Pepsi Center, they became franchisers in 2010. They gener ated $4 million in revenue in 2011 and expect to have 100 units and
$12 million in sales in 2012. On average, says Rob, they're awarding a new franchise a week.
THE CHALLENGE
How do you compete with the 500-pound gorilla of the Internet?
WHAT THEY DID: Like many moms, Joyce Shulman, 46, turned to online event listings to find weekend activities for her kids. But she discovered that those directories missed a lot. The attorney saw a niche for local-listings sites aimed at families who want to know about every kid-oriented adventure in town. Along with her advertising executive husban d, Eric Cohen, 48, and friend Nicki Hembi, 39, she created Macaroni Kid, a platform for such sites, in 2009. Cohen projects $1.2 million in revenue for 2012, about double that of 2011. How does it work? In exchange for a $59-a-month fee, the company's 402 licensees get the right to compile listings for a single town on a Macaroni Kid-branded website and e-newsletter. They make money by selling ads to local merchants.
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