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The couple invested a modest $20,000 from their savings (barely a fraction of what they’d set aside) and watched the business take off almost immediately. Sheri began buying little charms from craft stores, such as peace signs, hearts, and smiley faces, then gluing them to cufflinks that fit perfectly in Crocs’ signature holes. Her kids wore them to school, and that’s when the orders started pouring in. Within weeks, Sheri’s basement was a full-scale production line. Then came the website. In just two weeks, she was drowning in demand. Retailers wanted hundreds of Jibbitz at a time. Soon, the
Crocs. He asked where she’d gotten them. Lexie proudly replied, “My mommy made them.” The man handed her his business card and said, “Have your mommy call me.” The man was Duke Hanson, founder of Crocs. A little over a year after Sheri stuck that first silk flower into her daughter’s shoe, she and Rich sold Jibbitz to Crocs for $10 million, plus another $10 million if they met sales goals. More Than a Happy Accident Today, Sheri and Rich still lead the
Jibbitz brand. Their story is a reminder that when creativity meets opportunity, you need to bravely say “yes” to that spark of an idea and let it grow.
Schmelzers had to trade their basement for a warehouse, and within a year, Jibbitz were being sold in more than 3,000 stores. The Poolside Pitch That
From a rainy afternoon to a multimillion-dollar deal, the Schmelzers’ story is proof that innovation often starts small, with curiosity, creativity, and maybe a sewing kit full of surprises.
Changed Everything Sometimes, luck meets preparation in the most unexpected places. One afternoon, at a local pool, 7-year-old Lexie caught the
eye of a stranger who noticed her decorated
HAVE A Laugh A Revolution of Residential Design Levittown and the Rise of Suburbia
In 1947, a stretch of potato fields on Long Island started growing something new. Instead of potatoes, thousands of identical houses filled the space. The development was called Levittown, which marked the beginning of a new type of suburbia. Before Levittown, suburbs were mainly for the wealthy, but this was different. The developers treated home construction like an assembly line, and crews efficiently completed house after house. With veterans returning from World War II and the baby boom beginning, demand for affordable housing was high. Levittown helped meet the need with homes that came with appliances and a small yard for barbecues. Soon, the development became its own world, with swimming pools, baseball fields, and shopping centers, which transformed the American landscape. Before long, similar neighborhoods stretched toward the horizon, and the dream of a better life moved to the city’s edges.
3 CraigHansonCPA.com
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