Snow job

A newbie entrepreneur creates a sled for grown-ups.

1 of 6
BACKNEXT
Hammerhead sled, $399
Steve Luhr worked in medical equipment sales but yearned to become an entrepreneur. When a rival firm bought out his employer in 2002, Luhr received eight months' notice and the motivation to do his own thing. After considering several business ideas, he chose to launch Hammerhead Sleds, a company that manufactures high-quality sleds for adventure-minded adults.

Luhr, who lives in Shelburne, Vt., enlisted Minneapolis product designer Bob Worrell to brainstorm on a sleek reimagining of the traditional runner sled. The first 225 Hammerheads sold out at Eastern Mountain Sports in 2004. Since then Hammerhead has shipped more than 4,000 sleds, and 2008 revenues hit $250,000. Last year Hammerhead ventured into ski resorts. Tenney Mountain in New Hampshire began renting the sleds for use on dedicated, lift-served slopes. Three other New England resorts are expected to follow suit by next season.

Thanks to the ski resort market, Luhr, 50, thinks this season will be even better. "So far we've spread mostly by word of mouth," he says. "We hope that local success will help us raise the $300,000 to $500,000 needed to roll out nationally."

Click on for a look at what makes Hammerhead's design stand out from the rest of the sledding field.


NEXT: Dual control
Email | Print | Share  |  RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
LAST UPDATE: Sep 29 2009 | 9:39 AM ET
More Galleries
5 startups that are reimagining the world Bricks that grow from microorganisms, household garbage turned into art, three-wheeled bike-cars -- these startups are redefining urban living. More
Blue collar entrepreneurs These five entrepreneurs took their blue collar experience and used it to launch innovative businesses. More
7 lifehacks to eliminate your holiday hassle Whether curating the perfect gift or finding a pet-sitter, these startups offer time-saving services that might just seem like holiday magic. More
Sponsors

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.