Article of the Week-- Unlucky in Love? Turning a Break-up Into a Business
Greg Halpin
Unlucky in Love? Turning a Break-up Into a Business
These scorned entrepreneurs didn't get mad. They got profitable.
By Rosalind Resnick
Joshua Opperman buys and sells second-hand diamond rings on the Web. Ellie Scarborough runs a service that consoles the lovelorn with emails, text messages, candy and flowers. And David Mamane does a bang-up business selling fashionable jewelry to buyers on a budget.
What do these three entrepreneurs have in common?
Broken hearts. At times, all three have been unlucky in love. But instead of letting romantic setbacks get them down, they used their break-ups as motivation to start successful businesses.
Mr. Opperman found out the hard way— after his fiancée dumped him—that you can't sell a ring back to the dealer for anything close to what you paid for it. Ms. Scarborough discovered, after weeks of moping over her ex-boyfriend, that other women in the same boat would pay for a service that helped them cheer up and move on. And Mr. Mamane, a jeweler whose girlfriend demanded a pricey three-carat engagement ring that he couldn't afford, rang up $15 million in sales last year through a website that sells jewelry to love-struck couples with bigger hearts than wallets.
"I haven't spoken to my ex-fiancée since the day she left me," says Mr. Opperman, whose site, IDoNowIDont.com, generated $1 million in sales last year by enabling consumers to buy and sell diamond rings and other jewelry on the Web, cutting out the middlemen and their markups. "I was able to get complete closure and happiness when I sold her engagement ring on my website."
For many entrepreneurs, the toughest part of starting a business is coming up with an idea that will strike a chord with hundreds, thousands or even millions of people. But as Mr. Opperman, Ms. Scarborough and Mr. Mamane have learned, sometimes the best idea is the one that's closest to your heart.
Here's how they did it:
Joshua Opperman I Do Now I Don't
Harold Heckler Josh Opperman, founder of I Do Now I Don't, is now happily married.After a three-month engagement, Mr. Opperman came home from work one day to find his fiancé and all her belongings gone—everything, that is, except for the $10,000 diamond engagement ring that Mr. Opperman had bought her. Once he got over the initial shock, Mr. Opperman returned to the jeweler who sold him the ring and tried to sell it back to him. Then came the real shocker: The jeweler offered him a third of what he'd paid for it.
"That $10,000 ring probably cost the jeweler $3,500," Mr. Opperman says. "Rather than get mad, I decided to break even. That's when I launched I Do Now I Don't."
Mr. Opperman's website (www.idonowidont.com) brings buyers and sellers together, allowing sellers to get a higher price for their jewelry than they would from a dealer and buyers to pay less than they'd pay at a store. Says Mara Opperman, Mr. Opperman's sister and business partner, "Our site provides an outlet for people who want the ring but can't afford the bling."
Unlike small businesses that have been hurt by the recession, I Do Now I Don't is thriving. Last year, the company rang up more than $1 million in sales, double its 2009 revenue, Mr. Opperman says. The site is profitable and has raised several hundred thousand dollars in angel money for expansion.
Ellie Scarborough PinkKisses.com
Courtesy of PinkKisses.com Ellie Scarborough launched PinkKisses.com after getting dumped.After her boyfriend dumped her over the phone before Valentine's Day 2009, the 29-year-old TV news reporter felt discouraged and depressed. She could barely drag herself out of bed in the morning.
But a month later, she hit on an idea. Instead of waiting by the door for an apology and bouquet, why not send herself some flowers instead? So she did, along with a card that read, 'Girl, you are way too good for some guy who won't even send you these. Don't waste another tear on him.'
With that, PinkKisses.com was born. Investing her own money, Ms. Scarborough quit her job in November 2009 and, together with a team of developers, started building an e-commerce site to help other women recover from heartbreak and move on. PinkKisses.com features a wide array of romance-themed products and services, including the Betty Action Plan (30 days of pick-me-up emails for $10), two weeks of peppy text messages ($8), Better Than Sex truffles ($36) and the ShowStopper ($98), a wardrobe makeover done via the Web from the comfort of your home.
Since the site launched last July, PinkKisses.com has generated more than 51,000 unique visitors and 234,000 page views. The site has attracted 2,600 Facebook friends and 614 followers on Twitter. Encouraged by her initial success, Ms. Scarborough says she's planning to add sections to her site to help women get over a crush, relationship or divorce. "Don't settle for anything less than awesome because awesome does exist," she says.
David Mamane MyJewelryBox.com
Courtesy of MyJewelryBox.com After a break-up, David Mamane focused on making his start-up, MyJewelryBox.com, a success.When David Mamane quit his $350,000-a-year job at his family's jewelry store chain to launch his own jewelry website, he knew that he'd have to live frugally for a while. So he sold his assets, moved in with a friend and prepared to hunker down until his new business started making money. That didn't sit well with Mr. Mamane's girlfriend, a woman from a wealthy family who made it clear that she expected a $40,000 diamond engagement ring as proof of his affection. Soon afterwards, the couple split up.
"She was a material girl, but I am not a material guy," Mr. Mamane says.
Depressed but determined, the 29-year-old New York jeweler threw himself into making his start-up jewelry site a success. Today, six years later, MyJewelryBox.com has grown to $15 million in sales with 22 employees. The key to Mr. Mamane's success: Targeting middle-market consumers who aspire to own the latest fashion jewelry worn by models and celebrities but can't afford the hefty price tag that comes with it. By substituting 14 karat gold for 18 karat gold and using other metals like silver, Mr. Mamane creates rings and other jewelry that look virtually identical to designer pieces at a fraction of the price. And, because he runs a website not a store, he doesn't have to stock inventory or employ sales clerks—a savings that he passes along to his customers.
"At a certain point, you're paying [a high price] just to say that a ring is a certain quality," Mr. Mamane says. "These differences are negligible to the naked eye."
Mr. Mamane's personal life is also on the uptick. Now 36, he proposed to his new girlfriend on Dec. 20 with a diamond ring that he designed just for her. She said yes. "And it didn't cost me $40,000," Mr. Mamane says with a smile.
If you've suffered a setback in your personal or professional life (and who hasn't?), maybe it's time to stop moping over your misfortunes—and start a business that will let you laugh all the way to the bank.