BizChair was founded by Sean Belnick in 2001. At the time of the company’s founding, Sean was only 14 years old. Sean developed this company by combining his entrepreneurial instincts with his love for technology. Sean discovered his passion for technology after his mother purchased a computer for his 10th birthday. With a computer in hand, Sean started to explore his technological creativity by designing websites. Subsequently Sean’s experience with web design and technology, coupled with his stepfather’s twenty years of experience in the furniture industry, led to the development of BizChair.com. Essentially, Sean and his stepfather, Gary, combined technological advancements and business acumen to develop a very successful online furniture goods site and partnership.
With Gary’s insight of the furniture industry and research, Sean realized that most furniture stores were utilizing a “drop shipping model”. Stores would carry minimal inventory in their show room and then order and directly ship purchased goods to their customers. Sean also realized that there was a demand for online shopping by his personal success with selling Pokémon cards on the internet. Sean recognized the potential benefit and profitability of combining a “drop shipping model” with the growing demand for online shopping and developed BizChair.com. Essentially, BizChair offers online purchasing of furniture goods, office chairs, office desks, etc. at a reasonable price shipped directly to the desired location. Sean’s innovation and business model offered the customer convenience and reduced cost by minimizing overhead. By the age of 20, Sean’s business had tallied a worth of over $38 million dollars. It’s rather remarkable that in just over five years, Sean’s entrepreneurial insight had grown a $600 investment to a company worth $38 million. Essentially, Sean’s success proves that youth does not circumvent insight and innovation and capitalizing on one’s interests and talents can be profitable both personally and monetarily. Additionally, Sean’s recognition of the growing demand for online shopping reiterates the old adage that “timing is everything.”
Resources:
- http://seanbelnick.com/post/23199287296/starting-a-company
- BizChair.com
That is so inspiring that a 14-year-old was able to recognize a problem in an industry and then develop a clear, marketable solution to that problem. On top of that, he grew the business from $600 to $38 million in just 5 years!
Thank you for sharing this! It is a great reminder and motivation that youth is not a factor when it comes to good creativity and effective problem-solving.