Young Entrepreneurs

by Randall G. Mielke

Fresh Ideas

Two decades ago, when sales from carts and kiosks were just beginning to reach the $1 billion mark—compared to the $10 billion in sales that specialty retailers reap today—the young entrepreneurs profiled on the following pages were not yet out of high school (and in some cases, were barely out of diapers).

But now they're specialty retailers at the top of their game, representing a new breed of entrepreneur in a market where fresh ideas and new approaches to business can pay off big time.

Of course, these young entrepreneurs all took different paths to success:

Shawnta Ray, 30, turned a college job in a toy store into a successful retail career—and then bought the company.

Mark Bogosian, 21, picked a popular product and then focused on superior customer service to land the sales that now finance his college education.

Dan Kilcoyne, 24, and his brother, Shawn, 28, started off on carts and then morphed into a specialty leasing vending concept that they now offer to other entrepreneurs.

Ron Engel, 36, tapped into a robust, growing market that the big retailers were ignoring, much to his delight.

Mike Furman, 28, identified an up-and-coming product, worked for more than a year to make a better one, and now pulls in $1 million in sales.

No matter what approach they took to specialty retail, these young entrepreneurs all have one thing in common: They all spotted an opportunity and turned their ideas—and hard work—into a thriving retail enterprise.