Andrew Kitzenberg kept losing his flash drives. Ironically, those losses helped him come up with an idea for a successful business: a flash drive worn as a bracelet. Made out of silicone and available in 2GB or 4GB, the bracelets are what Kitzenberg calls in "flashion."
In the spring of 2010, an intensive entrepreneurship program at Babson College helped Kitzenberg develop the idea. Like many Millennials, Kitzenberg faced a tough job market after graduating. So, like many members of "Generation Go" as they were dubbed by advertising agency JWT, Kitzenberg decided it'd be better to start a business.
"My initial focus was direct sales," he recalled, "but as a one-man business, I realized my time was better spent on wholesale orders." Growth was slow at first, but a sale to a college bookstore was the turning point. "The bands sold out in 48 hours," he said.
The MoH band is now in over 250 retail outlets. No longer a one-man operation, Kitzenberg is pursuing licensing with a number of colleges and universities to produce bands with logos or team colors. He attributes his success to "adapting to what you have and hard work."
Some of the coolest toys this year are coming from small toymakers that are quietly revolutionizing how kids play today. Here are five companies that just may score the hottest toy of 2011.
