Not many companies start off due to siblings teasing each other, but in the case of Man-Cans: manly scented candles, those were its humble beginnings. Hart Main was 14 in 2010 when his sister was selling girly smelling candles for a fundraiser for school, and he realized the world had a lacking of manly candles. After an investment of $300 from himself and his parents, he started work on making the scents and the candles. Currently, Man-Cans are being sold in over 150 stores, after being partnered with Beaver Creek Candle Co..
A second part to Hart’s business is charity. His candles are sold in soup cans and in the beginning, he and his family would eat the soup, but once orders started to pile up, he began donating soup to homeless shelters and then collecting cans after the meal was served. Now, he donates 75 cents from each candle sold to soup kitchens in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan.
***
http://www.investopedia.com/slide-show/young-entrepreneurs/
http://www.timesreporter.com/article/20150720/NEWS/150729951
http://man-cans.com/index.php?route=common/home
I love how Hart incorporated charity fundamentally into his business! Many businesses treat charity as an afterthought, but his model almost had a symbiotic need of compassionate charity with the local shelter. Even after he outgrew that need, Man-Cans still kept an attachment to the original business mission. It is a great idea, but I particularly appreciate the creativity in his business plan.