This story appears in the
January 2001 issue of
Startups.
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Sure siblings Howard and Gail Sonnenschein seemed destined for
their roles as purveyors of wholesome fun via their
"Disneyland meets the beach" site Bikini.com. Between their swimwear
fabric manufacturer father and swimwear boutique proprietor mother,
walls of the family abode donning vibrant fabric as opposed to
wallpaper wasn't atypical, nor was co-producing swimsuit
specials for E! Entertainment Television.
A beach brand with a diversified revenue model (of which
licensing things like swimwear and calendars featuring Bikini.com
supermodels brings in most dollars) and a multifaceted site that
resurrects Frankie and Annette fun seemed the obvious route the duo
would take. But Howard always knew "founder" would follow
his name. "I love the word [entrepreneur]," he says.
Good thing, because the Sonnenscheins should enjoy a long haul
with Bikini.com, founded in 1997 with the intention of getting
their guy- and girl-friendly beach programming to TV. Expecting
profitability next year, the site has already received great
reception, a cover piece in Variety and meetings with TV
execs after exhibiting at a trade show last January. "I feel
the same as I did when we invested our savings and were working in
an apartment," says Howard. "It's like being a bull
in a bullfight-just charging ahead until it happens."
They secured the perfect name ("If we didn't get that
exact name, we wouldn't have done the project," says
Howard); they've also gotten about 50 investors from
entertainment, merchandising and the VC world. Expect to see and
hear a lot more from the Sonnenscheins.