We visited Pro-Elite Strength Systems during a recent trip to Salt Lake City and documented how the company designs and manufactures its gym equipment.
We are always interested in telling stories about America’s small businesses, which is why when we heard that stores on either side of a California mall were subject to two completely different minimum wage laws, we were intrigued, to say the least.
When the Iowa Department of Transportation announced in 2011 that it would replace a state-owned bridge near the rural town of Council Bluffs, residents braced for the projected six-month project and the 14-mile traffic detour that would accompany it. Yet a mere 14 days later, a new bridge had already been installed.
With overwhelmed teachers in mind, we’ve identified three education-focused companies—one of which operates outside of the digital landscape—that have quickly become teacher favorites thanks to their pioneering efforts within the space.
In the beginning, Bob Shearer built vinyl liner pools. The vinyl liner pool was to the pool industry what the Volkswagen was to the auto industry: It created an affordable, easy-to-build pool for the middle class.
Faygo has been making soft drinks in Detroit since 1907, when, Ben and Perry Feigenson, Russian immigrant brothers and bakers by trade, founded Feigenson Brothers Bottling Works with a handful of drinks based on frosting flavors they’d created. From the esoteric—Cotton Candy, Moon Mist, Jazzin’ Bluesberry—to beloved flagship flavors—Rock n’ Rye, Root beer, Orange, Grape—Faygo is renowned throughout not only Michigan, but also the rest of the Upper Midwest.
When Alan Martin was in college, he struggled each semester to pay exceedingly high prices for his textbooks. So he did something about it.
With its crowded sidewalks, halal food carts, maze of skyscrapers, and sea of yellow taxicabs, Midtown, Manhattan is a dream setting for anyone looking to be, well, overlooked. But if you look a little closer, you’d be surprised what’s hiding in plain sight.
Like any parent, Sharon Standifird wants her children to answer her calls and texts when she contacts them. Yet unlike most parents, when her son continued ignoring her digital overtures, she set out on a quest to create an app that would, well, force him to do just that.
Within moments of meeting Rohit Prakash it’s clear that he’s a methodical, deliberate thinker. These sorts of attributes are quite helpful when you’re launching a business, or if you’re studying to become a physician—both of which Prakash happens to have experience with.
Though still only his mid-20s, Scott Ferreira has already built quite a reputation for himself in the business world.
Fueled by their frustration, Stephen Powell and Josh Gustin sought to create a new, more efficient way to sell clothing. Eventually, they developed the idea for Gustin, which removes the middlemen from the economic equation. “Essentially, it’s like Kickstarter for fashion,” Gustin explains.
Family run businesses require a lot of work, but Aquarama Pools is a story that swims against the tide. The water hasn’t always been calm, but a second and upcoming third generation of Shearer family progeny have managed to weather the effects of stormy seas.
Sometimes, technology has a funny way of propelling us forward with ideas from the past. That’s certainly the case with Pager, a new company whose app enables users to schedule in-home appointments with physicians.
Today we honor Christopher Columbus day, a day that commemorates someone most people think of as an explorer.
