After Serving Time, This Entrepreneur Came up With a Better Way for Inmates to Stay in Touch With Family and Friends Frederick Hutson saw an opportunity in the slow and expensive prisoner communications system and analyzed the market during his time in prison.

By Gary Bredow

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Frederick Hutson created and sold his first company while serving in the Air Force as an F-16 Fighter Jet engineer. After leaving the military with an honorable discharge, he turned his skills and innovation toward shipping. The only problem was the product. Hutson was busted for moving 8,000 pounds of marijuana across the border, arrested, tried and imprisoned.

Hutson saw an opportunity in the slow and expensive prisoner communications system and analyzed the market during his time in prison. After serving his 51-month sentence, he pitched the business plan to his friend Alfonzo Brooks and the two of them scraped together about $5,000 to launch a website and print postcards to market the business. A couple of years later, he closed a $5-million round of funding. Watch this video to learn how Hutson turned a broken system into a multimillion-dollar-a-year business, all while reducing recidivism and providing employment for reformed felons.

Related: How These 2 Entrepreneurs Turned Their Minimum Wage Jobs Into a Multimillion-Dollar Brand

Join host Gary Bredow as he travels around the country interviewing over 26 small business owners to hear their personal stories and find out what it really takes to start a successful business from the ground up. Energetic, inspirational and educational, Start Up is a fast paced new series sure to capture the imagination and hearts of the nearly 50 percent of Americans who dream of starting their own business.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

This Couple Started a Side Hustle to Improve a 'Terribly Made' Bathroom Essential. Now the Business Earns More Than $3 Million a Year.

Michael Fine and Lisa Schulner-Fine launched lifestyle brand Quiet Town in 2016 and have been growing it ever since.

Business News

What's Open on Easter Sunday? Costco and Target Will Close, But One Major Retailer Will Be Open. Here's What To Know.

The stock market was closed for Good Friday on April 18. Here's what's closed for Easter Sunday, April 20.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Science & Technology

Your Clients Are Using AI to Replace You — Do These 3 Things Before They Do

Harness these three steps to audit, evolve and future-proof your offer before AI replaces you.

Marketing

The One Mistake Is Putting Your Brand Reputation at Risk — and Most Startups Still Make It

Many businesses pour resources into branding and marketing but overlook PR — yet it's PR that builds the trust, credibility, and reputation that turn attention into lasting revenue in a crowded market.

Marketing

Why Micro-Influencers Are Winning the Trust Game in Marketing

Here's how micro-influencers are driving authentic brand engagement and redefining trust in digital marketing.