Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Bev and chris Sanders (43 and 37, respectively) weresnowboarders when snowboarding wasn't cool. But AvalancheSnowboards Inc., the snowboard manufacturing company the couplefounded in 1982, quickly picked up speed and had sales of about $5million last year.
"We started making snowboards for our own use," saysBev, a former ski instructor. "People would follow me back tothe car and ask me about snowboards, and I'd end up sellingone. At the time, we were the only people at the ski resorts whohad them."
The Benicia, California-based company that grew around theproduction of one snowboard design has maneuvered well through thechanges in the industry it helped create. Today, Avalanche has 27board styles, including boards specially designed for children andwomen.
Dubbed "The Pioneer Woman of Snowboarding" byTransworld Snowboarding magazine, Bev couldn't behappier. "This industry changes all the time," she says."I love that because I have a short attention span. Ifit's not exciting, I don't want to deal with it."
Linking Up
Matchmakers reunite loved ones.
Nick matzorkis, 34, learned how emotional reunions with lovedones can be at an early age. When Matzorkis was 9 years old, hisfather moved the family to Greece to track down family membersthey'd lost touch with during World War II.
"My father pulled us out of school for a year to find ourroots," says Matzorkis. "It was an incredibly impactfultime of my life."
So much so that, more than 20 years later, those memories werethe impetus for the founding of Beverly Hills, California-based1-800-U.S. Search Inc. In late 1994, Matzorkis began runningclassified ads urging people who were interested in findinglong-lost family or friends to call him. He then searched databasesto match the individuals with their loved ones.
It didn't take long for 1-800-U.S. Search to take off,especially after Matzorkis brought in former colleague Robert Rich,27, to help with the business side of the company. Thepartners' first TV appearance, on the talk show"Leeza," garnered more than 20,000 calls. Subsequenttalk-show appearances have the young company's phones ringingto the tune of $10 million a year in sales. --H.C.F.
Baby Talk
Going gaga for kids' hair-care products.
As sales representatives for the country's top ethnichair-care lines, Lamont Kennerly, 38, and Frank Conwell, 46, saw aniche that had yet to be filled: ethnic hair-care products forbabies.
Business was slowing for the pair's sales brokerage firm in1991 as more companies moved their sales staffs in-house. SoKennerly and Conwell rolled up their sleeves and got to worklaunching Anika Laboratories Inc., manufacturer of Soft &Precious hair and skin products specially formulated for blackbabies.
"We did it our way," says Kennerly, proud that theyfinanced the company themselves from day one. "It gave us alittle more flexibility."
The founders' backgrounds in the industry helped everythingcome together for Anika; a chemist they'd met at a former jobwas hired to help develop the shampoo.
"Once you talk to one person, they lead you to anotherone," says Kennerly. The bottle manufacturer referred them tothe cap manufacturer, who recommended the label maker, and soon.
The baby products are on the shelves of such chains as Wal-Mart,Winn Dixie and Eckerd, with sales expected to reach $500,000 byyear-end. --H.C.F.
Contact Sources
Mr. Blackwell, (800) OKIDATA;
Graduate Management Admission Council, http://www.gmat.org email: gmacmail@gmac.com
Hagberg Consulting Group, 950 Tower Ln., 7th Fl., FosterCity, CA 94404, (415) 377-0232;
Village Music Circles, 108 Coalinga Wy., Santa Cruz, CA95060, (408) 458-1946.
