Don’t worry about failure; you only have to be right once. – Drew Houston, Dropbox Co-founder
Tech startups have been on the ride, but there are a lot of startups that are inspiring entrepreneurs to go ahead with their interests and dreams. Below are some of the non-tech startups which are inspiring others.
Coffee Meets Bagels
Founded: 2011
Headquarters: San Francisco Bay Area, West Coast, Western US
Funding: $23.2M
Coffee Meets Bagel (CMB) is a highly curated dating service where women call the final shot on who gets to talk to them among guys who expressed interest. We believe that the best dating experience is offered through a differentiated service for men and women. Globally, we have generated more than one million dates and thousands of lasting relationships.
We started Coffee Meets Bagel in 2012 because we wanted to inspire singles to feel good about dating again. Over the last 4 years, we came to realize that men and women have very different styles of dating and that the best dating experience for everyone is offered through a differentiated service for men and women. Hence a new way of servicing #LadiesChoice was born.
Singles, especially single women, are becoming exhausted with the direction mobile dating is headed today. Dating has become an endless swipe of photos — a place for ghosting and being ghosted. To us, that isn’t really dating, that’s a huge waste of time. With #LadiesChoice, we are giving women more control of their dating experience. We are enabling them to re-focus their time and energy on men who are serious about taking the next step. We are hoping to inspire all singles around the world to feel good about dating again. Welcome to Coffee Meets Bagel!
Pandora
Founded: 2010
Headquarters: Oakland, California, United States
Funding: $750.3M
Pandora is a premium jewelry brand and the market leader in the charm bracelet category. The company was established in the 1980s in Denmark and since then has expanded globally. Pandora has over 2,600 concept stores globally (1,400 owned and operated, and the remainder run by its franchise partners) as well as multi-brand locations and stores-in-stores. Pandora-owned retail accounts for 43% of sales, own online channels for 26% and wholesale for the remainder. Charms and bracelets account for almost three-fourths of its sales. The firm produces mostly internally in two jewelry-crafting facilities in Thailand.
SweetGreen
Founded: 2007
Headquarters: Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Funding: $478.6
Sweetgreen is an American fast-casual restaurant chain that serves simple, seasonal, healthy salads, and grain bowls made in-house from scratch, using whole produce delivered that morning. Founded in 2007, the company is based in Washington, District of Columbia.
Blue Bottle Coffee
Founded: 2002
Headquarters: Oakland, California, United States
Funding: $117.8M
Blue Bottle Coffee is a coffee roaster and retailer platform that delivers coffee subscriptions to doorsteps nationwide. Blue Bottle Coffee is a passionate team of hundreds around the world, united by the simple purpose of getting great coffee to everyone who asks for it whether that be in our cafes or at home.
Shake Shack
Founded:2004
Headquarters: New York, New York, United States
Funding: $225M
Shake Shack is a modern-day “roadside” burger stand known for its all-natural burgers, flat-top dogs, frozen custard, beer, wine, and more. With its fresh and simple, high-quality food at a great value, Shake Shack is a fun and lively community-gathering place with widespread appeal. From its ingredients and employment practices to its environmental
responsibility, design, and community investment, Shake Shack’s mission is to continually Stand for Something Good.