Scenic Route

What: Maps that chart scenic back roads
Who: Jenny Lefferts of MAD (Motor Adventure Destinations) Maps Inc.
Where: San Francisco
When: Started in 1999

Jenny Lefferts' love for the open road began during her childhood, when she'd spend summers traveling with her family in their '72 VW van. After moving to San Francisco from Montreal at age 21, she became an avid motorcyclist. "Every weekend, I used to leave town and start finding back roads," says Lefferts, 36.

After calling motorcycle dealerships across the nation to find out about more back roads, she discovered that maps charting such off-the-beaten-path routes didn't even exist yet. So Lefferts enlisted the help of Eureka Cartography (whose maps she licenses) in Berkeley, California, and set out to chart the back roads in and around the Bay area herself.

Since then, she's enlisted leagues of motorists from throughout California to help her scout out additional "more scenic, less traveled" roads worth highlighting in her company's maps, which target motorists with cars and motorcycles alike and retail for $7.95 each. Plans for this year include the release of a four-part California Dreamin' series and a Southwest series--both expected to bring in cumulative sales of $350,000. The rest of the country is next.

This article was originally published in the March 2002 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Scenic Route.