It struck me today that one of the most successful brands I’ve ever seen, has been built by a college drop out, and I’m not talking Gates or Zuckerburg. I’m talking Johnny Cupcakes.
http://www.johnnycupcakes.com/blog/
This New England native has built a brand with a cult following and rather than “selling out” for the quick pay day, he continues to build a company I admire more everyday. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him at his Newbury Street shop in Boston on a couple of occasions and you’d never guess you were bumping into the owner of the store.
Basically he sells T-shirts with cupcakes on them. Basically as he describes it, “I got off my bum and went for it”. You don’t need to have a million dollar idea you simply need to have the passion and desire to execute. His exclusive boutique has the feel of a bakery and t-shirts are limited edition. Take a glance around his website and you’ll see why this kid has succeeded. Great lesson in Internet Entrepreneurship, if you like his stuff, buy something through the online store!
2 Responses to “Internet Entrepreneurship & Building a Brand”
We are a different class of college students every Spring. Together we explore what it means to do business in a "Web 2.0" world. Technology, new businesses, cutting-edge trends, we cover them all! 
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5618417
Checkout the NPR story on him!
He has a really cool concept there. I was thinking “these shirts are cool” and then I saw the price, a little high for my budget -one shirt +$35. Cool, nonetheless.
The guy really knows presentation and how to build a brand. I like his site, very creative.
Do you think this kind of business is in a ever-harder struggle to not become a fad and fade away?