Wheels of Fortune
What: bicycle extension that can carry passengers andcargo
Who: Ross Evans and Kipchoge Spencer of Xtracycle
Where: North San Juan, California
When: started in 1998
By working in a medical clinic in Burma to help care for thepatients, Ross Evans has dedicated years of his life to helpingothers. However, it was during a trip to Nicaragua in 1995 to teachdisabled men how to fix bikes that his humanitarian efforts changedhis own life.
While attaching cargo trailers to bikes certainly helped thevillagers carry products and children, Evans figured the trailerswould also be tremendously useful for similar purposes elsewhere.So, with a $16,000 grant for inventors that he received from theNational Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance, Evans, 30,and his friend Kipchoge Spencer, 32, launched Xtracycle.
Xtracycle's primary product is the FreeRadical Kit, anextension for a traditional bicycle featuring modular racks andaccessories that enable the rider to carry up to 200 extra pounds.From carrying groceries and surfboards to carting smoothies forsale in China, Xtracycle's products have been used for avariety of purposes. In industrialized countries where the bicycleis no longer a hot commodity, one of the company's challengesis to make cycling "sexy" again.
With sales in the mid-six figures, Xtracycle's products aresold online and in more than 100 bike shops nationwide. Thanks togrowing interest and exposure, sales for this year are projected toincrease by 300 percent.
Evans believes Xtracycle's products will eventually changethe lives of those who use them. Says Evans, "Our passion andmission is to get more people riding bikes, because they'regoing to be happier, healthier and more in touch with theirneighbors, community and environment."
Hire Power
What: website that matches prospective employees tohourly positions in their areas
Who: Shawn Boyer, co-founder and CEO of SnagAJob.comInc.
Where: Richmond, Virginia
When: started in 2000
Searching for a decent job can get the best of us. Shawn Boyer,a former lawyer, realized this when his girlfriend solicited hishelp in finding an internship. When it came to looking forpart-time work, it seemed as if sifting through newspapers orwandering door-to-door were the only options.
"I started to do the research," says Boyer, 33,"and there really wasn't anything out there [fornonsalaried jobs]. You had the bigger career boards likeMonster.com, but they didn't focus on it."
Boyer followed up with nine months of research, calling bigcompanies like Bed Bath & Beyond, Boston Market, Chuck E.Cheese's and 7-Eleven, as well as high school and collegecampuses, to see where recruiters searched. Investors jumped on hispitch for SnagAJob.com--a site where hourly job-seekers can searchfor free while companies receive applicants' profiles at amonthly fee--and pooled several million dollars for theventure.
However, selling his idea to companies was more difficult."You have to prove to them that you are actually going to havejob-seeker traffic," says Boyer. So he began building a clientbase by advertising on college websites, online search portals, andat the YMCA and military bases. For his first eight months inbusiness, he also offered companies a free 60-day trial of theservice.
Each day, new candidates sign up with the site. Sales, which arenow in the millions, soared 200 percent in 2001 and 2002, and 120percent in 2004. "We consider ourselves to be brokers,basically," Boyer explains. "It's funny because youtalk to individuals who are desperately looking for jobs, and thenyou talk to companies that are desperately looking for good people,and you think, 'Hey! We have what you need.'"
Humble Beginning
What: staffing services for the apartment industry
Who: Crystal Belt and James Weathered of ApartmentPersonnel
Where: Fort Worth, Texas
When: started in 2003
How much: $3,500
Crystal Belt, 23, and her husband, James Weathered, 33, knewthat if they could keep their boss's constantly strugglingapartment-staffing business afloat, then nothing could stop themfrom starting their own business. Even though the couple couldbarely afford to put gas in their truck and had three children tofeed and a fourth on the way, Belt and Weathered realized it wasnow or never, so they quit their jobs, combined their lastpaychecks and invested about $3,500 into an 1,800-square-foot FortWorth office.
In the startup's early days, they spent late nights faxingfliers and creating forms. To cut costs, they purchased secondhandfurniture and went bargain shopping for supplies and equipment.Their determination paid off: Within the first month, Belt andWeathered were collecting $15,000 per week in billings and havesince added additional offices in Atlanta and Houston. They'veeven hired a CPA and a bookkeeper to keep track of finances nowthat they bring in $60,000 per week.
"We worked hard, and we always knew we were going to havebetter," says Belt, who projects 2005 sales of about $3.8million for the company, which provides apartment buildings withall the staff they need, from maintenance people to front-deskworkers.
While being a young entrepreneur has its challenges, Belthasn't let that stop her. "I hate it when people ask me myage, because it doesn't matter," she says. "I knowwhat I'm talking about. I'm glad I'm young and I havedrive. I want to do it now so when I'm older, I can justrelax."
