Business Idea: Just Salad

This article came from: http://www.justsalad.com.hk/PR%20kit%20_NYC_.pdf
Our Story
Just Salad began with a simple question.
Why is there such a shortage of healthy fast food?
Nick Kenner and Rob Crespi were tired of the options available to them for lunch in
midtown Manhattan. So, instead of continuing to settle, they set off to develop a
restaurant concept that would serve a healthy, fast, and creative alternative. To make
sure that Just Salad would serve only the best salads in the world, Nick and Rob
sought the expertise of Chef Laura Pensiero.
Already world-renowned for her inventive and nutritious cooking, Chef Laura joined
Just Salad after founding Chef4Life, a provider of healthy and delicious solutions for
life-long improvements in diet while still stressing the importance of enjoying food.
She guaranteed Nick and Rob that Just Salad would stay true to its mission: offering
a meal that would be both healthy and delicious. (See the”Chef Laura” tab for her full
story.) Chef Laura designed the Just Salad menu from front to back, creating 27
unique dressings and 11 enticing combinations of toppings now known as Just Salad’s
Chef Designed Salads.
In May of 2005, after two years of research and preparation, Just Salad opened its
doors to the public on 51st and Park Avenue in New York City. It was an immediate
sensation. Such a sensation, in fact, that a sister store opened only eight months later
at 134 West 37th street.
Every detail of Just Salad was thought out carefully. Customers enjoy everything
from the food to the music to the environmentally friendly bowls. Shipments of fresh
ingredients are delivered every morning, so our patrons are happy knowing that they
are getting the freshest possible meal.
When you’re eating at Just Salad, you’re eating well.

Business Idea: GotvMail

Hauser and Taghaddos, already on the fourth startup venture between them, got the idea for GotVMail because they were frustrated with the phone-system options for small businesses.

GotVMail gives mom-and-pops a way to sound just like big corporations. They can get the usual voice-mail boxes and also set up preferences like routing calls to a cell phone or getting messages by e-mail in the form of MP3 files — all for as little as $10 a month.

The company obtained seed money from friends and began turning a profit in its second month of operation. Now it generates about $5 million in revenue per year.

Lesson learned:

Taghaddos: “For a young entrepreneur, having good personal credit is one of the most important things. We wouldn’t have gotten all the help from American Express or Bank of America without it.”

Hauser: “To be involved in the entrepreneurial community and give back, talking to students is very important.”

Millionaire under 21: Shawn Nelson

UPDATE(another video):

UPDATE( Lovesac saves a consumer’s life): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5jyTxJMP2I

A Bag Is Born: At age 18, Shawn Nelson was watching TV on the couch when he decided “a huge beanbag thing” might be more comfortable. He bought 14 yards of vinyl, cut it into a baseball shape, and spent three weeks filling it with anything soft he could find. The finished LoveSac was 7 feet wide, and everyone who saw it tried it out–and loved it.

Pocket Power: When neighbors started placing orders, Nelson decided to start his company almost as a joke. With free help from his friends, he made the LoveSacs in his parents’ basement and sold them at trade shows, events and even the drive-in. Business was moderate at best, until he got a call on his cell phone that changed his life: a quarter-million-dollar order from Too Inc., which was looking for a back-to-school offering for its Limited Too stores. “I answered the phone and said, ‘Twelve thousand LoveSacs? Sure, no problem. That’s what we do; we’re the best in the world at it,’” remembers Nelson.

Hard Road: Undaunted, Nelson amassed $50,000 in credit card debt building a factory. He worked 19-hour days and slept at the factory. “It nearly broke me emotionally, physically, mentally,” Nelson says. “My hands were cracked and bleeding. We finished the order [for Too Inc.] but ate up all our profits.” Just when things seemed darkest, a deceptively simple idea presented itself: Open a mall store. Not just any store, but one designed from the beginning to look like an upscale chain–even before it was a chain. It paid off: With some 55 stores, about half of them franchised, LoveSac is looking at sales topping $30 million this year.

Looking Forward: “We’re headed toward owning [the market for] oversized living,” says Nelson, who dispenses with all modesty where his business is concerned. “We’re going to have a catalog that’ll be three inches thick, selling everything that’s over-the-top, bling-bling, LoveSac-get-out-of-our-freaking-way.”

Unstoppable: No one fully expected LoveSac’s success-not even Nelson himself. He says being committed to solving any problem is vital to his–and any entrepreneur’s-success. “Decide that there is always a way,” he says, “and you’ll find that there is.”

Lovesac’s website: http://www.lovesac.com

History: http://generallyawesome.com/store/love-sac/Love-Sac-History.php

College students thought of a business idea!