E NT RE P RE NE UR’ S START UP S START YOUR OWN BU S INE S S START YOUR OWN BUSINESS S UM ME R New Business Ideas How to Beat Big Competitors P.16 P.10 Inventors: Wham-O Wants You! Why Poke Bars Are Booming P.36 P.66 The Guide to Bootstrapping Power Up Your Emails P.22 P.18 Hottest Franchises to Buy Spend Time Like You Spend Money P.49 Summer 2018 DISPLAY UNTIL 9/17/18 P.80 CONTENTS FEATURES SUMMER 2018 30 OPPORTUNITY IS EVERYWHERE! Two friends take a vacation to Mongolia, get stuck for a month in the middle of nowhere, and then concoct a better way to buy raw cashmere The $45 million apparel brand came three years later 36 THE INVENTORS’ HIT MACHINE IS BACK Wham-O made its name on quirky toys sourced from inventors’ garages Now it’s primed to produce a new generation of wacky ideas 42 66 BY KRIS FRIESWICK BY BOYD FARROW SHE’LL DO IT HER WAY Women have increasingly turned to franchising to take charge of their careers as well as their lives FRANCHISING’S BIG NEW THING: RAW FISH Poke restaurant concepts have exploded nationwide But will the trend last? BY JOE KEOHANE P H O T O G R A P H C O U R T E SY O F N A A D A M C A S H M E R E BY ADAM LAUKHUF pg 30 Unlikey cashmere kings Diederik Rijsemus (left) and Matt Scanlan S TA R T U P S S u m m e r CONTENTS pg 28 Fridababy’s queen of snot, CEO Chelsea Hirschhorn DEPARTMENTS TRANSITION A men’s yoga brand pivots after discovering it misunderstood males 16 BY BOYD FARROW GET STARTED CEOs share six business ideas they wish someone, somewhere would bring to market 10 18 BY KRIS FRIESWICK BY BLAIRE BRIODY OPPORTUNITY Startups can proit hugely when their giant competitors fail S u m m e r S TA R T U P S MARKETING How to turn your email signature into a lead generator 20 28 BY JASON FEIFER BY JOE KEOHANE FRANCHISE SUCCESS What’s it like running a business with family? These duos can tell you 22 49 80 BY TRACY STAPP HEROLD BY JASON FEIFER TEAM When your staf knows the company better than you do, you should listen MONEY No money? No problem! These bootstrappers built companies without pursuing investors DEVELOPMENT Necessity was and is the mother of new baby products for this mom THE LIST Entrepreneur’s top 10 franchise categories of 2018 74 BACK PAGE You can’t everything, but you can more than you think you can P H O T O G R A P H BY J E F F O L S O N 07 PROTECTED I N T H E FAC E O F T H E U N E X P E C T E D Customized business insurance for more peace of mind As a small business owner, you know irsthand that each day can bring its challenges With over 30 coverage options for customized insurance, we can build a policy that’s tailored for your business—from a full line of Commercial Auto insurance to General Liability, Workers’ Compensation, Business Owners policies, and more Because when your unique business needs are covered, you can focus on what matters most—running your business ProgressiveCommercial.com Progressive Casualty Ins Co & afiliates Business and Workers’ Compensation coverage provided and serviced by afiliated and third-party insurers EDITOR IN CHIEF Jason Feifer CRE ATIVE DIRECTOR Paul Scirecalabrisotto E XECUTIVE EDITOR Joe Keohane PHOTO DIRECTOR Judith Puckett-Rinella EDITORIAL BUSINESS MANAGING EDITOR Grant Davis CEO Ryan Shea SENIOR EDITOR Stephanie Schomer PRESIDENT Bill Shaw SPECIAL PROJECT S EDITOR Tracy Stapp Herold NEW YORK CITY (212) 563-8080 REGIONAL SALES MANAGER CHIEF RE VENUE OFFICER Justin Koenigsberger James Clauss COPY CHIEF Stephanie Makrias COPY EDITOR Shayna Sobol CHIEF OPER ATING OFFICER RESE ARCH Carol Greenhouse PRODUCTION MANAGER Monica Im CONTRIBUTING ART DIRECTOR Nancy Roy Brian Speranzini ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER /MARKE TING CHICAGO (312) 897-1002 MIDWEST DIRECTOR STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS NATIVE CONTENT DIRECTOR Steven Newman Jason Fell DETROIT (248) 890-8888 MIDWEST ADVERTISING DIRECTOR INTEGR ATED MARKE TING MANAGER Lori K Flynn Wendy Narez CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Blaire Briody, Boyd Farrow, Kris Frieswick, Adam Laukhuf, Amy Wilkinson EASTERN ONLINE SALES MANAGER Michael Le Du Lucy Gekchyan DESIGN ENTREPRENEUR MEDIA NATIONAL ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES MARKETING ATLANTA (770) 209-9858 SOUTHERN ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Kelly Hediger VP, INNOVATION LOS ANGELES (310) 460-6900 WEST COAST SALES MANAGER ENTREPRENEUR.COM Deepa Shah Richard L Taw EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Dan Bova SENIOR MARKE TING & ACCOUNT MANAGER NE WS DIRECTOR Stephen Bronner Hilary Kelley SPECIAL PROJECT S DIRECTOR Andrea Huspeni INSIGHT S EDITOR Liz Webber FR ANCHISE AND BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES CONTRIBUTORS EDITOR Peter Page ENTREPRENEUR PRESS ADVERTISING SALES VP, FR ANCHISE Paul Fishback ASSOCIATE EDITORS Lydia Belanger, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR SENIOR DIRECTOR FR ANCHISE SALES Hayden Field, Matthew McCreary, Joan Oleck Jennifer Dorsey Brent Davis STAFF WRITER Nina Zipkin SALES AND MARKE TING DIRECTOR DIRECTOR FR ANCHISE SALES SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Andrea Hardalo Vanessa Campos AD OPER ATIONS DIRECTOR Michael Frazier MARKE TING SPECIALIST DIGITAL SALES MANAGER Jenna Watson Danielle Brown AD OPER ATIONS COORDINATOR Bree Grenier DIGITAL MEDIA DESIGNER Monica Dipres CUSTOMER SERVICE entrepreneur.com/customerervice SUBSCRIP TIONS FRONTEND ENGINEERS subscribe@entrepreneur.com SENIOR GR APHIC DESIGNER REPRINT S PARS International Corp., (212) 221-9595, EntrepreneurReprints.com Christian Zamorano ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL PROJECT MANAGER, DIGITAL PROPERTIES Jim Rupe Direct Action Media, Tom Emerson (800) 938-4660 Mona Rikin ENGINEER Angel Cool Warren Dugan, John Himmelman PRODUCT S AND SERVICES ADVERTISING ADVERTISING PRODUCTION MANAGER CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER Jake Hudson PRODUCT DIRECTOR Shannon Humphries Simran Toor (949) 261-2325, fax: (949) 752-1180 EXECUTIVE STAFF CHAIRMAN Peter J Shea DIRECTOR OF FINANCE Paul White CORPOR ATE COUNSEL Ronald L Young VP, BUSINESS DE VELOPMENT Charles Muselli Entrepreneur Media Inc 18061 Fitch, Irvine, CA 92614 (949) 261-2325, fax: (949) 752-1180 DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DE VELOPMENT ENTREPRENEUR.COM ACCOUNT & PRODUCT COORDINATOR Printed in the USA GST File #r129677027 Gildardo Jimenez Sean Strain FACILIT Y ADMINISTR ATOR Rudy Gusyen Vol 33, No Entrepreneur’s Startups (ISSN 1533-743x) is published by Entrepreneur Media Inc., 18061 Fitch, Irvine, California 92614 Entrepreneur Media Inc (“Entrepreneur”) considers its sources reliable and veriies as much data as possible, although reporting inaccuracies can occur; consequently, readers using this information so at their own risk Each business opportunity and/or investment inherently contains certain risks, and it is suggested that the prospective investors consult their attorneys and/or accountants Entrepreneur’s Startups is distributed with the understanding that the publisher is not rendering legal services or inancial advice Although persons and companies mentioned herein are believed to be reputable, neither Entrepreneur nor any of its employees accept any responsibility whatsoever for their activities Entrepreneur’s Startups is printed in the USA, and all rights are reserved ©2018 by Entrepreneur No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the publisher Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs will be returned only if accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope All letters sent to Entrepreneur will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication, copyright purposes and use in any publication or brochure, and are subject to Entrepreneur’s unrestricted right to edit and comment S u m m e r S TA R T U P S LOWCOST FRANCHISE AMAZING REWARDS CHOOSE KUMON TO FULFILL YOUR DREAMS OF OWNING A SMALL BUSINESS Kumon is the after-school learning center where kids can start as young as and stay through completion of the program–at calculus and Shakespeare If you value academic excellence, find satisfaction in helping kids long term, and enjoy being part of a community, you’ll find everything you’re looking for when you open a Kumon Center RANKED #2 FRANCHISE UNDER $100K Entrepreneur magazine has ranked us the #2 Top Low-Cost Franchise under $100K Our franchise fee is only $1,000! We’ve been awarded the honor of being Entrepreneur’s #1 Tutoring Franchise 17 years in a row, earning us the “Best of the Best” ranking With $19K in incentives, we are the education franchise to consider! Talk with us today about opening your own business! CALL 888.627.2115 EMAIL Franchise@Kumon.com TEXT KumonBiz to 63975 VISIT KumonFranchise.com For information on enrolling your child in Kumon, please visit Kumon.com © 2018 Kumon North America, Inc All rights reserved This information is not intended as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy a franchise We offer franchises solely by means of our Franchise Disclosure Document The United States Federal Trade Commission and certain states have laws governing the offer and sale of franchises We will not offer you a franchise unless and until we have complied with all applicable legal requirements in your jurisdiction YOUR BIG BREAK Avg Second Year Total Revenue for Top Quartile $656K Avg Second Year Net Income for Top Quartile $108K Contact Brynson Smith 877-224-4349 Franchising@uBreakiFix.com *As published in Item 19 of our FDD dated May 16, 2018, these iJures represent the aYeraJe total reYenue and net inFome (total reYenue, minus Fost of Joods sold and minus e[penses e[FludinJ interest, inFome ta[es, depreFiation and amorti]ation) for the top Tuartile of 134 out of 326 franFhise-operated 8%5(A.IFI; stores that submitted unaudited proit and loss statements Median seFond year total reYenue for top Tuartile of stores Zas $654,665 Median seFond year net inFome for top Tuartile of stores Zas $90,493 7he data presented is from -an 2014 throuJh DeF 2017 2f the stores inFluded in the top Tuartile for the seFond year, 15 (or 50%) attained or e[Feeded the aYeraJe total reYenue and (or 30%) attained or e[Feeded the aYeraJe net inFome 7he bottom Tuartile year-2 aYeraJe total reYenue Zas $320,602 (median $349,890), and aYeraJe net inFome Zas $(437) (median $15,545), Zith 20 stores or 63% of those in the Tuartile e[FeedinJ both aYeraJes