Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2020 i Entrepreneur Magazine

AS THE PANDEMIC altered our lives this year, I think we collectively went through four phases. The first was panic, as we feared for the future. The second was adaptation, as we tried to make sense of our world. The third was a “new normal,” as we cautiously lifted ourselves back up. And the fourth—and most important—was this: I wouldn’t go back. Not everyone is at that last phase yet. For many people, it’ll take more time to get there. And to be clear, when I say, “I wouldn’t go back,” I’m not blind to the immeasurable loss that so many people felt this year. But I will tell you this: Over and over, entrepreneurs tell me about the same experience. They were forced to change this year, and it…

Christine Schindler was obsessed with handwashing way before COVID-19 came along. In 2017, as foodborne illness outbreaks were plaguing businesses like Chipotle and wreaking havoc on public health across the country, she understood how to solve the problem. “No one walks into a restaurant with a vial of E. coli,” says Schindler, a biomedical engineer. “Eighty-nine percent of foodborne illness outbreaks caused by restaurants are directly linked to poor handwashing practices.” She got to work on a solution, called PathSpot, that would utilize spectral imaging to detect illness-causing contaminants on a restaurant worker’s hands, all in a matter of seconds. But there was a problem: Although Schindler knew how to build the technology, she had no idea what kind of product a restaurant would actually use. “I truly had hundreds…

In 2009, after five years as a product manager at Google, I quit my job to become a novelist. I loved my time at Google, but I just felt like I wasn’t on my own path. So I went off in pursuit of finding it. I spent six years writing fiction. It was hard, vulnerable work—work that I then had to beg publishers to read. I never became a best-selling author, but I gained deep insight into the book industry, and empathy for the writers who are being squeezed between two giant forces: disruptive technology and the traditional publishing industry. I started dreaming up ways to improve the space, including an idea for a startup that would let authors share their works in progress and get early feedback from readers.…

Surface Duo Cost/ $1,400 Best feature/ You can “split” apps such as Outlook and Microsoft Teams; your message is on one screen while the text of the email is on the other. Motorola Razr Cost/ $1,400 Best feature/ It’s small enough to fit in one hand. The Quick View Display helps users respond to a message or check notifications without opening the phone. LG Velvet 5G Cost/ $600 Best feature/ The second screen comes as an accessory. This phone transforms between one screen and two. It’s more affordable compared with other dual-screen phones…

Academics and Requirements Schools were asked whether they offer a major, a minor, a concentration, or a degree program in entrepreneurship; how many courses in entrepreneurship they offer in topics such as new technology, social entrepreneurship, business analytics, idea development, and venture capital; and whether they provide cross-discipline opportunities to interact with students in other majors (e.g., working with computer engineering students to develop a product). Outside the Classroom Schools were asked for the number and size of scholarships available and the number of outside mentors who worked with students. Annual business-plan or new-venture competitions, hackathons, and pitch-deck or startup weekends (along with prize money amounts), among other activities, were also considered. Schools were also asked to report the total dollar amount of prize money won from outside competitions by…

IN A YEAR when life often felt out of control, consumers increasingly wanted to support brands that made them feel like a part of something bigger. It’s why in a global study conducted in June by communications agency Zeno Group, consumers were four times more likely to purchase from a brand with a strong purpose. What does that look like in an uncertain future? It may look a lot like Sundial Brands, parent company to top beauty names including SheaMoisture and Madam C.J. Walker, which is deeply embedded in the community of color it serves. CEO Cara Sabin explains how they do it, and how other businesses can uplift their own base You joined Sundial in 2019. What was appealing to you about the opportunity? Quite frankly, this position allowed…

ENTREPRENEURS of the future may seem a lot more tech savvy…while also being a lot less technically savvy. It’s thanks to a movement called No Code, and it could change how business is built . With a spate of new tools that don’t require writing code, anyone can build a website, launch a mobile app, customize an e-commerce shopping experience, or even create a logo. “You don’t need to have a computer science degree to start a tech company. You just need an idea,” says Brianne Kimmel (pictured), whose VC fund, Worklife, has invested in these platforms. “The first No Code conference was just a year ago, so it’s very new. But it’s been fascinating to see, during COVID, the number of family members sitting down at the dinner table…

WILL COMPANIES’ work-from-home policies remain in place, even when COVID-19 ends? Back in March, only 38 percent of corporate decision- makers said yes. A few months later, that number rose to 67 percent. (Both surveys were done by 451 Research, a division of S&P Global Market Intelligence, which polled more than 500 people.) As companies increasingly adopt distributed services like cloud tools and SaaS platforms, it’s easier to work anywhere—forever. If the predictions hold true, many things about the way we work will change, starting with the way we build a team. We asked four business leaders how entrepreneurs can best approach hiring for talent, not geography. 1/ Be truthful. Just because our culture has accepted remote work doesn’t mean it’s the perfect setup for every job candidate—and that’s OK.…

Many people spent more time at home than ever before in 2020, so home improvement projects became popular. Franchises offering in-person home improvement services have had to adjust to the “new normal” in order to make customers comfortable—with some even pivoting to virtual consultations. Those that have done so successfully should see a bright year ahead. ABC Seamless Seamless siding, soffit, fascia, gutters, windows, roofing STARTUP COST $86K–$268.5K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 88/7 Access Garage Doors Garage door sales, installation, and repairs STARTUP COST $34.8K–$101.3K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 1/1 Ace Handyman Services Residential and commercial repairs, maintenance, and improvements STARTUP COST $93.3K–$137.5K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 118/7 Ace Hardware Hardware and home improvement stores STARTUP COST $292K–$2.1M TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 5,191/194 America’s Color Consultants…

Technology was already an intrinsic part of most people’s lives, but the pandemic made tech more important than ever. Computers, tablets, and smartphones have kept us connected to coworkers, family, and friends—and that means businesses offering sales, repairs, and other services to keep us connected became more essential than ever as well. Batteries Plus Batteries, light bulbs, related products; device repairs STARTUP COST $201.5K–$385.2K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 619/86 Best Brains Tutoring centers STARTUP COST $16.5K–$78.7K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 137/4 Cinch I.T. Outsourced IT support for businesses STARTUP COST $100K–$124.9K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 5/1 CMIT Solutions IT and business services for SMBs STARTUP COST $94.5K–$127.4K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 239/0 Computer Troubleshooters Technology consulting and services for small businesses STARTUP COST $12.2K–$29.4K TOTAL UNITS…

When Madison Semarjian was a college freshman, she had an idea for an app: It would be like Tinder, but for clothing—using AI to learn her personal style, and then pulling together outfits from a wide range of retailers that she could swipe left or right on (and of course, buy). Semarjian couldn’t shake the idea, so she spent all of college creating it—developing the tech, raising money, and signing partnerships with major brands like Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, and Prada. She called the app Mada, and it launched in January 2020. It was a hit with the media and style lovers because nothing like it existed. But that quickly changed. A startup called The Yes soon launched with similar functionality and major backing; it’s run by the former COO of Stitch…

It was a Monday morning in mid-March. Schools in California had just gone remote, and Eric Yuan’s daughter was settling in for the first day of her new routine. Then she turned to him and, like kids were doing with their parents everywhere, asked him for help using Zoom. “She’d never asked me a question about Zoom!” says Yuan. Nor had he ever expected her to, even though he is the company’s founder and CEO. “When we created Zoom, the goal was to serve enterprise and business customers. I never thought about my kid having to use Zoom.” That’s when Yuan knew his world was about to change. This tool he built, which was once reserved for corporate communications, was becoming a defining part of everyday life. His task was…

THE YEAR 2020 was rocky. Millions of people were laid off or furloughed. The pain may continue into the near-term future—but even once our lives stabilize, this won’t be the only time an economy stumbles. Companies will again face this choice: Eliminate a great team that’ll be difficult to rebuild, or somehow absorb massive financial losses Dan Price says there’s a third way, and he proved it out this year. The solution, he says, is to act as a team. “Your team is so much smarter than you,” Price says. “Mine is. Give power to your people, be honest and democratic. They will find solutions that you can’t see.” Price made waves in 2015 when he took a million-dollar pay cut to institute a $70,000 minimum wage for his employees,…

LISA BARNETT sees a crowded future: more brands, more noise. “It’s going to be expensive for you to get customers, so how do you get people to care?” she says. She is cofounder and president of Little Spoon, a DTC startup that makes meals for kids and babies, and that word care is big to her. For a brand to stand out, Barnett says, it needs to inspire passion—and that means it should treat itself like a movement. “It’s rooted in a mission, and in solving and changing a reality you’re not happy with,” she says. Here’s how to make consumers feel that there’s something at stake 1/ Identify an enemy. Every movement has one. Brands should, too—whether it’s a competitor, an industry, or a paradigm. When Little Spoon launched,…

WHAT WILL OUR world look like 10 years from now? It’s impossible to know for sure, but Mauro Guillén has at least some of the answers. He’s an expert on global market trends, a professor at the Wharton School, and the best-selling author of the recent book 2030: How Today’s Biggest Trends Will Collide and Reshape the Future of Everything. His prediction, in short: The business world of 2030 will look very different from today—but that can be a good thing for entrepreneurs. It just takes some practice in observation, a reassessment of who the customer is, and a change in the way we find connections. Companies have long been focused on serving the millennial audience. You’ve argued that that’s a mistake. Why? Speaking more broadly about generational dynamics, companies…

1/ Marketing Is About Messaging…and Infrastructure From Afif Khoury, CEO, SOCi SOCi is a technology company first. We developed a platform that serves as the backbone for some of the largest franchises in the world to run their marketing. Brands invest a lot of money into messaging and then turn around and put it in the hands of potentially thousands of franchisees who own local locations. One local Ace Hardware store might have four social media pages for reviews and a dozen listings pages, and be deploying local ads. That’s 20 things they have to manage. Multiply that by 5,000 locations. Now you’re literally up to 100,000 pages that say “Ace Hardware”—that’s a problem a human can’t really handle. Our technology lets everybody log in and out, share assets, go through…

As consumers focus on making healthy choices, franchises that offer fruit-based drinks, snacks, and meals (such as juices, smoothies, and bowls) are wellpositioned for growth. Many of these companies are placing particular emphasis on offerings filled with antioxidantrich “superfood” fruits like acai and pitaya. Acai Express Superfood Bowls Acai bowls, smoothies, juices STARTUP COST $107.9K–$359K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 15/6 Bahama Buck’s Shaved ice, fruit smoothies STARTUP COST $303.7K–$957.8K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 103/4 Bahia Bowls Acai and other fruit bowls, smoothies, salads, wraps, coffee, kombucha STARTUP COST $178.8K–$249.8K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 5/0 Calii Love Healthful food STARTUP COST $378K–$532K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 1/3 Clean Juice Organic juices, smoothies, acai bowls, wraps STARTUP COST $269K–$512.5K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 83/13 Edible Sculpted fruit…

The pandemic triggered a boom in pet adoptions and sales, as people stuck at home were looking for comfort and animal companionship. The American Pet Products Association projects spending on pets in 2020 will total $99 billion—and with so many new pets being added to families, that figure should climb even higher in 2021. The Ark Pet Spa & Hotel Pet boarding, daycare, grooming, and products STARTUP COST $438.8K–$1.8M TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 0/6 Aussie Pet Mobile Mobile pet grooming STARTUP COST $153.3K–$161.2K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 308/0 Bark Busters Home Dog Training In-home dog training STARTUP COST $67.7K–$99.5K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 123/0 Ben’s Barketplace Pet health-food stores STARTUP COST $178.6K–$350.6K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 3/2 Camp Bow Wow Dog daycare, boarding, training, grooming STARTUP…

Parents’ concerns about their kids’ academics have only been amplified by school shutdowns, remote learning, and all the other complications COVID-19 has brought to education. Tutoring services—many of which were able to quickly adjust their models to accommodate remote options—should see a year of growth as they offer to help parents meet these concerns head-on. Club Z! In-Home Tutoring Services In-home tutoring STARTUP COST $33.5K–$52.4K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 382/0 Eye Level Learning Centers Supplemental education STARTUP COST $52.3K–$121.7K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 839/799 GradePower Learning Supplemental education STARTUP COST $97.8K–$261.7K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 153/0 Huntington Learning Centers Tutoring and test prep STARTUP COST $133.5K–$276.7K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 286/16 JEI Learning Center Individualized supplemental education STARTUP COST $69.8K–$116.5K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 252/265…

1/ Excited fans. “We used to spend thousands of dollars on social media advertising, but we’ve recently developed a brand ambassador program. We enlisted our loyal and enthusiastic customers to help spread the word about our company in exchange for discounts and swag. This helped cut marketing costs tremendously while allowing our customers to feel a part of the team.” —KRYSTAL DUHANEY, CEO, Milky Mama 2/ Supplier savings. “We’ve saved money by providing our suppliers with some certainty. Many suppliers have trouble forecasting demand these days, which created an opportunity for us to play the long game with them. We used our sales projections to order at a higher volume and with longer-term commitments. That helped our suppliers minimize their own volatility, and in turn, they’re lowering our costs—which boosts…

In normal times, top-tier entrepreneurship programs are focused on the fundamentals—teaching their students everything from budgeting to leadership. But in these unpredictable times, the schools are also serving as a touch point for their budding entrepreneurial communities: They’re providing information on things like lending programs and workplace safety, hosting virtual town halls, setting up emergency funds for students, and helping their students support the communities they live in. In other words, these schools are living their message— shifting and adapting the way any entrepreneur must. Entrepreneurship doesn’t require a degree, of course, but programs like these can arm students with the skills they need to succeed. It’s why for the past 15 years we have partnered with The Princeton Review to rank the top undergraduate and graduate programs for entrepreneurs.…

How do you dress for the Pentagon? Most people hoping to secure a contract to send satellites into space would put on a suit. But Ben Lamm is not a fan of the expected. So on a visit to Washington, D.C., the night before his big meeting with Air Force generals, he was at a restaurant deliberating two important style questions: Which jean jacket would he wear? And which swanky scarf? His dinner date that night knew the Pentagon well. It was Susan Penfield, a longtime executive VP at consulting giant Booz Allen Hamilton, which does a lot of work with the federal government (as well as with Lamm). “I don’t know if it will fly at the Pentagon,” she told him—but if he insisted on a scarf, she suggested…

IN TIMES OF CRISIS, experts often have the same advice: Be transparent. There’s good reason for that. “People see the news; they can read the writing on the wall,” says Ana Mendy, a partner with consulting firm McKinsey & Company. “Transparency is how leaders build trust. We call it ‘candor over charisma.’” At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, most businesses took that advice. They started by sharing the literal lifesaving measures they’d taken to keep communities safe, but then something shifted, Mendy says. Businesses began sharing in ways they’d never done before—opening up about their day-to-day struggles, and starting very public dialogues with worried or confused customers. “Before, our clients would have never thought to do something broad-based on Zoom or in a two-way format,” Mendy says. And now,…

ABOUT TWO years ago, Max Skolnik and Jessica Lynch (from left) were at SXSW in a room packed with entrepreneurs of color discussing how to improve access to capital. A woman stood up and said, “You’re talking about adding seats to the table. We don’t want seats. We want a new table.” Based on what’s happening today, the future of entrepreneurship may be full of many new tables. To start, there’s Reunion—a company that launched in July and was inspired by the SXSW moment. (It’s cofounded by Lynch and Skolnik, as well as Raymar Hampshire.) The crowdfunding platform is for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous founders, and it works with partners to share webinars and resources to help these entrepreneurs navigate the specific barriers they’re facing. “Race is at the forefront…

1/ Open new concepts with lower costs. “As the world grappled with a sudden pandemic, at Daily Jam, a brunch and lunch concept, we swung for the fences and opened two ghost kitchen concepts. Mindful Bowls and CinnaSwirl operated out of Daily Jam’s spaces and used many of the same ingredients, saving time and money when we needed it most. While other food brands limited their hours of operation, we increased ours and saw an increase in demand and—thanks to the ghost kitchens—were able to tackle the competition on third-partydelivery apps. Without our ghost kitchens, we’d be looking at a very different state of business today. As we look forward to 2021, we’ll continue to focus on that innovation.” —BEREKK BLACKWELL, president, Daily Jam 2/ Identify vulnerabilities and fix them.…

We chose health as one of our top 10 categories last year—but of course, we couldn’t have known then just how true our prediction would be. Now we can say with even more confidence that health will continue to be of paramount importance in 2021, and franchises offering health products and services—both traditional and alternative—will no doubt benefit. AlignLife Chiropractic and natural health services STARTUP COST $159.8K–$353.3K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 20/0 American Family Care Urgent care/primary care centers STARTUP COST $1M–$1.4M TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 168/57 ApexNetwork Physical Therapy Physical therapy STARTUP COST $149.2K–$347.2K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 28/55 ATC Health Care Services Medical staffing STARTUP COST $129.4K–$217.4K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 44/0 At Home Hearing Healthcare Mobile hearing aid services STARTUP COST $64.8K–$186.9K TOTAL…

When lockdowns began this year, carryout and delivery became the only option for restaurants—and those were already the cornerstones of many pizza shops’ business model. In fact, while so many other restaurants were struggling to survive, Americans’ demand for comfort food actually increased sales for many pizza brands and led them to hire thousands more workers to keep up. Benny’s Pizza STARTUP COST $169.8K–$533.5K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 0/20 Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza Assembly-line pizza STARTUP COST $541.5K–$1.2M TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 330/12 DC Pizza Pizza STARTUP COST $202.7K–$486.8K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 0/1 Donatos Pizza, subs, salads STARTUP COST $386.5K–$698.9K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 108/54 DoubleDave’s Pizzaworks Pizza, sandwiches, wings, salads, craft beer STARTUP COST $132.5K–$565.5K TOTAL UNITS (Franchises / Co.-Owned) 39/0 D.P. Dough Calzones, wings,…

Seven years ago, I was in a dark place. I had left my job in trading—a career I’d spent all of college preparing for—and I was trying to figure out what the rest of my life would look like. I was so depressed that some days I could barely get out of bed. One thing that brought me joy was my rescue dog, Zeus. He not only served as a comfort during this time but also inadvertently brought me to the book that changed my life. It happened one day when I was at BookCourt, a beloved, since-closed bookstore in Brooklyn. As I stood waiting to check out, Zeus began licking the cover of a book on a nearby shelf. A store employee saw and reprimanded me, so I felt…