The Trends Small Business Database houses hundreds of small businesses, along with their financials and unique stories. You can access the entire database here or read dozens of in-depth features here.
In 2008, Scott Ball graduated from USC law school with $190k in student debt and no clear career job prospects.
Criminal defense was, in his mind, “the only area of law that [wasn’t] boring as hell”––but no firms were hiring. For several years, he “tread water” by picking up legal odd jobs, like defending friends’ DUIs.
The Trends Small Business Database houses hundreds of small businesses, along with their financials and unique stories. You can access the entire database here or read dozens of in-depth features here.
A decade ago, in the wake of the recession, Tim Maas watched his construction business crumble into financial ruin.
“It was a smoldering pile of ashes,” he says. “I lost everything.”
The Trends Small Business Database houses hundreds of small businesses, along with their financials and unique stories. You can access the entire database here or read dozens of in-depth features here.
On a summer day in 2016, two recent high school grads, Nick Hamburger and Zack Schreier, were sitting around cooking omelettes.
For Schreier, a Type 1 diabetic, egg whites were a favorite snack — particularly, the crispy burnt edges. In the kitchen, the friends asked a question: “Is it possible to make a healthy chip out of egg whites?“
The Trends Small Business Database houses hundreds of small businesses, along with their financials and unique stories. You can access the entire database here or read dozens of in-depth features here.
After graduating from Santa Clara University, Matt Renner attempted to get a plum job with a startup. But industrial engineers weren’t in high demand at the entry level. He ended up working for a company that buys, owns and operates data centers.
He noticed a pattern: The biggest companies all went for new construction. They wanted a cut of projects that cost anywhere from $50m to $1B. Meanwhile, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, there are about 3m data centers in the country. Many of them need to be refurbished.
The Trends Small Business Database houses hundreds of small businesses, along with their financials and unique stories. You can access the entire database here or read dozens of in-depth features here.
Omar Sabré had his dental degree, and brother Zane was working toward his, when their father was diagnosed with leukemia. The family’s finances could no longer support Zane’s schooling, so Omar gave him $30k to keep working toward his degree.
Meanwhile, the family needed to find another financial support system, quickly. Pairing their detail orientation with Zane’s affinity for personalized goods, Omar invested another $45k of personal savings to create Maison de Sabré, a personalized leather-goods company.
The Trends Small Business Database houses hundreds of small businesses, along with their financials and unique stories. You can access the entire database here or read dozens of in-depth features here.
In the summer of 2017, Chris and Steph Sammons were set to get married. As Chris looked for his wedding band in dozens of stores across Philly and New York, he kept finding the same thing: small selection, ill-informed staff, lofty prices, and months of turnaround. After waiting two months for his ring of choice, he was told they forgot to order it. Multiple purchases on Amazon later, the couple decided to create a better way.
Enter Hitched.
The Trends Small Business Database houses hundreds of small businesses, along with their financials and unique stories. You can access the entire database here or read dozens of in-depth features here.
Charlie Siciak and Sam Nebel met in the upstairs bathroom of their frat house with the same thing in their hands: baby wipes. After their friends kept stealing their wipes instead of buying their own, they realized they had a business idea.
The pair launched Good Wipes — eco-friendly, scented, and adult-branded wet wipes for “down there.” The wipes contain no parabens or alcohols, and the tissue feels nice and thick (but still flushes and biodegrades). An added kick of aloe and chamomile help soothe the skin.
The Trends Small Business Database houses hundreds of small businesses, along with their financials and unique stories. You can access the entire database here or read dozens of in-depth features here.
In 2016, the Martin family noticed something mundane about corporate gifting: No matter the holiday or special occasion, everyone seemed to receive the same box of crackers, nuts, relish, or Clark Griswold-esque jelly.
Sensing an opportunity to inject originality, Siblings Trevor and Andie Martin; father Mike Martin; launched Noms, a personalized cookie product. Trevor and Andie had enjoyed their father’s confections throughout childhood, and they convinced him to come out of retirement from his computer engineering career to spearhead product development.
The Trends Small Business Database houses hundreds of small businesses, along with their financials and unique stories. You can access the entire database here or read dozens of in-depth features here.
Angelique Ahearn battled sensitive skin for decades and had to carefully check the ingredients in her cosmetics. She was often shocked, finding crushed beetles, bull semen, and sheep grease in popular products.
After consulting for a skincare brand, she recognized a gap waiting to be filled: natural skincare that wasn’t lumpy and brown and tested on animals. She quit her job and launched NEEK Skin Organics in 2014 (motto: “testing on sisters, not animals”).
The Trends Small Business Database houses hundreds of small businesses, along with their financials and unique stories. You can access the entire database here or read dozens of in-depth features here.
One day, Jordan Crowder was watching Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop” music video with his daughter. As Mack rode out on an old-school ‘80s scooter, he thought, “I used to rock those!” His mind was blown when he found the Finland-based retro scooter company Kickbike.
Crowder teamed up with Dave Nadolski, and they’ve introduced Kickbike to North America. The product is about more than looking cool. It has emerged as a cross-training and rehab tool for athletes. And sled dogs use the scooters for dryland training.