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For sometime now, we’ve had a special project in the works. We wanted to give our listeners and readers a chance to hear a new Why Didn’t I Think of That?® feature every day, even if they’re away from the radio. And that’s exactly what we’ve done. Today marks the beginning phases of a plan [...]
Nobody thought about putting paint in an aerosol can until Ed Seymour. In 1949, Seymour was looking for a novel way to demonstrate a new aluminum paint. His wife suggested putting it in an aerosol can, like ones recently introduced for insecticides. To his surprise, the sprayer — not the paint — became the star of his demonstration.
While in Hawaii in the 1800′s, James Dole discovered a fruit most people had never seen or heard of before: The pineapple. He began importing the fruit to the mainland and introduced the country to this exotic, sweet treat. The pineapple became a national favorite, and the Dole Food Company became the largest supplier of fruits and vegetables in the world.
He started his first business in college. He sold his second business to Clear Channel. He came within four minutes of winning CBS’s the Amazing Race. He’s led an interesting life, but what Blake Mycoskie is best known for is starting TOMS Shoes, the company that has donated well over a million shoes to needy men, women, and children.
Today it’s as synonymous with sports as cheerleaders or sweatbands. But not too long ago, Gatorade was just a nameless concoction, cooked up to revitalize the University of Florida’s football team: the Gators. The Gators were losing. A lot. One reason for that was the hot Florida weather dehydrating the players. The “Gator-Aid” not only saved the team, but it has been hydrating and refreshing some of the world’s greatest athletes ever since.
Today’s Hall of Fame Spotlight: The Story of Gatorade.
What they do:
Shea Mullen contacts charity organizations and licenses logos of their old fundraisers. She re-uses the graphics on new tee shirts and sells the apparel.
Inspiration:
As a tee-shirt designer for major companies, Shea Mullen pays attention to what people wear. When she spotted a man wearing an authentic "1979 Leukemia Dance-a-thon" shirt, she was intrigued.
About the business:
Prints licensed logos of selected charity fundraisers from the 1970s and 80s on tee shirts, which she sells at specialty stores. Returns 20 percent of the proceeds to the charity organizations.
He started his first business in college. He sold his second business to Clear Channel. He came within four minutes of winning CBS’s the Amazing Race. He’s led an interesting life, but what Blake Mycoskie is best known for is starting TOMS Shoes, the company that has donated well over a million shoes to needy men, women, and children.
Here’s a mom-turned-entrepreneur who solved a common frustration that most of us just take for granted: Matching Socks.
This past April, 1,000 young entrepreneurs, including a list of who’s who in the world of Gen-Y innovators, boarded a lavish cruise ship bound for international waters. Each guest paid $3,500 to attend the invite-only “Summit at Sea,” where they spent three days doing yoga sessions, drinking, dancing, tagging sharks, taking survival courses, sun-tanning, and playing beach volleyball. Oh yeah, there were some workshops and lectures too.
While the Summit at Sea is the company’s most recent event, they’ve been building up their credibility for the last 3 years. According to Forbes, “Past Summit Series planted the seeds for multimedia search engine Qwiki (which got an $8 million investment, led by Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin), connected [Napster founder] Sean Parker with music site Spotify and introduced business owners to philanthropists, spurring $2 million in donations.”
We all use the internet. So why are some people getting paid for it? In this new series, I’ll be taking a look at some of the many ways entrepreneurs and industrious young (and old) capitalists are making money using nothing more than a keyboard and mouse.
Can you imagine ordering a book and having to wait while it was printed and bound? Of course not. But some small businesses across the country are starting to realize that having well-stocked inventories isn’t necessary for their business.
