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  • I Fell for a $1.25 Million Scam — Now MrBeast Is Helping Me Hunt Down the Scammers | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    This is hard to admit, but I got scammed out of $1.25 million.

    The money is gone, and I can’t get it back. But instead of hiding, I’ve decided to share my story. My recent post on X about the $1.25 million scam went viral with more than 4 million views and thousands of reposts and comments.

    MrBeast even chimed in that he would give a $100,000 reward to anyone who could help track down the scammers.

    Now that I’ve had even more time to process the situation, I think it’s time to share the lessons I’ve learned from my $1.25 million mistake.

    How it began

    A few years ago, I donated $1.2 million to MrBeast’s #TeamSeas campaign to help clean up the oceans. After the donation, I was invited to spend a few days with Jimmy (MrBeast) and his team.

    So, when they reached out to me again for a donation to MrBeast’s Team Water campaign, I naturally wanted to help. During the discussion, we even talked about planning another meet-up.

    A few weeks after I donated $1 million to the project, I was added to what looked like a private group text with other major donors; it didn’t feel out of place at all. In fact, it seemed like the natural next step.

    The group looked legitimate. The names were impressive: Mark Rober, Shopify’s Tobi Lütke, Stake’s Ed Craven, Adin Ross. There was banter, casual voice notes and even more talk about the donor trip. It all lined up with what I’d been expecting — and I felt like I was in the “cool crowd.”

    Then came the pitch: a crypto investment tied to a major exchange. Everyone in the group “joined.” I didn’t want to be the outsider. So I wired the money. $1.25 million.

    Later, I checked in with the real Jimmy and felt my stomach drop. The group text was fake. My money was gone.

    Related: The 3 Biggest Mistakes That Made Me a Better Entrepreneur

    Lesson 1: Don’t make big decisions when you’re distracted

    When the scam was unfolding, I was away at a retreat that I’d been planning all year. This was terrible timing for me, but perfect for the scammers.

    I was relaxed and in the completely wrong headspace for any major decisions. My guard was down, and I was the perfect target.

    Having reviewed the texts afterward, I see several red flags that would have given me pause any other day. However, I was distracted and made a rash decision.

    Tip: Don’t make major decisions when you’re distracted, traveling or emotionally charged. Give yourself the space and energy to sit with the choices and only make a decision with a clear head.

    Lesson 2: Listen to reality, not the story you’re telling yourself

    When I was added to the text group, I honestly wanted it to be real. I’d talked with MrBeast’s team previously about planning a trip, and my brain connected the dots, telling me this was all part of the plan.

    This also had me overlooking red flags. I didn’t verify the phone numbers, and I didn’t double-check anything. I trusted what I wanted to be true instead of what the evidence showed. I was naive, and it cost me $1.25 million.

    Entrepreneurs make this same mistake all the time. We fall in love with our product, our marketing strategy or our “next” big idea. When our customers and data tell us otherwise, we often struggle to accept that reality and continue pushing what we want instead of what is right.

    Tip: Don’t fall in love with the story you tell yourself. Trust the data, trust what your customers are telling you, and be willing to adjust or pivot.

    Lesson 3: Don’t be afraid of mistakes — share them

    This was easily the most embarrassing mistake of my life. I’m a successful entrepreneur, and I made more than $50 million before 30 — being scammed was not supposed to happen to me.

    But, it did.

    The easiest way to deal with this mistake would be to hide it. But, I didn’t.

    Instead, I shared it. First with my family and close friends, then publicly online. The responses ranged from “idiot” to “martyr,” but overwhelmingly, people appreciated the honesty. Some even admitted they’d been scammed too, but had never told anyone.

    And then something unexpected happened: MrBeast himself spoke up. He offered a $100,000 reward for credible information leading to the scammers.

    Sharing reframed the story. From personal embarrassment to a community problem worth solving.

    Tip: Don’t hide from your mistakes. Own them, talk about them, and turn them into lessons others can learn from.

    Related: Beware of SEO Scammers — Here’s How to Spot and Avoid Mediocre SEO Agencies

    Final thoughts

    I’ll never see the $1.25 million I lost again. But I can use it as the most expensive learning experience of my life.

    If you take nothing else from my story, take these:

    1. Don’t make important decisions while distracted.
    2. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
    3. Don’t be afraid to talk about your mistakes.

    If you’re curious about how this scam actually played out, I’ve made everything public. On Great.com, we’ve posted the full chat logs, the wallet addresses and even the phone numbers tied to the scammers. You can see exactly what I saw — and if you spot something that could help track them down, you could earn the $100,000 reward from MrBeast.

    This is hard to admit, but I got scammed out of $1.25 million.

    The money is gone, and I can’t get it back. But instead of hiding, I’ve decided to share my story. My recent post on X about the $1.25 million scam went viral with more than 4 million views and thousands of reposts and comments.

    MrBeast even chimed in that he would give a $100,000 reward to anyone who could help track down the scammers.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    Erik Bergman

    Source link

  • 29-Year-Old’s Salty Side Hustle Hit $10 Million Last Year | Entrepreneur

    This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features New York City-based entrepreneur Seth Goldstein, 29. Goldstein is co-founder with Steven Rofrano of Ancient Crunch, a company behind the chip brands MASA and Vandy, which launched in 2022. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Ancient Crunch

    Want to read more stories like this? Subscribe to Money Makers, our free newsletter packed with creative side hustle ideas and successful strategies. Sign up here.

    What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle?
    I was a vice president at a private equity fund focused on fast-growing healthcare businesses.

    When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
    My co-founder, Steven, made fun of me for eating Tostitos while we were hanging out in Miami. I didn’t know what a seed oil even was at the time, but that conversation snowballed into a side project, which became MASA Chips.

    Related: This Mom’s Garage Side Hustle for Kids Became a Business With $1 Billion Revenue

    What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? How much money/investment did it take to launch?
    Steven and I put in about $250,000 of our own money. I had saved a bit working in finance, and Steven had made some money (accidentally) timing the market perfectly on Florida real estate during Covid. We have raised about $14 million since then.

    If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently?
    We have always known that happy customers make a strong business, but we didn’t appreciate how much “latent demand” there is. We are primarily an online business, and we didn’t think email marketing made any sense until we tried it. Subscriptions seemed weird for chips, and now they are half of our business. If we knew then what we know now, Ancient Crunch would be about five times bigger.

    When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t?
    Most consumer packaged goods businesses are really just marketing companies. They hire a factory, slap their sticker on the bag and sell it for a markup. Because we fry our chips in beef tallow, we couldn’t find a factory, so we built our own. Turns out, that’s fairly challenging. The other major dynamic is that you always need more money than you think. We have said we are done raising money countless times in the past three years.

    Related: This Mom’s Creative Side Hustle Started As a Hobby With Less Than $100 — Then Grew Into a Business Averaging $570,000 a Month: ‘It’s Crazy’

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Ancient Crunch

    Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong? How did you fix it?
    Just recently, we had the good fortune of Vandy Crisps (our potato chip line) selling too well. Due to our in-house manufacturing, this meant that we had to go out of stock for about three weeks. While this doesn’t sound like a huge deal, it is very frustrating for customers to wait longer than expected (especially in the age of Amazon), and in the meantime, we can’t go market to new customers because we don’t have the inventory to sell them. We started working longer hours, got new fryers and are now back on track.

    How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? How much did the side hustle earn?
    We saw fairly consistent monthly revenue basically from day one. We were not profitable, but we had a product that people loved, and it sold pretty well right from the start. We were doing about $30,000 per month in the early days.

    Related: After College, She Spent $800 to Start a Side Hustle That Became a ‘Monster’ Business Making $35 Million a Year: ‘I Set Intense Sales Targets’

    What does growth and revenue look like now?
    We are very focused on growth. Last year, we did just under $10 million in revenue. Next year, we plan to do about $250 million.

    What does a typical day or week of work look like for you?
    I work about 50 hours per week these days. I have calls in a block from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and am working through emails the rest of the time. When you own the business, your job is whatever the biggest fire is. Often, that has been fundraising. Some days, that’s signing celebrity deals. Other days, it’s optimizing landing page conversions while trying to convince the next retailer to put you on the shelf. Founders always wear a lot of hats.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Ancient Crunch

    What do you enjoy most about running this business?
    It’s awesome seeing your product gain cultural standing. When we started, this was a side project that most of my friends politely told me was a waste of time. Now, we have something like 100,000 people eating our products every month, and we are a bestselling product at several major retailers, including Erewhon and Citarella.

    Related: These 31-Year-Old Best Friends Started a Side Hustle to Solve a Workout Struggle — And It’s On Track to Hit $10 Million Annual Revenue This Year

    What is your best piece of specific, actionable business advice?
    Make something that people want, then put it in front of 100 million people as fast as you can. Don’t start with, “I want to start a business.” Start with, “This thing should exist” or “This problem can be solved.”

    This article is part of our ongoing Young Entrepreneur® series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of being a young business owner.

    This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features New York City-based entrepreneur Seth Goldstein, 29. Goldstein is co-founder with Steven Rofrano of Ancient Crunch, a company behind the chip brands MASA and Vandy, which launched in 2022. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Ancient Crunch

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    Amanda Breen

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  • I Founded a $1.5 Billion Business. Here’s My Success Secret. | Entrepreneur

    This as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Shanaz Hemmati, COO and co-founder of ZenBusiness, a $1.5 billion company that provides an all-in-one platform helping small businesses become official, stay compliant, manage finances and more. Her co-founder is Ross Buhrdorf, who serves as CEO. The piece has been edited for length and clarity.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of ZenBusiness. Co-founder and COO Shanaz Hemmati.

    I always had an entrepreneurial spirit, but I never really thought about going off and starting my own business.

    At the University of Texas at Austin, I studied computer engineering, starting with hardware design before pivoting to software engineering. I truly love technology, and especially software engineering, because you’re coding to solve problems — I still love solving problems.

    Related: This Mom’s Creative Side Hustle Started As a Hobby With Less Than $100 — Then Grew Into a Business Averaging $570,000 a Month: ‘It’s Crazy’

    My husband’s an entrepreneur who’s always had his own businesses. He’d encourage me to start my own business, but I was too concerned. Sometimes women can think too hard about doing something; that’s what held me back from becoming an entrepreneur.

    For women in male-dominated fields, it’s important to seek out mentors who can help you from their experience, even if their journey looked different from yours. You can bounce ideas off them and ask them questions. Mentorship pushes you, but it also gives you assurance and confidence.

    Over the course of my career, I learned so much, which helped me when I made the leap to founder.

    “Small businesses are what keep the economy growing.”

    I first met my ZenBusiness co-founder Ross Buhrdorf when we worked at Excite.com, a web portal company founded in 1994. Several years later, I joined HomeAway, a vacation rental marketplace, where I stayed for 11 years until the company was acquired by Expedia.

    Later on, Ross and I met up for coffee, and he started talking about this idea of building something to help entrepreneurs and people who are starting small businesses. I was intrigued and excited. I’d always been passionate about that category in the market: Small businesses are what keep the economy growing and going.

    Related: I Walked Away From a Corporate Career to Start My Own Small Business — Here’s Why You Should Do the Same

    So Ross and I founded ZenBusiness in 2017.

    When it comes to a fast-growing company like ours, we have so many things on our to-do list, but we don’t always have the resources to get them done at the same time, so we have to prioritize.

    AI has been one of those priorities. Everybody in business should be using it these days. It’s a great tool that saves time once you get employees on board and using it based on their role and function. Our personalized AI assistant, ZenBusiness Velo, is included with every LLC formation and helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses.

    Related: Two-Thirds of Small Businesses Are Already Using AI — Here’s How to Get Even More Out of It

    “It all comes down to this — people are at the center of any great company.”

    For a long time, I’ve had this mantra that’s helped me succeed as a business leader: Be fearless, be ethical, be passionate.

    Being fearless means recognizing that nothing is ever going to be perfect, but you just do it anyway. Being ethical means always being honest, to yourself, to your co-workers, to anyone. And being passionate is everything. Loving your work and doing the best job possible will help you progress in your career and build your business.

    It all comes down to this — people are at the center of any great company. Anything you do is all about people, whether they’re employees, customers or the community.

    ZenBusiness puts this rule into action by hearing and supporting its employees.

    For example, we became an early adopter of remote work. The company sent employees home when the pandemic hit, but as we continued to grow and hire more people, we listened to employees who said that they preferred working from home. Remote work gave them the chance to spend time with their families, cut down on commute hours and be more productive.

    Related: A CEO Who Runs a Fully Remote Company Has an Unusual Take on Employees Starting Side Hustles: ‘We Have to Be Honest With Ourselves’

    “Maybe you launch as a side hustle to test it out.”

    All aspiring entrepreneurs should avoid the pitfall of thinking about a business idea for too long before they take action: Do it sooner rather than later.

    You don’t have to drop everything else you’re working on to start. Maybe you launch as a side hustle to test it out. Talk to the people you’re trying to solve a pain point for because those conversations will give you a lot of information.

    Every day, you’re learning something new, and being able to pivot fast can be the difference between driving your business in the right direction or not. There are always going to be surprises along the way. So remember, it’s all about the people who are around you — it’s all about the people you bring in to help you go through your business journey.

    This article is part of our ongoing Women Entrepreneur® series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of running a business as a woman.

    This as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Shanaz Hemmati, COO and co-founder of ZenBusiness, a $1.5 billion company that provides an all-in-one platform helping small businesses become official, stay compliant, manage finances and more. Her co-founder is Ross Buhrdorf, who serves as CEO. The piece has been edited for length and clarity.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of ZenBusiness. Co-founder and COO Shanaz Hemmati.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    Amanda Breen

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  • How a Mom’s Garage Side Hustle Hit $1 Billion Revenue | Entrepreneur

    This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Sandra Oh Lin, 50, of Los Altos, California. She is the founder and CEO of KiwiCo, a company that provides educational activities for kids meant to spark creativity and problem-solving through hands-on play. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of KiwiCo. Sandra Oh Lin.

    Want to read more stories like this? Subscribe to Money Makers, our free newsletter packed with creative side hustle ideas and successful strategies. Sign up here.

    What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle?
    I had just stepped away from seven years at eBay Inc., where I had launched PayPal Mobile and led the eBay fashion business. I was working on a new fashion-related startup idea before I ended up starting KiwiCo in 2011.

    Where did you find the inspiration for the side hustle?
    When my kids were younger, I tried to find ways for them to exercise their creativity and put their problem-solving skills to work. I wanted them to grow up to feel like they could envision and better the world around them. As an engineer by training, I saw creating and building through hands-on activities as a way to explore, discover and build creative confidence. At the same time, I was drawing on my own childhood — I have such fond memories of making and building things with my mom while I was growing up.

    Related: After College, She Spent $800 to Start a Side Hustle That Became a ‘Monster’ Business Making $35 Million a Year: ‘I Set Intense Sales Targets’

    What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? How much money/investment did it take to launch?
    I started by creating hands-on projects for my kids. Then, I started to share them with friends and family during playdates. The parents and kids were so enthusiastic about the activities that it gave me the confidence to take it further. I laid the groundwork to see if there was a market for a real business. Then, I leveraged my network to start conversations with investors. We raised a little more than $10 million in venture funding. From there, we were able to become profitable and cash flow positive — and fund our own growth.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of KiwiCo

    Are there any free or paid resources that have been especially helpful for you in starting and running this business?
    I had a strong background in product design (having worked in R&D at Procter & Gamble) and ecommerce (from time at PayPal and eBay). Yet, I didn’t have any direct experience with fulfillment, supply chain and operations. I had a lot to learn. So I made a conscious effort to surround myself with people who were true experts. One example is Mike Smith, who was the COO of Walmart. He provided invaluable guidance, and he even helped interview our VP of operations candidates when we were hiring. Advisors like Mike were so helpful to us at that time.

    If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently?
    I had always heard people say that a strong culture is so important to define and cultivate when you build a company. That way, you can point to and reinforce the behavior and values that align. While I was able to grok that academically, I put it aside when I should have addressed it earlier. As a result, some of our hiring was off in the beginning, and we had to course correct, which was costly. It would have been helpful to have put the framework into place from the beginning.

    When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t?
    During the pandemic, one of our toughest challenges was sourcing enough supplies to keep up with surging demand. In the years since, we’ve seen our fair share of ups and downs on that front, but one thing has remained constant: the importance of strong, trusted relationships with our suppliers. They’ve been incredible partners through it all, and those collaborations have been key to helping us navigate post-pandemic growth with resilience and adaptability.

    Related: This Mom’s Creative Side Hustle Started As a Hobby With Less Than $100 — Then Grew Into a Business Averaging $570,000 a Month: ‘It’s Crazy’

    Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong? How did you fix it?
    I’ll never forget our very first alpha shipment. We had just 19 crates to send out, and it took a team of five of us the entire day to get them boxed and shipped. By the end, we were exhausted and looking at each other like, There has to be a better way. It was a wake-up call that we needed better systems and processes for fulfillment if we were going to scale. We figured it out along the way, but that moment sticks with me as a reminder of how far we’ve come.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of KiwiCo

    How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue?
    With our core business being subscription-based, we’ve seen consistent monthly revenue from the beginning. KiwiCo has been profitable and self-funded for many years now. What started in my garage has grown into a company that has shipped more than 50 million crates to families in over 40 countries and created more than 1,500 hands-on products and activities. It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come, while still staying true to the heart of why we started: sparking creativity and confidence in kids everywhere.

    What does growth and revenue look like now?
    To date, KiwiCo has generated more than $1 billion in lifetime revenue. This is something I’m incredibly proud of, not just because of the number itself, but because it represents millions of moments of creativity and discovery for kids and families. Additionally, we launched in Target and Barnes & Noble this past year as part of building our wholesale channels.

    Related: He Spent $36 to Start a Side Hustle. Now the Business Earns 6 Figures a Year — With Just 1-2 Hours of Work a Day: ‘Freedom.’

    What do you enjoy most about running this business?
    One of my favorite parts of this journey is that my kids not only understand what I do for work but also are involved in helping shape KiwiCo’s products. My kids were the original source of inspiration for the company, and they continue to be critical testers of our products to ensure we’re creating the best hands-on activities for kids to discover and unleash their creativity and explore as they learn about the world around them.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of KiwiCo

    What is your best piece of specific, actionable business advice?
    Finding a community of founders can be so helpful. Sharing the challenges and the opportunities that come from building a business with others who are in the same boat can be so valuable. You can gather everything from tangible, actionable advice to empathetic ears that have been there and done that.

    This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Sandra Oh Lin, 50, of Los Altos, California. She is the founder and CEO of KiwiCo, a company that provides educational activities for kids meant to spark creativity and problem-solving through hands-on play. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of KiwiCo. Sandra Oh Lin.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    Amanda Breen

    Source link

  • Mom’s Creative Side Hustle Grew to $570,000 a Month: Penny Linn | Entrepreneur

    This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Krista LeRay, the 34-year-old founder of needlepoint store Penny Linn. She lives with her husband and two children in Westport, Connecticut. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Penny Linn. Krista LeRay.

    Want to read more stories like this? Subscribe to Money Makers, our free newsletter packed with creative side hustle ideas and successful strategies. Sign up here.

    What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle?
    Before starting Penny Linn, a new-age needlepoint store offering hand-painted canvases, accessories and more, I was a full-time influencer running my blog, Covering The Bases. I started the blog in 2013, but I only took it full-time about a year before starting Penny Linn. While managing the blog, I had a corporate career at Major League Baseball, where I worked on the social media team for over five years.

    Related: He Spent $36 to Start a Side Hustle. Now the Business Earns 6 Figures a Year — With Just 1-2 Hours of Work a Day: ‘Freedom.’

    When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
    I initially learned to stitch from my grandma, who inspired the name of the business, and then I really got into it in college at the University of Kentucky. I picked it back up again in 2018 when I started stitching custom belts for my dad and husband, and a ring bearer pillow for my wedding in 2019. Little did I know that this would be the perfect hobby to fall back in love with as the pandemic approached.

    As I got back into stitching, I quickly stitched through my stash of canvases and was disappointed with both the in-person and online needlepoint shopping experiences. It felt antiquated; there weren’t many sites with a good user experience, a handful of the shops made you call to order, and the designs felt very mature. I found myself wishing there were more fun and better accessories and canvases, so I started making them after my search came up short.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Penny Linn

    What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? How much money/investment did it take to launch?
    When I started painting my own canvases, I wasn’t even in the mindset of starting a business; it was still just a hobby for me. I probably spent under $100 buying a blank canvas on Etsy and paint at Michaels, and painted the infamous Ralph’s Coffee cup for myself. When I shared it on my Instagram, I had an overwhelming number of followers ask to buy one, so I knew my followers were also interested in needlepoint.

    As I began searching for cuter accessories for myself, I found that many custom items had a 100-item minimum. At the time, I had a business bank account for my blog, so I used that money to order the inventory and knew that I could at least sell 90 of them to my followers who also needlepointed. After making a few canvases and seeing the demand, I realized I had enough ideas to launch a larger collection online. So I bought the smallest Shopify package, started sourcing needleminders and project bags, and recruited my friends and family to help paint canvases.

    All in all, I spent about $5,000 on the initial inventory for our accessories and an additional $2,000 on shipping materials, canvas tape, etc., but none of this accounted for my time painting the canvases one by one, which was the biggest investment.

    Related: These 31-Year-Old Best Friends Started a Side Hustle to Solve a Workout Struggle — And It’s On Track to Hit $10 Million Annual Revenue This Year

    If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently?
    Looking back on how I built my business, it’s a catch-22; if I had known what I know today, I might have done it differently. However, having my hands in every aspect of the business has brought me a great deal of knowledge and appreciation that continues to shape the business.

    In the beginning, I hand-painted nearly every canvas, which took many, many hours, but it kept costs low since my labor was essentially free and gave me control over my inventory. If I had known that people outsourced painting, it would have saved me so much time and energy, but doing it myself taught me the value of a hand-painted canvas.

    Similarly, I wish I had hired people at the beginning to take more off my plate, but by doing it all, I learned valuable lessons and knew how I wanted every aspect of the business to run. I don’t think Penny Linn would be such a thoughtful and impactful brand today if I hadn’t had my fingers on every aspect of the business in the beginning.

    Related: I Interviewed 5 Entrepreneurs Generating Up to $20 Million in Revenue a Year — And They All Have the Same Regret About Starting Their Business

    When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t?
    The reason Penny Linn has been so successful as a business, and also in reviving the cultural love for needlepoint, is that we brought much-needed innovation to the industry. I never expected the amount of pushback from vendors and industry vets I received. Across the board, people pushed back on our ideas and how we ran our business.

    Today, we have found partners who believe in our growth and are building with us. When we launched our acrylic line in 2022, there was so much chatter online that it wasn’t innovative or unique, but today we hold a patent for the design, and it’s one of our bestselling lines. We also take a slightly smaller wholesale margin than the industry standard because I believe in making needlepoint accessible. Our wholesale partners were initially adamant that it wouldn’t be successful, but it has proven otherwise. I developed a thick skin while blogging and learned to shut out the noise, which has followed me into Penny Linn as we continue to shake up the industry.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Penny Linn

    Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong? How did you fix it?
    I vividly remember one of our first bag launches, which did not go as planned. It was a beautiful project bag with leather and PVC that we sold through so quickly! As I was packing them, I tested a few of the zippers and was very disappointed to find that they stuck and were difficult to open, despite the samples working perfectly. I reached out to each customer who had ordered them and let them know that the bags weren’t up to our standards. I offered them a full refund if they wanted to return the bag or a discount if they wanted to keep it.

    This became one of my biggest rules in business: When anything goes wrong, I need to take ownership and work to rectify it immediately. Our community was beyond appreciative of how proactive we were, and most ended up keeping the bags. We put the rest of the bags on clearance and now work with our team and vendors to ensure we have quality control measures in place.

    How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? How much did the side hustle earn?
    In the first six months after we launched, the only consistent revenue was what we generated during launches. Everything would sell out so quickly that we wouldn’t have any inventory left until the next launch. We would often have a day or two without sales in between launches, which wasn’t a sustainable way to run a business. To prevent this, we started producing more inventory and introduced our Penny Linn Collective, allowing us to bring on designers who expanded our offerings. Our designer collective has been fruitful for us over the past five years, and we continue to grow it today.

    We started seeing more consistent revenue in year two, doing just over $30,000 per month. The popularity of our launches started to level out, and we could better forecast inventory to keep our income steady. It was such a big deal for us at the time to reach these numbers, but we do that in a day now. Each year has been drastically different in terms of demand, and about every six months, we reach an inflection point where we need to increase quantities even more.

    Related: This Couple’s ‘Scrappy’ Side Hustle Sold Out in 1 Weekend — It Hit $1 Million in 3 Years and Now Makes Millions Annually: ‘Lean But Powerful’

    What does growth and revenue look like now?
    It’s been really exciting that Penny Linn has doubled or tripled each year. In 2024, we did $4.4 million in revenue, and we have already surpassed that and are on track to double it in 2025. We are currently averaging $570,000 per month. Whatever I think our ceiling might be, we come in and double it each year. Our growth has been so explosive that I do expect it to start leveling out in the next year or so, but there is still so much opportunity for the business.

    My mind is always racing with new ideas for the brand as we expand our product offering, launch new designers under the Penny Linn Collective and bring new accessories to market. Our store opening in Norwalk, Connecticut, earlier this year was a huge milestone for us, and now we are exploring what more stores might look like. I don’t see our growth slowing down anytime soon.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Penny Linn

    What do you enjoy most about running this business?
    I honestly love what I do so much and find great fulfillment in it. I feel so much pride, excitement and joy thinking about what we’ve created at Penny Linn and the business I’ve built in under five years. It’s nothing I could have ever imagined as my career or what I expected Penny Linn to grow into. We haven’t seen many bumps in the road yet, and keep having success after success, which energizes me to keep going.

    I pride myself on the fact that Penny Linn is “by a stitcher for a stitcher,” and there is nothing more satisfying as a needlepointer to want something in my collection and to be able to make it. I’m privileged to have the ability to work with our vendors to create the products of my dreams, and it’s just as exciting to see how much our community loves them.

    I also find so much joy in the change we have brought to the industry and how we have been able to bring needlepoint to the forefront for a new generation. It’s crazy to sit back and think that my brand has revived a centuries-old tradition and built it into something that will continue to live on and evolve for generations to come.

    Related: These Friends Started a Side Hustle in Their Kitchens. Sales Spiked to $130,000 in 3 Days — Then 7 Figures: ‘Revenue Has Grown Consistently.’

    What’s your best business advice?
    The first is, “If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.” People are often scared to reach out because they are afraid of rejection, but my motto is always to ask, and if they don’t reply, it’s still not a no. If they don’t respond, it’s not the end of the world, but the opportunity for the answer to be yes is so much greater.

    My second is to learn the difference between constructive feedback and criticism. If someone doesn’t like you or your business, they will never have anything nice to say, and it’s not worth listening to. However, if they are a loyal fan and a frequent shopper, and they comment on how a product or process might be improved, it’s worth listening to. It’s easy to get lost in the negative feedback, but the faster you learn what is worth listening to, the better decisions you will make for your business.

    Amanda Breen

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  • Home From College: Jobs for Young Adults Without Work Experience | Entrepreneur

    Julia Haber, the 29-year-old co-founder of career platform Home From College, was a student at Syracuse University when she started her first business: an experiential marketing agency that brought retail pop-ups to college campuses and worked with brands like Shopify to teach students about entrepreneurship.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Home From College. Julia Haber.

    The experience gave Haber valuable insight into what the career landscape looks like for Gen Z — and just how much it had changed over the past six-plus years.

    “ This next generation is constantly looking for ways to figure out who they are by doing things,” Haber tells Entrepreneur, “and because it’s such a socially native generation, we see all these people online making money in different ways. This next gen really wants to work with brands they love as well and admire, and it’s a blend of this consumer meets career.”

    Related: Gen Z Is Redefining the Workplace — and Companies Must Adapt or Face Losing Talent

    Recognizing that many students graduate without knowing what they want to do with their lives — and often with significant debt — Haber wanted to help them build “multi-hyphenate” careers early on.

    So Haber launched the Los Angeles-based startup Home From College in 2021 alongside co-founder Kaj Zandvliet, a former banker at PineBridge Investments and financial analyst at Sony Music Entertainment.

    “We position ourselves as the translator between companies and college students.”

    Home From College provides students with an opportunity to earn their first dollars and work with the brands they love in a “flexible, student-first” environment.

    To that end, Home From College only hosts paid job opportunities, 90% of which are remote. Companies can create an account on the platform and list their “gigs,” which could be anything from a one-day project to a lengthier brand ambassador program. Students and recent graduates create their own accounts on the platform and apply for the gigs that interest them — no prior work experience required.

    Home From College is free for students to use. The platform offers four subscription tiers for companies, starting at $49 per month, plus a 20% fee on student compensation. All payments take place on the platform via Stripe.

    Related: Why Gen Z Is Ditching the Corner Office Dream — and How Businesses Can Adapt

    Students typically earn about $30 an hour, and the average ambassador program pays students roughly $1,000 a month. It’s also common for students to work two gigs at once. Some of the top earners have seen “tens of thousands of dollars in a short period of time,” Haber notes — with one dedicated student’s gigs even amounting to a $50,000 paycheck.

    “We position ourselves as the translator between companies and college students, and that really resonated,” Haber says.

    Home From College raised $1.5 million of pre-seed funding in 2022, then $5.4 million in a seed round led by GV, formerly Google Ventures, last year.

    The company is using those funds to continue building a “sustainable, fast-moving” business. Home From College has invested in high-level talent and AI to connect students and brands effectively.

    Related: Top Career Motivations of Gen Z and Reasons They Choose an Employer

    “We’ve been implementing a ton of new roles that have more of an AI bent to them.”

    Additionally, although Home From College initially focused on low- to no-skilled jobs, there’s an interesting opportunity to lean on the hard skills that Gen Z college students and recent graduates often already have — like those related to AI, Haber says.

    “We’ve been implementing a ton of new roles that have more of an AI bent to them,” Haber explains, “and helping companies catch up to the students who are already native [in AI]. So that’s been a new frontier of actually having the students be more of the experts in a topic that companies are less proficient in and helping bridge that gap.”

    Companies on the platform are also interested in students with a talent for customer success and sales at scale, Haber says.

    For example, some consumer brands look to students for help with distribution in challenging markets, like the outskirts of a college campus or the middle of the country. It’s typical for these companies to recruit students to source new locations, such as a nearby deli, to sell products.

    Related: Gen Z Talent Will Walk Away — Unless You Try These 6 Strategies

    “ So it’s creating almost a business development sales team, boots on the ground at scale, where they can hire hundreds of people for that type of role,” Haber says, “where it’s skill and labor, and then simultaneously social media and content.”

    Brands often rely on students to run their TikTok shops too, as it can be a massive undertaking for those that want to launch and scale a meaningful affiliate program, Haber notes.  

    “[Students] come in and run those programs on behalf of companies,” Haber says, “and it’s great because it helps generate revenue for their business, but simultaneously teaches [the students] marketable skills.”

    “You’re not just where you went to school. You’re a bigger version of that.”

    Above all, Haber encourages young adults launching their careers to “use your whole self as the opportunity to market who you are” and land the role you want.

    Home From College facilitates that by allowing students to share more information about themselves than a typical resume or job application might glean — for instance, having curly hair could make them “really attractive” to a shampoo brand that specializes in curls and needs a social media manager to connect with its target customer base.

    Related: Gen Z Is Losing Faith in the College Degree — Here’s 3 Reasons Why It’s Still Important for Them

    “You’re not just your major,” Haber says. “You’re not just what your GPA is. You’re not just where you went to school. You’re a bigger version of that.”

    This article is part of our ongoing series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of being a Young Entrepreneur®.

    Amanda Breen

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  • How Her Side Hustle Became a ‘Monster’ $250M Revenue Business | Entrepreneur

    This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Demi Marchese, 32, founder and CEO of 12th Tribe, a Los Angeles, California-based fashion brand. Here’s how she used $800 to grow a side hustle into a full-blown business that’s seen over $250 million in lifetime revenue and $35 million annually. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of 12th Tribe. Demi Marchese.

    Want to read more stories like this? Subscribe to Money Makers, our free newsletter packed with creative side hustle ideas and successful strategies. Sign up here.

    What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle?
    After college, I worked in sales for my mom during the day and packed orders at night. I didn’t have a fashion degree. I just had a deep desire to build something that felt like me — bold, global, connected. The brand’s identity is grounded in that relentless hustle and the belief that women can create their own rules and lifestyles.

    Related: This Mom’s Creative Side Hustle Started As a Hobby With Less Than $100 — Then Grew Into a Business Averaging $570,000 a Month: ‘It’s Crazy’

    When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
    I started 12th Tribe in 2015 out of a love for styling, storytelling and standing out. While studying abroad in college, I traveled to 11 countries — each one shaping how I saw the world and fashion. I became fascinated with the idea of expressing where you’ve been and who you are through what you wear.

    At the time, I was curating one-of-a-kind vintage pieces to avoid looking like everyone else. One pair of vintage Levi’s shorts became my travel staple and the first product I officially named and marketed as “the short you pack when you don’t know where you’re going next.” That idea resonated quickly.

    After moving to LA, I began dressing girls for Coachella with globally inspired pieces I sourced myself. The festival was a cultural moment, and I leaned in — styling every detail from jewelry to boots. Word spread, and soon I wasn’t just styling girls for festivals, I was building an online destination where they could shop the entire look.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of 12th Tribe

    What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? How much money/investment did it take to launch?
    I launched 12th Tribe with $800, no outside funding and a vision I couldn’t shake. I was a solo founder, fresh out of college, doing everything alongside my family and close friends, packing orders, styling shoots and answering every DM. It started as a side hustle, but our first viral moment hit fast. Festival season landed me in sorority group chats and across Instagram, and I was hand-delivering Thrasher vintage shorts to girls across LA. That short became our first cult product and the foundation of something much bigger.

    Related: He Spent $36 to Start a Side Hustle. Now the Business Earns 6 Figures a Year — With Just 1-2 Hours of Work a Day: ‘Freedom.’

    If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently?
    I would have spent a few years working on management skills. Learning how to manage people while also managing the high level of stress of building a company from zero would have changed my life. I also would have trusted the process more. When I was younger — and remember, I was in my 20s launching this business that turned monster real quick — I second-guessed myself a lot. I questioned what I knew. I let people sway me, and I wish I had trusted my gut a bit more at times.

    When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t?
    People see the photoshoots, product drops and glossy growth moments, but not the sacrifices behind the scenes. In my 20s, I missed more relationship moments than I can count. Not because I didn’t care, but because I was drained, too stressed, too responsible or simply empty from pouring into the business every day.

    Many assume there’s a team handling everything. But as a founder, especially starting from nothing, you’re in the thick of it. You’re not just driving vision and strategy; you’re carrying the weight of deadlines, departments and the livelihoods tied to your decisions. It’s a responsibility most people don’t understand.

    And as a woman, there’s the constant expectation to be “just enough” of everything. Too direct and you’re cold. Too kind and you’re weak. You’re expected to lead with grace under pressure, but the pressure never really lets up. In reality, it’s less about balance and more about stamina, self-belief and learning to keep going even when no one sees the weight you’re carrying.

    Related: These 31-Year-Old Best Friends Started a Side Hustle to Solve a Workout Struggle — And It’s On Track to Hit $10 Million Annual Revenue This Year

    Image Credit: Courtesy of 12th Tribe

    Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong? How did you fix it?
    During peak season, our warehouse partner at the time mishandled inventory for a major launch. Thousands of units were delayed, and customer orders were sitting in limbo. For a brand built on community and trust, that moment felt like it could unravel years of hard work overnight.

    The first step was immediate transparency. I personally stepped in to communicate with our customers, letting them know we were aware of the issue, working around the clock, and that their trust was our top priority. Behind the scenes, I mobilized every department: Our operations team worked directly with the warehouse, our marketing team shifted messaging in real time, and we even restructured fulfillment processes to get orders out manually.

    It was a defining moment for me as a leader because it forced me to not only solve the crisis tactically, but also zoom out and reimagine how we protect the business long-term. That experience ultimately led us to transition to a new global logistics partner and completely overhaul our fulfillment strategy.

    Looking back, what could have been one of our biggest setbacks became a catalyst for scaling with more resilience. It reminded me that as a founder, my role isn’t to avoid problems — it’s to navigate them with clarity, communicate with integrity and make the hard decisions that position the business for the future.

    Related: I Interviewed 5 Entrepreneurs Generating Up to $20 Million in Revenue a Year — And They All Have the Same Regret About Starting Their Business

    How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? How much did the initial side hustle earn?
    In the beginning, it was just me — a one-woman show — with a few friends and family who’d step in to support. That was my first “tribe.” Because I kept the business lean and scrappy, I pushed myself hard and was fortunate to see consistent monthly revenue within just a few months.

    I set intense sales targets for myself and made a promise that if I was going to fall short, I would find a way to make it happen. That meant boots on the ground — whether it was setting up a pop-up, inviting girls into my apartment to shop or selling at any opportunity I could find. I refused to let a month go by without hitting the number.

    At first, I was only making a few hundred, which grew into a couple thousand. I was living at home, so my overhead was low, and I picked up extra income working for my mom’s sales company. But the real engine was pure hustle — I didn’t just wait for online sales to roll in, I created them.

    Eventually, when revenue stabilized, the first hire I made was a finance manager — because I absolutely hated reconciling the books. But those scrappy, do-whatever-it-takes beginnings laid the foundation for everything that came after.

    What does growth and revenue look like now?
    With over $250 million in lifetime revenue and $35 million annually, 12th Tribe has grown into one of the leading DTC fashion brands — all without outside investment. Worn by millions of women worldwide and supported by a loyal 600,000-strong digital community, we’ve become the go-to destination for outfits that make life’s most unforgettable moments. What started with festivals has expanded into a full lifestyle brand, dressing women from college through motherhood and beyond. We’ve achieved double-digit year-over-year growth, launched global shipping that doubled international orders and opened flagship stores in SoHo and on Abbot Kinney in Venice, all while staying 100% female founder–funded.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of 12th Tribe

    What does a typical day or week of work look like for you?
    As a founder and creative director, my time is structured very intentionally across the week to keep the business moving forward on both a visionary and operational level. I begin each week aligning with leadership; this sets the tone by clarifying top priorities, addressing roadblocks and ensuring every department has what it needs to execute.

    From there, I front-load my week with marketing and product, since they’re the heartbeat of the brand and require the most creative and strategic energy. Toward the end of the week, I shift into finance and operations, making sure we’re on track with budgets, forecasting and organizational flow.

    A typical day can swing between big-picture strategy and very hands-on work. I’m often on set for photoshoots, immersed in the creative process, because I believe in being boots on the ground when it comes to storytelling and product presentation. It’s a balance of vision-setting, team alignment and rolling up my sleeves where it matters most, keeping me deeply connected to both the brand and the people who bring it to life.

    I’m currently building out one of the biggest departments that is the center of the brand, so I work pretty heavy hours Monday through Friday. I have given myself the weekends to reset, but by Sunday night, I am prepping for the week ahead. It is really important that I get a full read on my schedule and prioritize what is most important.

    Related: This Couple’s ‘Scrappy’ Side Hustle Sold Out in 1 Weekend — It Hit $1 Million in 3 Years and Now Makes Millions Annually: ‘Lean But Powerful’

    What is your best piece of specific, actionable business advice?
    I want women — especially young founders — to know that you don’t need a million followers, VC funding or a perfect plan to start. You need conviction, community and the courage to show up again and again. That’s what built 12th Tribe. And that’s what will keep us moving, one powerful moment at a time.

    Amanda Breen

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  • The ‘Topgolf’ of Surfing Is a $65 Billion Opportunity | Entrepreneur

    Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.

    When world champions and proven leaders unite, investors pay attention.

    As the former President of Topgolf, Troy Warfield helped transform golf from an exclusive pastime into a global entertainment empire worth billions. That’s why there’s arguably no better CEO to help Surf Lakes bring surfing to the 99% with their patented 360° wave technology.

    Since most people don’t live near a beach, surf parks are a $65B market opportunity on the rise. And Surf Lakes is positioning itself as a global leader in the space. World surfing champions Tom Curren and Mark “Occy” Occhilupo are even joining as shareholders and ambassadors.

    But the real opportunity is not just in the parks. Here’s how Surf Lakes is redefining the sport, and how you can share in their potential growth.

    Millions of people want to surf, but 99% aren’t near a beach

    Despite having an estimated 25 million to 35 million participants worldwide, surfing is still mostly limited to the coasts. Less than 1% of the global population lives near surfable waves. For everyone else, the ocean might as well be off-limits.

    Surf Lakes solves that problem. Their tech produces 2,000 ocean-quality rides per hour across five skill levels, from beginners catching their first roller to pros training in barreling waves. The tech opens a huge opportunity in the surf park market.

    Surfing is growing in popularity as we speak. The sport is now a permanent Olympic event, with 47 million viewers tuning in to the Paris 2024 competition in Brazil alone. Surf parks nearly doubled worldwide in 2024, as developers scramble to meet surging demand.

    For perspective:

    • 6,000+ ski resorts exist worldwide
    • 38,000+ golf courses are operating
    • 410M+ in global theme park attendance

    Surf Lakes believes that the number of surf parks worldwide will reach the hundreds very quickly.

    Multiple ways to profit from surfing

    The Surf Lakes model isn’t just about ticket sales. Their wave tech opens the door to licensing fees and royalties from global partners, memberships and day passes for recurring revenue, competitions, training programs, food, beverage, retail, and more.

    Each new park creates multiple, scalable income streams, just like Topgolf did with memberships, events, and hospitality.

    Surf Lakes has already sold nine tech licenses across the U.S. and Australia. Their first full-scale commercial park is in the works. With industry legends and proven leadership behind them, they’re positioned as the technology provider of choice in a market just hitting critical mass.

    Here’s how investors can be a part of it.

    Get in at the start of Surf Lakes’ next chapter

    For investors, Surf Lakes represents a unique chance to get in ahead of what could be the next global entertainment boom. With patented technology, their first park in the works, and licensing traction accelerating, this company has the potential to dominate.

    That’s why surfing legends and proven business leaders are coming aboard. A-list celebrities are even chiming in—Chris Hemsworth, Hollywood actor and avid surfer, called Surf Lakes an “incredibly surreal experience.”

    The brand is already global. This is an opportunity for investors to join at a pivotal moment before their expansion. Learn more and invest in Surf Lakes by 9/12 to get up to 15% bonus shares.

    This is a paid advertisement for Surf Lakes’ Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular at https://invest.surflakes.com

    When world champions and proven leaders unite, investors pay attention.

    As the former President of Topgolf, Troy Warfield helped transform golf from an exclusive pastime into a global entertainment empire worth billions. That’s why there’s arguably no better CEO to help Surf Lakes bring surfing to the 99% with their patented 360° wave technology.

    Since most people don’t live near a beach, surf parks are a $65B market opportunity on the rise. And Surf Lakes is positioning itself as a global leader in the space. World surfing champions Tom Curren and Mark “Occy” Occhilupo are even joining as shareholders and ambassadors.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    StackCommerce

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  • His Side Hustle Earns 6 Figures a Year: 1-2 Hours of Work a Day | Entrepreneur

    This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Dennis Tinerino, 39, of Los Angeles, California. Tinerino worked in online sales when he first learned about domain names and launching websites, which helped him discover domain investing as a side hustle. Here’s how he turned the gig into a lucrative business that brings in six figures a year — with about an hour or two of work per day. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Domain Smoke. Dennis Tinerino.

    When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
    I started my side hustle in 2014 after discovering that domain names are like real estate, only online. Realizing the right ones could keep growing in value was all the inspiration I needed to dive in. My interest first sparked when I was launching a new website and came across a domain name for sale. I had no idea what the cost might be, so I filled out the form on the seller’s website. A domain broker from Afternic replied, explaining that the name was for sale and would require a six-figure minimum offer. Unfortunately, this domain was out of my budget for this project, but thankfully, they were very helpful and explained why it was valued at that price, even suggesting other names that were closer to my budget at the time. That conversation grabbed my attention and pushed me to do a deep dive into the world of domains.

    Related: These 31-Year-Old Best Friends Started a Side Hustle to Solve a Workout Struggle — And It’s On Track to Hit $10 Million Annual Revenue This Year

    What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? How much money/investment did it take to launch?
    When I started, I did not know anyone personally who was doing this, so I had to teach myself. I dove into blogs, read FAQ sections on marketplaces and learned everything I could about how domains are bought and sold. Like most new investors, my first stop was GoDaddy, where I began registering domains that sounded cool or interesting. Luckily, I kept my spending in check and only bought four domains for a total of $36. One of them, LawyerBoss.com, ended up selling for $700 on Afternic less than two months after I bought it for about $8. That sale was a turning point. It was exciting to see that I could learn the process, list a name and have someone actually buy it for their business. From that moment on, I was hooked and started looking for more ways to find new domains to invest in.

    If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently?
    If I could hop in a time machine, I’d go straight back and immediately sign up for the Domain Academy course on day one. It covers everything about domains, with resources from A to Z, and there’s nothing else like it. I could have skipped months of trial and error, saved a few gray hairs and gotten in the game faster with a deeper understanding of domains and the industry as a whole. There are countless strategies in domain investing, but before you dive in, you need to understand how domains work, what end users are looking for and the different ways to approach them. Trust me, learning this early is a lot cheaper than buying cool names and hoping for the best.

    Related: I Interviewed 5 Entrepreneurs Generating Up to $20 Million in Revenue a Year — And They All Have the Same Regret About Starting Their Business

    When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t?
    The hardest part for newcomers is getting the right education. Too many jump in blind, skip the basics and end up spinning their wheels. It’s like trying to fix a car without ever popping the hood. Making uninformed investments is a quick way to waste time, burn cash and get frustrated fast. Another big surprise is how much upkeep a domain portfolio requires. This is not a buy it and forget it business. You have to watch your names, keep up with renewals, follow the market and be honest when it is time to let go of names that are no longer relevant or valuable.

    Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong? How did you fix it?
    In my early days, I started doing outbound marketing to create interest and generate sales for my domains. I was not thinking about trademarks at the time and reached out to companies that owned marks similar to my names. That mistake earned me a stack of legal threats and cease and desist letters. Thankfully, I was able to resolve each situation on good terms by finding common ground with the parties involved. It was a valuable lesson to always check for trademarks before investing or reaching out to buyers, and I am glad I learned it early. Avoiding legal battles is high on my priority list.

    How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? How much did the side hustle earn?
    It wasn’t until my second to third year of domain investing that I began to see consistent monthly revenue come in. What I noticed is that after my first year, when I started to educate myself more, build up my domain portfolio with better quality domains and then began outbound marketing, my sales accelerated, and steady monthly revenue came in. In the first year, I earned a few thousand with my first initial sales. In the second year, it was in the lower five figures, and it kept ramping up from there as I invested more time and resources.

    Related: This Couple’s ‘Scrappy’ Side Hustle Sold Out in 1 Weekend — It Hit $1 Million in 3 Years and Now Makes Millions Annually: ‘Lean But Powerful’

    What does growth and revenue look like now?
    Back in 2014, the portfolio was just a handful of domains. Today, it has grown to roughly 8,000 to 10,000 names. There were stretches where I was buying one name a day, and some days I went on a spree and grabbed 20, using profits to keep scaling and building the portfolio. Each year, I have consistently added another 500 to 1,000 names, experimenting with different top-level domains (TLDs) and country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) when I spot a trend. The real growth has come from .com domains, which remain the most in-demand with end users. What started as a few thousand dollars a year has grown into a business generating steady six-figure revenue for the past five years. That growth comes from years of research, relentless market tracking, careful portfolio maintenance and making the right moves at the right time, even when they were tough.

    How much time do you spend working on your business on a daily, weekly or monthly basis?
    On a typical day, I spend one to two hours building and managing my portfolio. Over a week, that adds up to 15 to 20 hours, and by the end of the month, it’s usually 60 to 80 hours.

    How do you structure that time? What does a typical day or week of work look like for you?
    My time is split between portfolio management, searching for fresh inventory, outbound marketing and closing deals. Each week, I set aside blocks of time to review my portfolio, adjust prices and prepare names for marketing. Once you get past a few hundred domains, daily portfolio management becomes essential. It is easy to let small tasks slip through the cracks, and that is when mistakes happen. What has saved me the most time is staying organized. It sounds easier than it is, but creating workflows, keeping detailed spreadsheets and using the right tools will save you from falling behind on your daily tasks.

    Related: These Friends Started a Side Hustle in Their Kitchens. Sales Spiked to $130,000 in 3 Days — Then 7 Figures: ‘Revenue Has Grown Consistently.’

    What do you enjoy most about running this business?
    Domain investing can get a little lonely sometimes because you have to put in the hours to stay sharp and up to date. But the thing I have enjoyed the most is the investor community. We are very active on X, and I have met incredible people from all over the world who have helped me grow as an investor, taught me a ton and become lifelong friends.

    The freedom that comes with this business is unlike anything else. You can run it from anywhere in the world with minimal tech skills. You set the rules, choose your hours, decide your prices, pick where to sell your names and choose which names you want to buy.

    Over the years, as an investor, I found myself looking at tens of thousands of domains coming to auction or expiring every day. As great as many of those names were, I knew I could not buy them all, but I also did not want to see those opportunities go unnoticed by other investors. That got me thinking about how I could share this research and these findings with others. That is when I launched Domain Smoke, a daily newsletter sharing industry news, investment opportunities and the best domains hitting auction each day. Since its launch in 2019, it has grown to thousands of readers worldwide who read it every day.

    Based on your journey so far, what’s your best advice for someone who wants to get started with this kind of business?
    When I got started, there were a few things I would change if I could, and I hope my experience can help you find success in your own journey as a domain investor. If you are new to domain investing, here are three tips that can help you start on the right foot:

    1. Be patient with hand registrations
      This one is not easy, but you will thank me later. Try to hold back from registering new domains by hand until you have a proper understanding of domain investing. The easiest mistake beginners make is buying names that are not likely to sell. Many of them also have little or no appeal to end users. That costs both time and money you will not get back. Once you get past the learning phase, you will have plenty of time to acquire domains that actually fit your strategy. When you know what to invest in, you will be glad you waited.
    2. Invest in yourself early
      They say the more you learn, the more you earn, and that is definitely true with domains. Avoid rookie mistakes by investing in your education. One of the best places to start is the Domain Academy course from GoDaddy, which teaches the ins and outs of the business. Just like any other form of investing, there are many ways to make money, but the best way to improve your chances of success early on is to educate yourself.
    3. Keep learning and follow the data
      It is easy to get started, build up a bit of knowledge and then think you know it all. But markets evolve, trends shift, and change is constant. Stay up to date with domain blogs, industry news, eBooks, Domain Sherpa shows and forums like NamePros, which is full of free knowledge for beginners. Most importantly, follow the data. Study sales and trends using resources like NameBio, dotDB and DNJournal. These will help you understand what is actually selling, what is trending and why. That insight gives you a competitive edge and keeps you aligned with the market.

    Related: I’ve Interviewed Over 100 Entrepreneurs Who Started Businesses Worth $1 Million to $1 Billion or More. Here’s Some of Their Best Advice.

    Start small, stay consistent and give yourself time to learn. Every successful investor was once a beginner. The more you study and track sales data, the sharper your skills will become. And remember, the community side of this business matters too. The investors and connections you build can be just as valuable as the domains you own.

    Want to read more stories like this? Subscribe to Money Makers, our free newsletter packed with creative side hustle ideas and successful strategies. Sign up here.

    Amanda Breen

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  • Her Business Helps Women Earn in a $6.3B Industry: ‘Rewarding’ | Entrepreneur

    Moniqueca Sims, owner of SSG Appliance Academy, got her first glimpse into the appliance repair industry while dating a man who worked in the space. “He worked all the time, seven days a week,” Sims recalls, “so I used to go out with him just to spend time with him. I saw how easy it was for him to repair those appliances, and he was repairing them quickly.”

    Image Credit: Courtesy of SSG Appliance Academy. Moniqueca Sims.

    Sims believes in “working smarter, not harder” and had the idea to hire technicians to help the man she was dating with repair calls. She did, but when he didn’t slow down, she ended up with her own appliance repair company.

    However, in running that business, Sims lost a significant amount of money purchasing parts. Many people she hired didn’t actually know how to repair appliances — and would just switch out part after part in search of a fit.

    Related: After Experiencing the ‘Lack of Diversity’ in Tech, This Software Engineer Started a Business That’s Changing Lives: ‘People Are Waking Up’

    So Sims took matters into her own hands again. She enrolled in an online course to learn about appliance repair and started handling jobs herself, even taking her kids along sometimes.

    “When you fix something, it boosts you up, every time you do it.”

    Still, Sims knew there had to be a better way to train and hire technicians for business growth, so once more she set out to make it happen: She founded SSG Appliance Academy, which provides hands-on training courses on the fundamentals to have a career in the appliance repair industry, in Atlanta in 2019.

    “ I saw how appliance repair was the gift that keeps on giving,” Sims says. “When you go out, when you fix something, it boosts you up, every time you do it. It’s not a grunt job. It’s a feel-good job.”

    When Sims went out on jobs with her daughter, she found that many of the clients were stay-at-home moms who breathed a sigh of relief when they realized they wouldn’t be alone with a male worker. Knowing that, and seeing firsthand what a confidence booster appliance repair could be, Sims committed to bringing more women into the industry.

    The total appliance repair industry revenue reached an estimated $6.3 billion in 2023, yet women make up less than 3% of home appliance repairers, according to data from ConsumerAffairs.

    Related: Raised By an Immigrant Single Mom, She Experienced ‘Culture Shock’ Working at Goldman Sachs. Here’s What She Wants You to Know About ‘Black Capitalism.’

    Sims decided to partner with shelters to grow SSG Appliance Academy and offer a viable career path to the women there. Although there was a lot of interest, the shelters didn’t have the funding to back it. So Sims got approved for grants through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

    The funding helps low-income, under- or unemployed women and men complete SSG Appliance Academy’s program and “turn their life around,” Sims says.

    SSG Appliance Academy’s classes typically enroll eight to 10 students. The most recent course had three women in it. In the past, Sims often had to attend events and convince women to come to the class; now, word-of-mouth is helping them find it themselves, she says.

    “ You constantly have to prove yourself [as a woman] in this industry.”

    Sims looks forward to seeing even more women take advantage of SSG Appliance Academy, despite the challenges that can come with being a woman in the space.

    “ You constantly have to prove yourself [as a woman] in this industry, and not just to the customers,” Sims says. “You have to prove yourself to everybody that works in the industry.”

    Sims is also excited to see more people across the board jump into the appliance repair industry, noting that learning a trade can help people make more money than they might through earning a four-year college degree.

    “Appliance repair can really help change people’s lives,” the founder says.

    Related: This Black Founder Stayed True to His Triple ‘Win’ Strategy to Build a $1 Billion Business

    “You want to learn your craft from the inside out.”

    To other women interested in starting their own careers or businesses in the appliance repair industry, Sims has some straightforward but essential advice: Enroll in a program that can help you learn all you need to know about the trade.

    “You want to learn your craft from the inside out,” Sims says. “A lot of technicians in the field now learn on the job, so they become part-changers because they don’t learn how to diagnose and troubleshoot the appliances properly. So my advice would definitely be to take a class. It doesn’t have to be my school — any school.”

    Related: I Interviewed 5 Entrepreneurs Generating Up to $20 Million in Revenue a Year — And They All Have the Same Regret About Starting Their Business

    Sims notes that there will be plenty of obstacles along the way, but she encourages anyone interested in learning appliance repair to stay the course — because “it’s a very rewarding career and business.”

    This article is part of our ongoing Women Entrepreneur® series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of running a business as a woman.

    Moniqueca Sims, owner of SSG Appliance Academy, got her first glimpse into the appliance repair industry while dating a man who worked in the space. “He worked all the time, seven days a week,” Sims recalls, “so I used to go out with him just to spend time with him. I saw how easy it was for him to repair those appliances, and he was repairing them quickly.”

    Image Credit: Courtesy of SSG Appliance Academy. Moniqueca Sims.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    Amanda Breen

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  • Co-founders of Stakt on Starting a Side Hustle Earning $10M in 2025 | Entrepreneur

    This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features New York City-based friends and co-founders Millie Blumka, 31, and Taylor Borenstein, 31. The pair started a side hustle in 2021 called Stakt, an adaptable workout accessories brand.

    Blumka was a director of brand partnerships at Showfields and Borenstein was a product implementation manager at Bloomberg when they invested about $50,000 of their personal savings into the business. The co-founders have since grown it from a two-person operation to a lucrative business on track for $10 million in revenue in 2025 as it scales across Amazon, DTC and B2B.

    Read exactly how they did it, here.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Stakt. Taylor Borenstein, left, and Millie Blumka, right.

    Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

    When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
    Blumka and Borenstein: We had the idea for Stakt back in 2020 when home workouts became the norm and our old yoga mats just weren’t cutting it. We needed more support and versatility for the variety of workouts we were doing like sculpt and pilates, and we couldn’t find a mat that could keep up. We found inspiration through our own personal need and noticing many trainers we looked up to were rolling their mat in half to get extra support…we knew there had to be a better way.

    Related: This Couple’s ‘Scrappy’ Side Hustle Sold Out in 1 Weekend — It Hit $1 Million in 3 Years and Now Makes Millions Annually: ‘Lean But Powerful’

    What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground? How much money/investment did it take to launch?
    Blumka and Borenstein:     Neither of us had started a business before, let alone created a product, so the first step was a lot of networking. We spoke with friends of friends to try to understand how you even go about creating a product. We also did a lot of surveying to understand if this was an “us” problem or if other people were struggling with this, too. We each invested $25,000 of our own savings to get the business off the ground and have invested profits ever since.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Stakt

    If you could go back in your business journey and change one process or approach, what would it be, and how do you wish you’d done it differently?
    Blumka:     If I could go back, I’d probably establish our lanes much earlier. In the beginning, we both tried to touch everything and be hands on for every aspect of the business. Once we defined who owned what, things became so much smoother. Having those roles in place earlier would have saved us a lot of time.

    Borenstein: I probably would have hired customer service support sooner, as we spent a lot of our time on customer experience when we could have spent it building the business.

    Related: These Friends Started a Side Hustle in Their Kitchens. Sales Spiked to $130,000 in 3 Days — Then 7 Figures: ‘Revenue Has Grown Consistently.’

    When it comes to this specific business, what is something you’ve found particularly challenging and/or surprising that people who get into this type of work should be prepared for, but likely aren’t?
    Borenstein:     Before starting a consumer brand, I had always thought, How hard could it be if you have a good product? It turns out the product is just the first step: Growing a business takes a ton of discipline, hard work, networking and efforts across all verticals to really make it successful.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Stakt

    Can you recall a specific instance when something went very wrong — how did you fix it?
    Blumka:     We once had an entire container of inventory arrive damaged, and we didn’t feel comfortable selling it. Instead, we donated the mats to local organizations and used them for community events. It left us out of stock for a while, so we leaned on pre-orders and reframed the challenge as a marketing opportunity.

    How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue? How much did the side hustle earn?
    Blumka:     We didn’t pay ourselves until we decided it was time to make Stakt our full-time jobs instead of just a side hustle.

    Borenstein: It took about a year before things leveled out and we saw consistent monthly revenue. For the first year, there were good months, great months and bad months — eventually it became more consistent and easier to predict.

    Related: At 24, She Immigrated to the U.S. and Worked at Walmart. Then She Turned Savings Into a ‘Magic’ Side Hustle Surpassing $1 Million This Year.

    What does growth and revenue look like now?
    Blumka and Borenstein:     We are on track to do $10 million in revenue this year — doubling what we did in 2024.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Stakt

    What do you enjoy most about running your business?
    Blumka:     The combination of creativity and community. I love taking an idea and turning it into something people genuinely connect with. That said, the real reward is seeing our products out in the wild, with people actually using and loving them. Building community around movement and wellness has been the most fulfilling part. Plus, doing it alongside my best friend is the biggest bonus.

    Borenstein: At some point, this truly stopped feeling like work. Stakt is an extension of me and my family, and every day I get to work with my best friend and my husband (whom we hired last year). I love that I can make my own schedule, my hard work is rewarded with the growth of my own business, I meet awesome people, and I get the opportunity to design new products and see them come to life.

    “Chaos is part of the journey.”

    Based on your journey so far, what’s your best advice for aspiring founders?
    Blumka:     There will never be a perfect time, perfect product or perfect plan, but you have to start somewhere. There will always be a reason to wait, but the real progress starts once you launch. This is when you can adapt, learn and grow.

    Borenstein: Everyone will have advice, but trust your gut — there’s no single playbook. And remember, no one has it all figured out; the chaos is part of the journey.

    Want to read more stories like this? Subscribe to Money Makers, our free newsletter packed with creative side hustle ideas and successful strategies. Sign up here.

    This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features New York City-based friends and co-founders Millie Blumka, 31, and Taylor Borenstein, 31. The pair started a side hustle in 2021 called Stakt, an adaptable workout accessories brand.

    Blumka was a director of brand partnerships at Showfields and Borenstein was a product implementation manager at Bloomberg when they invested about $50,000 of their personal savings into the business. The co-founders have since grown it from a two-person operation to a lucrative business on track for $10 million in revenue in 2025 as it scales across Amazon, DTC and B2B.

    Read exactly how they did it, here.

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    Amanda Breen

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  • How a Software Engineer’s Business Impacts Education | Entrepreneur

    As Brandon Bailey, founder and CEO of TutorD, built his career in software engineering, he came face-to-face with the “lack of diversity and inclusion” in tech — and he wanted to do something about it.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of TutorD. Brandon Bailey.

    Bailey worked at a consultancy in Chicago at the time, and as co-lead for one of the firm’s employee resource groups, he partnered with a couple of community-based organizations. One partnership was with a middle school in Bronzeville.

    The school was located about 15 minutes from Bailey’s home, but the students “had a totally different lived experience,” the founder recalls. Many of the kids had never been on an escalator or inside a skyscraper despite living just minutes from downtown.

    Related: Technology Opens the Door for Entrepreneurs to Achieve the Triple Bottom Line

    The program helped the students have those experiences and access internships and other opportunities. “That gave me this drive and passion for the educational experience and helping facilitate it,” Bailey says. “It changed my life. I know it changed [their lives].”

    But Bailey wanted to figure out how to reach even more people. He landed a job at an edtech startup in Los Angeles, California, and began to think about how he could bring together education, engineering and entrepreneurship.

    When considering the platform or tool that could accomplish that, Bailey noted one significant obstacle: There was an issue of connectivity for students who didn’t have access to computers in their homes. However, most students did have cellphones, so Bailey decided to meet the students where they were and build for those.

    Related: How DEI and Sustainability Can Grow Your Triple Bottom Line

    “We wanted to lead with providing value to the community first and gaining trust and buy-in.”

    Bailey officially founded TutorD, an edtech platform for teachers and tutors to enable distance learning, and TutorD Scholars, a nonprofit that teaches “urban youth in-demand 22nd century skills,” in 2019.

    “We wanted to lead with providing value to the community first and gaining trust and buy-in into what we were doing,” Bailey says. “So that’s why we led with the nonprofit TutorD Scholars first, while building out the software platform.”

    Teaching made it easier to figure out the specific tools students would need on the platform and how to tailor lessons to their unique learning styles.

    Related: This Black Founder Stayed True to His Triple ‘Win’ Strategy to Build a $1 Billion Business

     ”We’re teaching [the students] in different ways,” Bailey says, “so using visual, auditory, reading and kinesthetic. [It’s] a very intentional approach.”

    Entrepreneur sat down with Bailey to learn more about how he’s grown TutorD into a successful business — and the role that Intuit’s IDEAS accelerator program has played.

    Intuit’s IDEAS accelerator program provides founders access to capital and the company’s AI-powered platform, service and experts, plus business coaching from the National Urban League and executive coaching from Zella Life to support their business and professional growth.

    Related: Over Half of Small Businesses Are Struggling to Grow, Intuit Survey Shows — But These 5 Solutions Can Help

    Learning the accounting fundamentals was a game changer

    Through the IDEAS program, Bailey got valuable exposure to the basic accounting fundamentals, like cash flow and profit and loss statements, that make or break a business.

    “That wasn’t something I had a lot of support with growing up, looking back at it,” Bailey says. “In our household, [and] it is common across Black and brown households, we didn’t have that training around finances.”

    Receiving that technical training helped Bailey and the TutorD team develop a clearer sense of where the business was headed and how its costs and sales projections would shape that trajectory, the founder notes.

    Related: Why Accounting Skills Are Indispensable for Entrepreneurs

    Streamlining the business’s messaging was also key

    TutorD used Intuit’s MailChimp, an email and marketing automation platform for growing businesses, to streamline its communications.

    Not only did the platform make it easier for people to get in touch with TutorD, but it also helped cultivate a sense of presence — making the business seem bigger than it was, Bailey says.

     ”We’re a team of five right now, and we’re dealing with other companies that are 200, 500 people strong,” Bailey explains. “And they have $20 million backed by different investors. [MailChimp] helped us appear bigger than we are to compete in the market and with other edtech companies.”

    Related: How to Streamline Your Company’s Internal Messaging and Communication

    Leaning on mentors helped during tough times

    The business coach that Bailey connected with through Zella Life also became an integral part of TutorD’s journey.

    Having a support system in place was invaluable as Bailey juggled the challenges of growing a business with major life events, he says.

    “My father passed away, and my baby came, and I had an injury, all in a three-month span,” Bailey says. “My coach had also lost his mother around that time, so we [had a] really deep connection, and he was able to help.”

    Related: How to Evolve From Manager to Mentor and Create a Lasting Impact in Your Organization

    Bailey says that the IDEAS program put TutorD in the position to scale — and gave him and his team the confidence to talk to people about their journey.

    Advice for young entrepreneurs

    Bailey encourages other young, aspiring entrepreneurs to never stop learning, seek out opportunities where there’s a need and ability to create value, connect with other founders who can serve as mentors, and leverage the community to help lay the foundation for business success.

    He’s also excited to see people embracing the “triple bottom line,” which tracks a business’s financial, social and environmental performance — and suggests anyone considering the leap to founder do the same.

    “ People are waking up to [the fact that] it’s not just about making money and some infinitely growing, making-money approach to entrepreneurship and capitalism in general, but really looking at it with a triple bottom line approach, generating sustainable profit or revenue for yourself, your family, business and shareholders, but also making an impact in the community,” Bailey says.

    Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success.

    Amanda Breen

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  • Average Ages to Make 6 Figures, Buy a House, Save for Retirement | Entrepreneur

    There’s no age limit when it comes to achieving significant financial milestones, but many people envision checking them off their list by a certain point in their lives.

    Unfortunately, these days, amid high costs of living and economic uncertainty, most U.S. adults fall short of wealth-building goals: 77% say they aren’t completely financially secure, according to Bankrate’s Financial Freedom survey.

    How old should you really be to land that dream job, start saving for retirement, earn six figures or buy your first home?

    Related: Rewire Your Brain to Reach Money Goals With This Simple Exercise From a Former J.P. Morgan Retirement Executive

    New research from Empower set out to answer those questions and explore how Americans navigate money milestones today.

    Although just 17% believe people should hit financial milestones by a specific age, 44% are glad they achieved them when they did, per the report.

    On average, Americans think you should start saving for retirement at 27, land your dream job at 29, buy your first home at 30 and earn six figures by 35, according to the research. Respondents also reported hoping to be debt-free at 41 and to retire at 58.

    About half of Americans (45%) wish they’d saved money earlier and with more consistency in order to prepare for life’s big changes, the study found.

    Related: Make Your Money Manage Itself — How to Automate Your Personal Finances and Keep Your Goals on Track

    After planning for retirement and becoming a homeowner, Americans see several life events as significant wealth-building opportunities: investing in stocks (34%), investing in education (26%), changing career paths (21%), getting married (19%) and starting a business (19%).

    Nearly one-third of respondents said they realized the value of having a financial plan or working with a financial planner after meeting a life milestone.

    “For all ages, it’s important to talk to an advisor who can help create a tailored path specific to your financial goals and set you up for a realistic retirement lifestyle,” Stacey Black, lead financial educator at Boeing Employees Credit Union (BECU), told Entrepreneur last year.

    Ready to break through your revenue ceiling? Join us at Level Up, a conference for ambitious business leaders to unlock new growth opportunities.

    There’s no age limit when it comes to achieving significant financial milestones, but many people envision checking them off their list by a certain point in their lives.

    Unfortunately, these days, amid high costs of living and economic uncertainty, most U.S. adults fall short of wealth-building goals: 77% say they aren’t completely financially secure, according to Bankrate’s Financial Freedom survey.

    How old should you really be to land that dream job, start saving for retirement, earn six figures or buy your first home?

    The rest of this article is locked.

    Join Entrepreneur+ today for access.

    Amanda Breen

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  • I Was a Founder Before I Became an Investor — Here’s How It Shaped My Investment Strategy | Entrepreneur

    I Was a Founder Before I Became an Investor — Here’s How It Shaped My Investment Strategy | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Before becoming an investor at Bread, I was a startup founder. I know what it’s like to stand before a room full of people, palms sweating, asking them to believe in me. I also know the relentless effort it takes to prove, time and again, that their faith — and their money — will pay off. My journey from founder to funder was shaped by these experiences, and it’s why I approach investing differently.

    As a founder, I benefited most from investors who went beyond providing capital. They mentored me, guided me through difficult decisions and became true partners in my entrepreneurial journey. Now, as an investor, I aspire to offer the same kind of support to the founders I back because it’s something that the startup world has long been missing.

    This founder-to-funder transition isn’t unique to me — I’m seeing a growing number of entrepreneurs take their hard-earned experience and apply it to venture capital. What’s more, there’s an increasing number of former founders taking on strategic consulting roles for young companies. These “founders for hire” aren’t just giving advice from the sidelines; they’re applying years of entrepreneurial experience to help today’s founders plan, execute and grow their businesses.

    Both founders-to-investors and founders-for-hire are transforming how startups are funded and nurtured, and I believe it will have a profound impact on the startup ecosystem for years to come.

    Related: How Saying ‘Yes’ to Every Opportunity Helped My Startup Make $1 Million in the First Year

    A unique perspective

    Successful founder VCs have investment success rates that are 6.5 percentage points higher than professional VCs. This doesn’t surprise me. Founder-turned-investors bring something to the table that isn’t common in the VC world: operational knowledge. They’ve experienced the highs and lows of startup life, understand the challenges of scaling a business, and have a keen eye for identifying promising ventures. Investors with startup experience can relate to founders on a deeper level, offering insights that traditional investors might miss.

    My co-founders and I built our first product company, Density, from the ground up, which has shaped my approach to supporting my portfolio companies. It’s a common misconception that innovation in business is all about technological discovery, when really it’s about solving “boring problems.” I look for founders who are just as excited about their hiring practices, operational processes, and financial planning, as they are about their product development. When you’re excited about the boring things, you build better products and run a more stable business. I wouldn’t know this without the firsthand trial-and-error experience I gained as a founder.

    How experiences shape investment strategies

    If you’re a founder looking to raise capital, here’s why you want to look for an investor with startup experience:

    1. Emphasis on product and market fit: Having built products themselves, a founder-turned-investor is able to quickly assess a startup’s potential to solve real-world problems.
    2. Realistic expectations: They understand the challenges of scaling and are often more patient with growth trajectories.
    3. Focus on fundamentals: They tend to prioritize sustainable business models over hype-driven metrics.
    4. Empathy for founders: They’re more likely to back passionate founders who demonstrate grit and adaptability.

    Investors with startup experience also offer much more than access to capital, often providing founders with access to their network, partnership opportunities and guidance on every part of the business.

    The importance of hands-on involvement

    One of the most significant advantages that a founder-investor brings to the table is a willingness to roll up their sleeves and get involved in portfolio companies. They often want to know the ins and outs of product development at every company they invest in and the operational challenges they’re dealing with.

    Are they struggling to hire the right people? Are they lacking clear processes for project deliverables? Are they conflicted about which product feature to prioritize?

    Whatever the challenge, founder-turned-funders are not afraid to get into the trenches with their portfolio companies. Personally, I’ve spent hours helping founders reshape their visual identity, refine their marketing strategy or even relaunch their product if necessary. In many cases, I am literally in the code with them.

    Investors who’ve started their own companies know how hard it is. They want to provide emotional support and guidance through the intense ups and downs of startup life. By being a sounding board for the founders I work with, I hope to make the journey a little less stressful, which can make achieving success a bit easier.

    Related: What Should You Value More — An Investor’s Money or Their Experience?

    The future of the founder-led startup ecosystem

    Just as founder-led venture capital firms offer early entrepreneurs access to operational guidance, working with a consultant who has started their own company can provide invaluable mentorship opportunities.

    What sets a founder-for-hire apart from a traditional consultant is the depth of their involvement. They’re not just helping startups refine their sales motions or market strategies; they’re actively shaping products, helping find market fit, and even assisting in building out teams. It’s a level of engagement that goes far beyond typical consultant-client relationships. It’s also a flexible way for startups to tap into years of experience without needing to hire someone full-time or give up too much equity.

    Having a founder-consultant on your team is one of the smartest things you can do as an early entrepreneur. The combination of practical experience is invaluable in those first stages of business growth.

    Related: I Shifted From Founder to CEO 20 Years Ago and Never Looked Back — Here’s How to Successfully Make the Leap

    Bridging the gap

    The rise of founder-turned-investors and entrepreneurial consultants is changing the game for both venture capital and startups. By mixing financial knowledge with the real-world experience and hands-on involvement of former founders, these new players offer a unique level of business development and growth potential for young companies.

    For new entrepreneurs, this means a more supportive and understanding investment landscape. And for the startup ecosystem overall, it means a clearer path to success for everyone involved.

    Rob Grazioli

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  • The 5 Roles You Need on Your Team When Acquiring a Business | Entrepreneur

    The 5 Roles You Need on Your Team When Acquiring a Business | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Acquiring a business is no small feat. The complexity and scale of the process necessitate a deep understanding of various domains, from financial analysis to operational management. You’re not just buying assets; you’re inheriting a legacy, a brand, an employee base and an entire ecosystem that needs to be meticulously managed and integrated.

    Success hinges on assembling a team of skilled professionals who bring diverse competencies to the table, ensuring every facet of the business is thoroughly examined and seamlessly incorporated into your vision.

    Each role is designed to cover critical areas of the business, addressing challenges specific to different core industries. Whether you’re venturing into technology, manufacturing, healthcare or any other sector, these key positions will help you navigate the complexities and unlock the full potential of your new venture.

    Here are the five positions that are indispensable for a successful acquisition and smooth integration.

    Related: 6 Critical Steps for Buying a Business

    1. Business Development Strategist

    Role overview:

    A Business Development Strategist is instrumental in identifying growth opportunities and creating strategic plans. Their responsibilities include market analysis, partnerships, risk mitigation and strategic planning.

    Real-world example:

    When Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017, the Business Development Strategist team played a critical role. They identified potential synergies between Amazon’s technology and Whole Foods’ physical stores, leading to innovations like cashier-less checkouts and improved supply chain efficiencies.

    How they work with other roles:

    With Financial Analysts: Collaborate to align strategic plans with financial forecasts and valuations.

    With Sales Leaders: Share market insights to refine sales strategies and set realistic targets.

    With Industry Specialists: Use regulatory and market intelligence to craft informed growth strategies.

    2. Financial Analyst

    Role overview:

    A Financial Analyst provides essential insights into the financial health of the business through financial modeling, valuation, due diligence, performance analysis and strategic financial planning.

    Real-world example:

    During the acquisition of LinkedIn by Microsoft, Financial Analysts conducted detailed due diligence, including discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis and comparable company analysis, to justify the $26.2 billion price tag and forecast future performance.

    How they work with other roles:

    With Business Development Strategists: Provide financial data to support strategic growth plans and risk assessments.

    With Sales Leaders: Analyze sales data to gauge the financial impact of proposed sales strategies.

    With Operations Managers: Monitor financial performance metrics to identify cost-saving opportunities in operations.

    3. Sales Leader

    Role overview:

    A Sales Leader drives revenue and scales the business through strategy development, team management, customer insights, data-driven decision-making and cross-departmental collaboration.

    Real-world example:

    When Salesforce acquired Slack, the Sales Leader’s role was pivotal in integrating Slack’s sales processes with Salesforce’s, developing a unified sales strategy to maximize cross-sell opportunities and drive adoption of Slack’s platform within Salesforce’s existing customer base.

    How they work with other roles:

    With Business Development Strategists: Align sales goals with strategic growth opportunities.

    With Financial Analysts: Use financial metrics to refine sales strategies and measure effectiveness.

    With Industry Specialists: Leverage industry insights to tailor sales approaches and enhance customer engagement.

    Related: Purchasing a Business Doesn’t Have to Be Difficult. Here’s Your Comprehensive Guide.

    4. Industry Specialist

    Role overview:

    An Industry Specialist brings deep sector-specific knowledge, covering regulatory compliance, innovation, networking, market intelligence and training.

    Real-world example:

    In the acquisition of EMI Music by Universal Music Group, Industry Specialists ensured compliance with complex music industry regulations and helped integrate EMI’s diverse catalog into Universal’s operations, while fostering relationships with key stakeholders in the music industry.

    How they work with other roles:

    With Financial Analysts: Provide industry-specific data to enhance financial modeling and valuation.

    With Sales Leaders: Offer insights into industry trends and customer preferences to inform sales strategies.

    With Operations Managers: Ensure operational processes align with industry standards and innovations.

    5. Operations Manager

    Role overview:

    An Operations Manager ensures smooth day-to-day operations, focusing on process optimization, supply chain management and quality control.

    Real-world example:

    When Walmart acquired Jet.com, Operations Managers streamlined Jet’s supply chain processes and integrated Walmart’s logistics infrastructure, leading to improved efficiency and cost reductions.

    How they work with other roles:

    With Business Development Strategists: Implement strategic plans by optimizing operational processes.

    With Financial Analysts: Manage operational costs and identify cost-saving initiatives to improve financial performance.

    With Sales Leaders: Ensure operational capabilities align with sales goals and customer expectations.

    Related: Buying a Business? Make Sure It Checks The Boxes On This Checklist Before You Pull The Trigger.

    Assembling a team with these specialized roles — Business Development Strategist, Financial Analyst, Sales Leader, Industry Specialist, and Operations Manager — can transform the daunting task of acquiring a billion-dollar business into a well-managed and successful venture.

    Each role not only brings essential skills but also works synergistically with others to ensure every facet of the business is expertly handled. By integrating these roles effectively, you position your acquisition for long-term success and sustained growth.

    Roy Dekel

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  • Her T-Shirt Side Hustle Led to a DM From Levi’s and $400M | Entrepreneur

    Her T-Shirt Side Hustle Led to a DM From Levi’s and $400M | Entrepreneur

    This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Michelle Wahler, co-founder and former CEO of activewear brand Beyond Yoga. Wahler launched Beyond Yoga with Jodi Guber Brufsky in 2006. Years later, Levi’s reached out to Wahler via LinkedIn direct message, ultimately acquiring the company for $400 million in 2021. Under Wahler’s leadership, Beyond Yoga achieved 19% year-over-year growth and surpassed $115 million in revenue in 2023. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

    Image Credit: Greyson Tarantino. Michelle Wahler.

    What was your day job or primary occupation when you started your side hustle?
    After graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in graphic design, I moved to New York to work in publishing, originally at People magazine and later Harper’s Bazaar. It was during that time that I started drawing illustrations of my friends, which I would put on T-shirts to give as birthday presents.

    Related: The Side Hustle She Worked on in a Local Starbucks ‘Went From Nothing to $1 Million.’ Now It Will Make Over $30 Million This Year.

    This hobby of mine ultimately turned into a company I called Unsweetened, with clothing and accessories featuring illustrations of women — in what I viewed as an “un-sugar-coated” version of them.

    Where did you find the inspiration for your side hustle?
    [At my magazine jobs], I got a firsthand look at the photoshopping that goes on in the industry. Both jobs were incredible experiences, but they shed light on the unrealistic expectations the media was putting into the market and minds of their consumers. My entire life, I have watched incredible, smart, beautiful women not see themselves as they are and try to conform to a singular idea of beauty. While this frustration was brewing, I struggled to make ends meet, working long hours for little pay but gaining loads of invaluable experience! At the time, my best friend and roommate’s birthday was coming up, and since I didn’t have the means to buy her something great, I decided to make her a birthday present — I sketched her and put the illustration on a T-shirt.

    All my friends loved it, so for the next year, everyone got one of these unique drawings of themselves on a T-shirt. These illustrations celebrated them for who they were — curves, careers and fun! I called it the “unsweetened” version of themselves, and before I knew it, I started selling them. It felt so fulfilling to be doing something that I loved while simultaneously promoting body positivity and self-confidence from within.

    Related: They Started a Home-Based Side Hustle Earning Up to $20,000 a Month — and It’s Still Growing: ‘Will Never Get Old’

    What were some of the first steps you took to get your side hustle off the ground?
    At People, I had a cubicle right in front of the publisher — a high-traffic cube! — and I put all my sketches on the wall. People started asking me to make them for them for their friends, and the next thing I knew, I was buying a T-shirt press, getting a wholesale license, purchasing T-shirts and printing and packing them in my shared apartment after my roommate went to bed.

    The T-shirts were a hit, and I started spending all my free time working on Unsweetened. I sold the shirts at holiday bazaars and craft shows and eventually got a booth at the New York City Gift Show and the Los Angeles Gift Show. Ultimately, I left New York City with the intention of making a full run of Unsweetened on the West Coast; however, things quickly changed upon my arrival.

    What led you to decide to transform the side hustle into full-time business Beyond Yoga?
    I moved to California and was very quickly introduced to Jodi [Guber Brufsky], who would become my future business partner. I instantly fell in love with the mission of Beyond Yoga, put Unsweetened on hold and went full steam ahead building Beyond Yoga — a brand that would eventually permanently change industry standards and expectations. These days, size inclusivity is a given for a new brand starting out, but this was just not the case 20 years ago when we started building Beyond Yoga. It’s really something that we pioneered, and I’m proud to be a big part of that movement.

    Related: This 26-Year-Old Dental Student Spent $25 to Start a Side Hustle That Can Earn $500 for Just a Few Hours of Work: ‘There Is Nothing More Satisfying’

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Beyond Yoga

    The idea of creating a line of clothing that celebrates women of all shapes and sizes was very exciting to me. After meeting Jodi, I shared some of my ideas for the business and the product. From that point on, I spent the next 18.5 years building Beyond Yoga from an idea to a global brand, employing hundreds of people (directly and indirectly), driving over half a billion in revenue, and running a profitable business without taking on any additional funding.

    What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while building Beyond Yoga, and how did you navigate them?
    Early on while building Beyond Yoga, everything was a challenge! Getting into stores and securing trusted wholesale partners, learning the ins and outs of the business, teaching myself everything on the fly and building the team from the ground up. It was a lot of work, but it was so rewarding and a time in my career where I learned many valuable lessons and skills.

    Some of the biggest challenges I faced included understanding fabric shrinkage and how to apply it to a pattern, figuring out the ERP, teaching myself merchandising and forecasting, hiring and firing, learning how to delegate — the list goes on and on.

    Related: This Couple’s Weekend Side Hustle Began With a $50 Facebook Marketplace Purchase — Now It Earns Millions of Dollars a Year: ‘You Don’t Need Money to Start’

    It was a long journey, and in the early days, we were a very lean and green team. We did absolutely everything ourselves, and there was a lot of learning to be done. Things started shifting about five years into the business, which is also around the time of one of my most impactful hires: our COO/CFO. Having him on board helped give me more comfort around investing in our team and leveling up by bringing on more experienced professionals.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Beyond Yoga

    What was the experience of growing the company like over the years? What were some highlights?
    Growing Beyond Yoga into the company it is today was no small feat, but it’s something I’m so incredibly proud of. Even though we began investing more aggressively over the years, we always ran the business for growth, investing every penny back into the business. Once we reached around $20 million, we thought it might be time to take on investors. After learning a few valuable lessons, we took ourselves off the market and decided to focus on profits and controlling our destiny.

    A noteworthy milestone was when I discovered Space Dye, which became the backbone fabric of the company. It was a game changer — so soft, yet durable with the perfect stretch and recovery. It quickly became a fan favorite and is still a huge part of the Beyond Yoga collections today. I love that an exploratory fabric meeting in 2013 led to so much growth and became a pillar for the brand. My love of fabrics gave way to a style revolution that transformed the activewear landscape that still continues to be emulated today.

    Another highlight during my career was becoming a mom, when I learned to balance work, love, family and friends. It was also where Beyond the Bump was born. Becoming a mom and seeing my friends and peers go through this transition helped inspire the creation of our Beyond the Bump line. After being so disappointed in the lack of comfortable clothes for women during and after pregnancy, the only way I was going to find options I liked was if I designed them myself, so I did. This ended up becoming one of our most successful brand extensions and a great way to introduce new customers to Beyond Yoga.

    Related: She Started a ‘Fun’ Side Hustle — Then It Earned $100,000 and Became a Multimillion-Dollar Business: ‘Beyond What I Could Ever Have Expected’

    When and how did the Levi’s acquisition come about? Why was that a “full circle moment”?
    When Levi’s reached out, we were not looking to sell at that point, and honestly, I don’t think we would have sold to anyone else. I was flattered! Levi’s is an iconic brand, and after learning about its values and principles over profits mentality, I was excited to explore this opportunity.

    The more we looked into this, the more it felt like the right fit to ensure our company had a legacy that lasted beyond myself and the team. Negotiating a deal of this caliber and scale was something I’d never done before, so naturally, it was exciting. It was easily one of the biggest challenges of my career but also one of my greatest accomplishments. It was a unique experience, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn this side of the business.

    Image Credit: Courtesy of Beyond Yoga

    Throughout the entire process, from starting my own business to negotiating the terms of one of the industry’s biggest female-led athleisure sales to date, I stayed true to myself, our shareholders and the company I poured my heart into over the years, which I wouldn’t trade for anything.

    Related: This Former Model Used Her Personal Savings to Start a Thrifty Side Hustle — Then Taylor Swift Became a Repeat Patron: ‘People Really Responded’

    What’s your advice for others hoping to start successful side hustles or full-time businesses of their own?
    My biggest piece of advice is to make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. Do it because you’re passionate, do it because you want to create and give it your all, do it because you think you’ve solved a problem that will benefit people, or because you’ve created a better version of something that already exists.

    Once you’ve figured out what you’re going to do, get started. Don’t wait for the perfect moment — it won’t come! Sometimes, you just need to jump right in.

    This Women Entrepreneur® article is part of our ongoing series highlighting the stories, challenges and triumphs of running a business as a woman.

    Amanda Breen

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  • 7 Mistakes That Sabotage Your Startup Fundraising (And What To Do Instead) | Entrepreneur

    7 Mistakes That Sabotage Your Startup Fundraising (And What To Do Instead) | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    With U.S. venture capital fundraising at a 6-year low, raising investor capital for your startup has become more challenging than ever. Potential investors are tightening their budgets and adopting a “wait and see” approach before putting their capital at risk. Yet, some of the best startups — like Airbnb, Uber and Square — were born during market downturns. So, if you’re an entrepreneur seeking capital in this environment, you might wonder about your chances of success.

    As a serial entrepreneur and now CEO of Builderall, I’ve heard over 3,000 pitches and helped founders raise millions. From my experience, seven common mistakes often derail attempts to raise investment capital. If you’re looking to raise money for your startup in this uncertain economic environment, be sure to avoid the following:

    Mistake #1: Rushing the pitch

    Many founders rush through their pitch, but speed isn’t always your friend in the venture capital world. Your goal is to establish key points and let them resonate, not finish your presentation as quickly as possible.

    Think of it like telling a good joke at a party — you wouldn’t rush to the punchline before everyone has had a chance to grasp the setup, right? The same principle applies when pitching. You want your investors to hang on to every word. But that’s impossible if you rush or gloss over crucial information.

    One effective technique is to use strategic pauses. In between slides or after making a key point, pause for about three seconds to let it sink in and observe your audience’s reactions. Don’t be afraid of silence. Patience in delivery can be a powerful strategy.

    Related: What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know About Raising Capital

    Mistake #2: Skipping trust indicators and key differentiators

    Balancing detail with brevity is tricky, but it’s essential. There are some critical signals you should share to help build trust and differentiate your business. While most founders want to focus on how great their product is, there are two questions that are arguably more important:

    • Why is your team uniquely qualified to lead this business?
    • How does your company stand out in the market?

    As far as team qualifications, don’t be shy about including specifics on years of experience, prestigious university degrees, previous exits, existing patents and/or impressive startup or corporate experiences.

    I once coached a founder who was struggling to raise capital. After reviewing his pitch deck, I said, “The problem is that you have no real startup experience.” He then proceeded to tell me that he and his co-founder sold their last company for $80 million, but he thought it wasn’t relevant since it was in a different industry. Let me tell you, your previous accomplishments are 100% relevant to whether or not investors will trust you with their money.

    Next, I can almost guarantee that whatever amazing idea you are pitching — we have probably already seen it. This begs the question, how are you going to execute differently when you get to market? This is where your current traction becomes crucial: existing user base, early subscribers, accepted patents and strategic partnerships all come into play. These elements demonstrate that you’re not just another idea but a viable business that is already making waves.

    Mistake #3: Talking too much and for too long

    I know — this sounds like a contradiction based on the first point, but hear me out. Blathering on is another fatal mistake. You should plan for a nine-minute pitch, but you don’t want to “rush through” your nine minutes. Instead, be relentless about what to include – and what to cut – so the pacing feels natural and you’re still covering the key data points that make your business compelling.

    I often ask new founders to introduce their startup in just two sentences: What do you do, and why should I care? After that, you have under 10 minutes to explain the market problem, the market size, your business model, your solution, your traction, your team, and your ask. That means you need to be very specific about what details will tell your story most effectively.

    I’ve seen many founders get nervous and overcompensate by filling the conversation with unnecessary details and fillers. This often has the opposite effect of what they intend. If you talk too much or too quickly, investors might think you’re not being straightforward, or they may get bored and lose interest.

    Related: 5 Innovative Ways for Entrepreneurs to Raise Capital in Today’s Market

    Mistake #4: Forgetting who you’re pitching to

    Remember, you’re pitching to investors, not potential clients. Investors are not interested in how great your product is; they want to know about your market, margins, and differentiation.

    I once sat through a pitch for a young women’s jewelry startup where the founder spent the entire time trying to sell me on the jewelry. As an investor, I wasn’t the target audience and the pitch fell flat. Rather than sell me on the business, she was selling me on the product. When talking to investors, they want to hear about the business opportunity, not the product.

    Mistake #5: Undermining your credibility with weak language

    This might seem like needless semantics, but words like “hope” subtly signal uncertainty, and investors are not fond of taking chances on “hope.” They want clear-cut projections backed by data and logic.

    Instead of saying “we hope,” use phrases like “we will” or “we project.” This shift instantly ramps up your pitch’s credibility. Be definitive; your words should exude confidence, not wishful thinking.

    Here are a few more examples:

    • Instead of saying, “We think our product will be successful,” assert your confidence by stating, “Our product is positioned to be successful.” This subtle shift conveys certainty and strengthens your pitch.
    • Replace “We believe our revenue will grow” with “Our projections show our revenue will grow.” This not only sounds more authoritative but also indicates that your assumptions are based on concrete data.
    • Don’t say, “We aim to capture 10% of the market;” instead, say, “We are on track to capture 10% of the market.” This adjustment demonstrates that you are actively working toward a clear, achievable target.
    • Change statements like “We expect to launch by Q2” to “We will launch by Q2.” This minor change projects certainty and reliability, which are crucial to building investor trust.

    These subtle language changes replace hesitation and probability with assertiveness. It emphasizes that your pitch is built on credibility and supported by a solid, well-thought-out plan.

    Mistake #6: Using broad claims instead of precise data points

    When pitching to investors, generalized claims can raise red flags, making investors wonder if you’re trying to obscure the truth or lack the necessary detail.

    For example, instead of saying, “We have a huge subscriber list,” focus on concrete details like, “We have over 20,000 subscribers.” Specifics not only clarify your claims but also significantly boost your credibility and trustworthiness.

    Here are a few more examples:

    • Don’t say, “Our team has a lot of experience.” Say, “Our team has eight years of experience in this industry.”
    • Replace “Our product is very sticky, and our customers rarely leave” with “Our product has an 89% customer retention rate.”
    • Instead of “We anticipate rapid growth,” say, “Our projections show 30% month-over-month growth in the fourth quarter.”
    • Swap “We dominate the market” with “We currently hold 45% of the market share in our region.”

    These changes in phrasing turn vague assertions into solid, data-backed statements, which help to build investor confidence and convey that your pitch is grounded in reality.

    Mistake #7: Telling instead of showing

    Our final lesson: show, don’t tell. Depicting something visually instead of through words will have a greater impact and be more likely to be remembered. Instead of telling investors, “We have a great interface,” show the interface screens and let them make the determination themselves about whether it’s great or not. Instead of saying, “We’ve grown exponentially over the years,” show a line or bar chart illustrating your impressive growth.

    One more example: telling investors how much your customers love you is far less impactful than showing screenshots of social media posts where your customers are raving about you in their own words. Keep this mantra in mind: less talk, more visuals.

    Bottom line

    Mastering the art of pitching involves more than just avoiding pitfalls — it’s about crafting a narrative that resonates with investors and builds trust. However, by avoiding these seven mistakes, you significantly increase your chances of securing the capital needed to take your startup to the next level.

    In today’s challenging economic climate, precise communication, showing rather than telling, and delivering data-backed arguments will set you apart. Investors want to back entrepreneurs who can navigate adversity and drive their ventures to success. Keep refining your pitch, build strong relationships, and show investors why your startup is the one to bet on.

    Pedro Sostre

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  • The Key to Preparing Your Business for an Eventual Investment or Sale | Entrepreneur

    The Key to Preparing Your Business for an Eventual Investment or Sale | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Crafting an investment teaser for your business each year might seem premature if selling isn’t even on the radar yet. But this important forward-looking exercise does a lot more than prepare your business for an eventual investment or sale. It helps business owners visualize the pitch they would have to be able to give to achieve the business valuation of their dreams. The gap between what you would like to say and what you can credibly say is exactly where to focus your next frenzied period of energy and investment.

    My partner and I learned this the hard way. We sold two consulting firms about ten years apart. The first was to a strategic buyer at the lower end of the cash flow multiple range, while the second was to a private equity buyer at the higher end of the revenue multiple range. Yes, the market conditions were a little better the second time around. But the real difference was that we started focusing on how to maximize our exit multiple on day one. We kept a rolling sales sheet in our heads at all times, and were constantly rethinking investments that didn’t pass the sales sheet “smell test.”

    To get started with your first business teaser, put yourself in the right mindset. Remember, you are writing a forward-looking elevator sales pitch for your company aimed at getting an investment or strategic buyer to chomp at the bit. Visualize bounding into the tenth VC conference room of the day, rattling off the perfect narrative to an awed audience. This should include a deck chock-full of data and trend analysis with recent financial results that make it clear your business thesis is spot on.

    Related: Selling a Business Starts on Day 1: Here’s What Founders Need to Know

    Total addressable market

    Every good pitch starts with the total addressable market (TAM) discussion. You want to be able to showcase the team cherry-picked the fastest growing part of the addressable market in a highly disciplined way. You should have gained plenty of insights during the launch phase to more narrowly tailor this market and make the case for what products and services deserved the highest level of investment. If you don’t have those insights at your fingertips, this is the place to start.

    In our first business, investors yawned during the TAM discussion. We had only two entry points into a public company to buy our expensive consulting services. To make it worse, the number of public companies was in a slow state of decline. Not exactly a growth industry, even though we had grown revenue in excess of 30% annually for several years. In Business #2, we tweaked our service offering to support expanding our TAM from two business titles to eight, expanding our TAM nearly three-fold to $1 billion.

    Growth strategy

    The next section should cover the growth strategy. List and prioritize the business’s most important growth levers. Think of two or three home-run ideas that will really get the buyers nodding, not 12 weak singles. If your list is long and still feels a little like throwing darts at the wall, start narrowing. This is critical because you are going to swing for the fences with these by directing nearly all of your valuable business investments there.

    In our first business, we focused on a land and expand strategy. We made significant investments in external salespeople, custom marketing tools and company-sponsored networking events. It worked. We attracted a few large clients who provided the base of a referral network that is still feeding us today. The downside? It made scaling expensive, and introductory sales meetings became our total existence.

    Business #2 had far lower customer acquisition costs, which investors loved. We cracked the code on using thought leadership to open doors with potential clients and kept fine-tuning what they were most likely to read (real-world how to’s rather than deep strategic musings) to continuously improve our chances. The majority of our marketing money went to web-based marketing to get more eyeballs on our thought leadership. Margins were higher, and we built more inroads into potential clients than simply cold sales leads.

    Related: The How-To: Building An Exit Strategy For Your Business (Even Before You Start)

    Financial model

    The last and arguably most important portion of the sell sheet is the financial model. The model needs to showcase the key metrics that translate great ideas into profits. Before you lead with whatever is the best metric in your operating deck, gather some industry intelligence on the industry metrics that matter most right now. Don’t try and do this in a vacuum. Reach out to recent industry sellers to ask their single most important financial decision. Figure out what multiple businesses are selling at and what metrics drove their company’s actual selling price. If those metrics don’t show your business story in a good light, you may have to make real changes in investment spending, operating expenses or pricing model.

    Business #2 had very low overhead expenses as we spent less on office space and geographic expansion, and more on automation tools. It helped that this was during the pandemic, and our public company clients better understood the lack of a glitzy corporate headquarters. Expenses were lower, and excess cash flow was spent in a very surgical marketing campaign. We maximized our cash flow and margins, and as a result, more than doubled in two years the money that went into our pocket from a sale.

    It may be years before you sell your business, but the discipline of annually writing your own investment teaser can be an important factor in effective investment decision-making. Picture standing before seasoned investors, articulating how your business strategy and concentrated investments are delivering unrivaled growth opportunities. By prioritizing clear, compelling growth strategies and aligning investments directly with them, you position your business not just as a contender, but as an irresistible opportunity.

    Related: 6 Proven Ways to Sell Your Business for 10x or More

    Beth (Saunders) Mazza

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  • How to Navigate the Choppy Waters of Startup Valuation | Entrepreneur

    How to Navigate the Choppy Waters of Startup Valuation | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Entrepreneurs often have a deep, personal investment in their businesses, having dedicated years of hard work to bring their ideas to life. However, this emotional attachment can cloud their judgment and make it difficult to objectively assess their venture’s worth. They might find themselves attempting to translate personal effort, time and sacrifice into financial value, which can be problematic in the current environment.

    Though Series A investment activities have been stable as of late, there’s been an uptick in down rounds. According to PitchBook and J.P. Morgan, down rounds grew from 8% in 2022 to 20% in 2023. That means less money is coming in than normal, which means more venture-backed startups are on the hunt for capital.

    Complicating matters further is the valuation process itself. Many new businesses mistakenly set their value based on competitors, using similarity of goods or services to estimate worth. This type of comparison overlooks differentiators, such as operational, financial or execution risks. Failing to consider milestones that you’ve yet to achieve can lead to the misconception that all is equal.

    It’s important to remember that a competitor’s current valuation is the result of their unique journey, and yours will be something entirely different. The challenge is separating personal bias from objective assessment, as you’ll need a clear-eyed view of what your business offers to arrive at an accurate and realistic valuation.

    Related: What Every Founder Needs to Know About the Valuation Gap Between Entrepreneurs and Investors

    Preparing for a funding round

    Merely launching a great business doesn’t automatically mean it’s ripe for investment. The fundamental economic principle behind raising capital is that the injection of outside funds should fuel growth and increase the value of the business, creating the potential for investors to see a return on investment. It’s not like investors invest out of the kindness of their hearts (at least, most don’t). They want to see a clear pathway to profitability. The question then remains: How exactly do you prepare for those inevitable funding rounds? Here are some suggestions to get you started:

    1. Demonstrate the “why”

    Rarely, if ever, will it be enough to simply offer a piece of the business to potential investors. When angling for funding, it’s important to articulate the precise benefits of backing your venture. This is especially important in light of the 30% drop in startup funding in 2023, according to Reuters. You should be able to answer at least these questions: Why should anyone invest in your business? What’s the economic rationale for the investment? How will an investor make money?

    Whether it’s an ambitious tech innovation or a noble cause, go beyond the vision or mission of your company and present a plan that clearly shows how you intend to use the capital to achieve specific milestones. That means focusing on practical financial outcomes, which increases the chances that potential investors see a pathway to profitability. They also get a better understanding of the mechanisms in place for monitoring progress and achieving an exit. This clarity in the potential for financial return is what can make the difference in securing much-needed funding versus never getting a meeting.

    2. Understand the story behind the numbers

    In the context of venture capital and private equity, a compelling pitch will only get you so far. Rather, securing funding is more about what the concrete numbers reveal about the profitability of your venture. Profit margin, for one, offers insights into your company’s financial health and potential for growth. The same can be said for customer lifetime value, cost structure and revenue.

    For example, when my firm evaluates a business, understanding the cost of capital in the current market is crucial — even more so if we encounter a startup with an unclear equity distribution or no significant personal financial contribution. The issue arises when such a company claims that it’s worth a substantial amount, say $1 billion, without a defensible rationale. In other words, always provide tangible evidence that the hard work put into building the business translates into something of real value.

    Related: How to Get Funding: The Dos and Don’ts of Raising Capital From Investors

    3. Be mindful of investment terms

    One aspect that entrepreneurs often overlook is the concept of “toxic minority control,” which refers to the disproportionate influence or power held by minority shareholders. Should some disruptive investor buy up enough shares to secure a place on the board, it could potentially lead to adverse outcomes for the venture and other investors. You need to be mindful of this when raising capital, as the terms of investment can have far-reaching implications beyond the immediate influx of funds.

    Take Alphabet Inc., for example. Even though Larry Page and Sergey Brin own just 5.7% and 5.5% of the company, respectively, the two Google co-founders each own Class B shares, or “super-voting” shares, providing them with 10 times the control — or 51% of the votes, collectively. Meta and Walmart are other examples of companies with founders (or the heirs of founders) who still control the business even after the initial public offering.

    4. Never underestimate (or overestimate) market trends

    Though this should go without saying, where the market is headed can significantly influence your startup’s valuation. You need only look to last year for an example of that, with generative AI and AI-related startups raising nearly $50 billion in venture capital, per reporting from Crunchbase. However, don’t make the mistake of benchmarking yourself against corporations listed on the stock exchange.

    While market trends certainly make one startup more attractive than another, being in the same industry doesn’t equate to having the same value. Consider the nuances of your company’s stage, market position and operational history in relation to those operating in the same space. PitchBook and Y Combinator are both great resources, as they regularly publish statistics on the average valuations of amounts raised for different funding rounds. Understand where your company truly stands in terms of where the market is headed, as well as your market reach and status, to arrive at a realistic valuation of your venture.

    Related: 6 Parameters That Determine Company Valuation

    Entrepreneurs often begin with an idea and believe that its mere conception is equivalent to its potential realized. They look at the end goal, which can lead to unrealistic valuations. What truly matters, at least in the eyes of investors, is the ability to execute on that idea, which comes down to the numbers. Get clear on your standing, and then let that guide your discussions with potential investors.

    Jordan Gillissie

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  • 5 Smart Marketing Strategies to Thrive Under Investor Scrutiny | Entrepreneur

    5 Smart Marketing Strategies to Thrive Under Investor Scrutiny | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    As the most important audience for many companies, it’s important that investors are enthusiastic about the company’s marketing activities. Given that different investors have varying levels of marketing acumen and beliefs about effective marketing, your marketing team must customize how it collaborates with investors on an individualized basis.

    That said, there are several tactics that are frequently effective in ensuring investor confidence in your marketing program.

    Related: 5 Tips for Customizing Your Pitch for Every Investor

    Research your markets and build marketing around the results

    An intelligent marketing program begins with market intelligence. To demonstrate to investors the strategies and execution your marketing team has put together will provide optimal results, quantitative and qualitative research creates a strong foundation.

    In addition to formal market research, the marketing team should also talk informally with target customers, technology and distribution partners, media, industry analysts and market influencers to build and continuously update its understanding of dynamics such as new activities, trends and potential new competitors.

    Involve your investors in marketing

    Investors often have significant followings of their own on social media and are often regarded as thought leaders and industry experts in the venture capital and tech communities. These links can often provide significant benefits to your company as you look to enter new markets, attract talent, ink partnerships and pursue similar goals. An easy way to involve investors and tap into their networks is to include them in the company’s social media program to explore cross-promotion, especially on LinkedIn.

    One approach that can be effective is to ask investors to post on their social channels when the company announces or closes a funding round, senior executive appointment, product or related announcement. We often draft the posts for investors in advance to minimize their time commitment and to ensure the posting takes place.

    Many investors, especially VC and PE firms, have created marketing programs to highlight the companies in which they have invested. Your marketing team should aggressively pursue these opportunities as they both serve as free publicity and deepen your ties to the investor.

    Related: Ask These 3 Questions to Determine Where to Spend Your Marketing Dollars

    Study competitors and identify best practices

    To demonstrate to investors that your marketing team is exploring all avenues to support the company’s growth, it should periodically undertake a thorough analysis of competitors’ marketing activities as well as general best practices. This review should include digging in to learn as many details as possible about competitors’ products, future product strategy, market expansion plans, et al — all by ethical means, of course.

    The team should also study marketing approaches at companies in other industries and consider applying relevant activities to your company. Companies in certain industries, such as food and beverage products, tend to be very sophisticated marketers since they have fierce competition and are trying to influence consumers who are often fickle. Marketers in a wide range of industries can learn valuable lessons from their peers at consumer product companies and then report back findings to their investors.

    Measure ROI of all marketing activities

    Setting key performance indicators (KPIs) and managing metrics on an ongoing basis provides a quantitative way to show investors both the effectiveness and the ROI of the marketing program. Of course, some marketing elements, such as advertising and digital marketing, are much easier to quantify than activities like media relations.

    But even for activities that are less measurable in terms of driving lead generation and sales, marketers should get creative and develop some type of metrics. For example, while it’s nearly impossible to prove that media coverage has driven sales, it is possible to tie media coverage to increases in website and social media activity and demonstrate a correlation.

    Related: 10 Things You Must Do Before Connecting With Investors

    Tie marketing to lead generation and not just brand awareness

    Many investors think of marketing as more of a function to build brand awareness than to generate leads and sales — but it does both. The level of contribution to business development depends on the product or service being sold. If a consumer is planning to buy a printer for their home, seeing an online ad with a discount coupon or reading a positive review in reputable media can very possibly generate that sale. If a CIO is researching intrusion detection software for their cybersecurity stack to protect her company’s critical data assets, marketing may attract her interest and encourage her to contact the company, but it’s definitely not going to end in a sale.

    As with so many activities within a business, demonstrating the effectiveness of your marketing program to investors will be much easier if your marketing team plans ahead, gets the foundational research in place, measures their results and anticipates questions investors are likely to ask. Anticipating and addressing investor queries will facilitate working with them when difficult marketing situations arise.

    Tim Johnson

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