Find Inspiration for your Start-up Idea This National Entrepreneur Day!
By: Jack Beck (CAS ’21, SHA Minor)
Somewhere in the back of your mind, do you have an idea? Some kind of grand business vision, a product that fixes a problem you see or taps into some market that seems to be entirely untouched. A sort of Shark-Tank pleasing, endlessly profitable grand scheme that’s sure to be a massive hit, if only you could find the right way to get started. The start-up: It’s been a defining trend of America’s current economic landscape, and in honor of National Entrepreneur Day on November 19th we’re showcasing some ingeniously creative ideas that helped iconic hospitality start-ups become what they are today.
It’s very possible that no brand this decade has made a greater impact on the hospitality industry than Airbnb, yet the road they took to get there was anything but easy, and it was only possible with the help of the 2008 presidential election and some well-timed breakfast cereal.
The founders, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, were struggling to get by in their San Francisco apartment when they came up with an idea: rent out air mattresses on their floor for business travelers on a budget. The market was completely untapped, and their first guests were ecstatic with the experience; it was soon clear to the duo that the only thing they could do was push ahead. However, they needed more money to truly get the ball rolling on their grand ideas.
Recognizing the market they could reach at the upcoming 2008 DNC happening in Florida, the duo opened their first website (originally called “AirBed&Breakfast”), and introduced the option of hosting to the public, prefiguring what Airbnb is today. Then, in a move foreshadowing their future brilliance, the duo released limited-edition 2008 presidential election-themed cereal “Obama O’s” & “Cap’n McCain’s.” The cereal was a viral success, and the capital it gained for the partners was enough to kickstart their future success.
For something local, look no further than Boston’s well-known Vietnamese food truck and fast-casual chain Bon Me. You’ve likely seen one of their brightly colored trucks (one for every color of the rainbow!) out in the streets of downtown, but do you know the story behind what may be Boston’s most successful food truck brand?
Bon Me’s founder and CEO is Patrick Lynch, and, surprisingly, before starting Bon Me he had absolutely no experience in the food-service industry. In fact, he couldn’t be anywhere further from it: a Harvard grad, Lynch was six years out of college and well along the path to becoming a successful investment banker for CitiBank. He decided to give all that away for a food truck and a dream.
Looking for something different than his current career path, Lynch partnered with culinarily-trained chef Ali Feng to develop a food truck centered around an American fusion rendition of Vietnamese Bánh mì sandwiches. The couple was approaching the idea as a sort of side business mainly catering for events and festivals, but a shocking victory at Boston’s 2010 Food Truck content proved the potential of their idea, and within a year Lynch had left his job at CitiBank and the first truck was in the streets of Downtown.
Now Bon Me is responsible for a half-dozen food trucks, two dining carts, and multiple storefront locations, with plans to expand beyond Massachusetts sure to come in the near future. Bravery and a commitment to their vision helped the Bon Me founders reach a level they never would have even considered when starting out. Like with the case of Airbnb, creative solutions to carefully considered problems turned an opportunity for some side-cash into one of the most successful companies of the century.
So don’t put down that idea in the back of your mind; you’ll never know when some flash of outside-the-box genius will strike and you’ll be able to form it into something beyond your wildest expectations.