This is a story about a boy who came to success; he came to success by making fun of his sister. The common assumption is that I am implying that great ideas come from the back of sibling rivalry. Well in this case, they do. Hart Main, a 13-year-old boy, once complained about the feminine nature of the scented candles his sister made for a school project. He snarkly conveyed that he would make masculine candles that did not smell like lavender. His mother’s interest was quickly peaked. So, she pushed her son to make some masculine scented candles. He did so and ended up making quiet the brand out of it with the supportive help of his parents.
Hart Main is unique in several ways. Firstly, when his mother pushed him to try out something that was originally a joke, he didn’t say no to the challenge. Secondly, Hart’s family was motivated by curiosity. They wanted to see what their idea would look like if it came to life. Lastly, Hart looked for opportunity in all facets of his life. He made a joke which bloomed into innovation.
The Hart family is inspired by curiosity and driven by hope and potential. His mother said, “I do that with all of my kids — I listen to them,” Amy Main says. “Even if it sounds like they’re joking, if their idea sounds like something they can do, by all means, I tell them to go for it.”
What makes his idea great? Hart Main found a niche; he saw that it was for women; he wanted to make it for men. He demonstrated the ability to look for and solve a problem, an ability to turn that problem into something that can drive revenue. He let curiosity fuel an idea that ultimately was cultivated into a business.
I believe that the true hero of the story was not so much Hart himself but his mother. The reason I say this is because there was no differentiating characteristic between him and many other boys and girls except that his mother cultivated an environment of pursuing curiosity, and spending time with one’s ideas.
This taught me that one has to not only think of ideas but test them out, see where they take you. Leap the bridge from concept to reality.
Bibliography
Chun, Janean. “13-Year-Old Entrepreneur Invents Candles for Men.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 28 July 2011, www.huffpost.com/entry/hart-main-mancans-13-year-old-entrepreneur_n_909300#:~:text=For%20a%20startup,%20ManCans%20is%20doing%20well,%20averaging%20300%20orders.
I really enjoyed this post! You did such a good job describing how important family support was form Hart. Every sibling argues with each other which makes this example very relatable, and having the part that describes how the mother was a big supporter really adds a lot to this post. This example also shows how there are so many niches already out in the world today, and how new ideas can piggyback/stem off of them and don’t always have to be something brand new. Great job!
I liked how Hart started his entrepreneurship journey by figuring out how candles were targeted more towards women and not men. It’s interesting how he actually saw that there was a gap in the market for candles that went beyond just targeting women and how he started the business after making fun of his sister. Sometimes the greatest ideas come after realizing something you’ve never noticed before. I also liked how his mother was one of his biggest supporters because most people would take an idea like this and not cultivate it to that extent of actually starting a business.