Adventure Venture
What: Gift certificates redeemable for a variety of
memorable experiences
Who: Gavin Bishop, Michelle Geib and Robb Young of Xperience
Days
Where: Hoboken, New Jersey
When: Started in January 2005
Though the multimillion-dollar gift-giving market will never
cease to exist, gift-giving patterns change as often as the latest
fashion trends. In recent years, research shows consumers are
looking for gifts that are unique--not your run-of-the-mill
department-store gift cards. As one of the first companies to catch
on to this trend, Xperience Days lets customers give an opportunity
of a lifetime as a gift.
According to co-founder Gavin Bishop, Xperience Days offers a
wide range of life-enhancing experiences "that people dream
and talk of doing, but rarely get around to doing." The
average cost of the gift certificates is $275 to $300--prices range
from $65 for a trapeze lesson to $110,000 for a private
zero-gravity flight.
Content Continues Below
The concept of giving experiences, which is common in the United
Kingdom, was an idea that UK native Bishop, 37, and his
co-founders, Michelle Geib, 29, and Robb Young, 34, knew would be a
hit in the States. They were right-since the company's launch,
at least three competitors have entered the market. "People in
the U.S. generally have an adventurous streak and are willing to
try things," says Bishop, who met his co-founders while
attending business school in South Africa. "Plus, they're
very good gift-givers."
Though the company targets anyone "with an adventurous
spirit," the founders focused on the San Francisco Bay and New
York tri-state markets when they launched in January 2005. As
popularity increased and they realized there were plenty of
adventurous activities available nation-wide, the trio added
experiences throughout the country, such as Formula One racing in
Las Vegas and white-water rafting in Pennsylvania.
Although sales figures are difficult to calculate because the
company sells gift certificates, which are a deferred income,
Bishop projects 2006 sales of about $2 million--drastically more
than the $100,000 it took the three entrepreneurs to finance the
startup. They knew investing in such a project--with no asset
backing or constant cash flow--would incur serious risks. Nothing
quite as risky, though, as jumping out of a plane.
- Lindsay Holloway
All Decked Out
What: A deck of cards featuring exercise routines
Who: Phil Black, creator and founder of FitDeck Inc.
Where: San Diego
When: Started in April 2004
In a huge leap of faith, Phil Black quit a lucrative career as a
money manager at Goldman Sachs in San Francisco and moved his
family, including his twin baby boys, to San Diego to pursue his
entrepreneurial dream. When Black started a business less than a
year later, his dream became a reality.
With $20,000 in personal savings and a passion for fitness,
Black, 36, a former Navy SEAL instructor and a Harvard Business
School graduate, launched FitDeck Inc. in April 2004. "We
design, manufacture and sell fitness products that make exercise
simple, convenient and fun," says Black.
Black credits his inspiration for FitDeck to PUG, a fitness game
he and his buddies played in the dorms between study sessions when
he was an undergrad at Yale University. An acronym for Push-Up
Game, PUG revolved around a deck of cards and caught on quickly as
a popular pas-time among his peers.
FitDeck is
composed of upper-, middle- and lower-body exercises, as well as
some that incorporate the entire body. On each card, players find a
step-by-step explanation of the exercise, along with an
illustration and the suggested number of repetitions for beginning,
intermediate and advanced workouts. The main idea is for players to
shuffle the deck and deal themselves as many cards as they like,
depending on how long they want to exercise. A 10-card workout, for
example, lasts about 15 minutes.
Priced at $18.95, or $24.95 with an instructional DVD, FitDeck
earned 2005 sales of $4.7 million, with projected sales of $8
million to $10 million in 2006. Rather than advertising, Black
relies on PR efforts to pump up sales of the cards, which are sold
through the company's website and various online affiliates,
as well as through catalogs and other distributors.
With success comes growth. The newest addition to the FitDeck
family of products is FitDeck Jr., which is geared toward children.
Black says he has several other FitDeck products in the works that
are specific to certain sports or geared toward women.
- Bethan-Rose Rodriguez
Music to Kids' Ears
What: Rockin' interactive music classes and CDs for kids
and their parents
Who: David Weinstone of Music for Aardvarks and Other
Mammals
Where: New York City
When: Started in 1998
Wow much: $400
One-time punk rocker David Weinstone wanted to immerse his
children in music, but after searching New York City and finding
only dull programs, he felt the need to create something fresh.
A classically trained musician, Weinstone, 46, set out to create
some rockin' kids' music. With $400 worth of instruments,
six home-recorded songs and cheap rental space in the basement of
an East Village restaurant, Weinstone started an interactive music
class called Music for Aardvarks and Other Mammals. Within a month,
families who wanted to attend were lining up around the block, and
media and record companies were banging down the door.
After recording the songs used in his classes to sell on
www.musicforaardvarks.com, Weinstone noticed his popularity reached
far beyond New York City, so he started licensing his program. He
now has more than 10 licensees, some as far away as England and
Japan, with more on the way. With his success, Weinstone's
income has struck a high note--he went from making $30,000 per year
as a bartender in 1998 to about $250,000 in 2005. After 12 CD
releases, the father of three now has a contract with
Nickelodeon/Noggin to make music videos of his songs, and he plans
to venture into writing children's books.
Says Weinstone, "I just want to be able to lie down on my
deathbed and say to myself, 'I spent my life doing something I
really care about.'"
- Amanda Pennington