You don’t have to have made huge strides to be considered an entrepreneur. This is why I find Hart Main’s story not only amusingly adorable, but also inspirational for all young kids (and adults) with creative minds. Hart is a 14-year old that came up with the idea of manly scented candles, which he has wittingly branded as ManCans.
He came up with this idea when he was teasing his sister about the “girly scented” candles she was selling for a school fundraiser. Hart wanted to take a spin on the average candle and direct it at a different than normal audience, men. Although his family didn’t expect him to pursue the manly scented candles idea himself, he did. Hart’s idea has since turned into a nationwide success.
He put in an initial investment of $100, his parents put in $200, and together they all worked on developing the candles. Some of the available scents include: Campfire, Bacon, Sawdust, Fresh Cut Grass, Grandpa’s Pipe and more. Currently, ManCans’ candles are in over 60 stores across the country and have sold about 9,000 units. Hart plans to stick with selling ManCans’ inventory until he has to shift his focus back into school, he is only 14 after all.
Hart Main specifically inspires me in the way that he views entrepreneurship and innovation. He saw the smallest gap in a market and jumped at the opportunity to fill it. This is a view that I believe more entrepreneurs should put into use: whatever our dreams, ideas or projects, if we plant a seed, from that small thing comes fruit greater than we could imagine.
I love this story because of the personal experience I’ve had with man scented candles. I was shopping with my dad who say a bacon scented candle and he said he would be willing to buy it. I think this shows how a unique idea can really fill a gap that most people didn’t know existed.
This is incredible. I can’t believe someone has finally done it. Making candles manly. I would buy one of these candles if I could find them.
I heard about this very recently and thought it was a really cool. I cant say that I would ever be someone who would buy one of these candles, but i do know lots of guys who love to have scents in their room and would be very excited to have scents besides lavender and pumpkin available.
This story is awesome for entrepreneurs to hear because it shows that you don’t have you come up with a totally original idea but can find an area that needs improvement and innovate there. It’s funny because this problem seems obvious but Hart was really able to experience it and then come up with his solution.
Really good post. Yeah, I would totally buy one. It’s a neat idea, and the fact that he saw such a specific niche and capitalized on it is inspiring.
This idea is very different from anything already out on the market, making his product a unique buy. It’s such a simple idea that I doubt anybody would’ve been able to come up with something like it. How was he able to produce a candle that, when burned, would smell like different “manly” things? That sounds like something that would take a lot more engineering than just having his family try to figure it out.