THIS is a Thing

Entrepreneur Joe Hession built SNOW Partners into a $100M company from just $60,000 in savings— he rescued Mountain Creek from bankruptcy and opened Big Snow American Dream, North America's largest indoor ski area, after it sat unfinished for 15 years. We talk about how he made two wild ideas a reality that everyone doubted, why credibility beats capital when starting a business, and what it really means to walk through every open door.This Is A Thing is a podcast about founders who built unusual businesses — and how they made wild ideas a reality.SNOW Partners: ⁠https://snowpartners.com⁠Mountain Creek: https://mountaincreek.comBig Snow American Dream: https://www.bigsnowamericandream.com

Peter is one of the only artisan globe makers in the world today. He and his team make custom globes out of his London studio for passionate individuals, collectors, and museums that can run well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. He didn't start out in the arts, though. He created a business for pizza parlors, ran a nightclub, did some property development ... It was only when he tried creating a custom globe as a birthday present for his Dad that he fell in love with the craft and decided to turn it into a business. Bellerby & Co Globemakers - https://bellerbyandco.com/Bellerby Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/globemakersI’m Dana—NYU entrepreneurship prof and host of THIS is a Thing, a podcast about founders who built unusual businesses. If you’re curious how people make wild ideas a reality (and maybe have some wild ideas of your own), you’re in the right place.Subscribe to the This is a Thing newsletter to get new stories first- https://nationofdoers.substack.com/

Chris Turner is a treasure hunter and the Founder of the Ring Finders. He and his community of over 300 treasure hunting professionals across 18 countries are there to find anything you've lost (wedding rings are the most common!). In this interview, Chris shares his story of starting and growing the Ring Finders -- it wasn't part of his master plan, but he says it's better than anything he could have dreamed. The Ring Finders -- https://theringfinders.com/The Book of Smiles -- https://theringfinders.com/#bookNation of Doers Newsletter -- https://nationofdoers.substack.com/

Pete builds high-end treehouses, bringing dreams to life for the young at heart. In this interview, we talk about how he fell in love with treehouses, how he ventured into turning his passion into a business, and how he grew beyond his wildest dreams with a major assist from a TV show on Animal Planet. Nelson Treehouse and Supply: https://nelsontreehouse.com/Treehouse Point Resort: https://www.treehousepoint.com/Nelson Treehouse on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nelsontreehousePete's original coffee table book: https://www.amazon.com/Treehouses-Art-Craft-Living-Limb/dp/0395629497This is a Thing Newsletter: https://nationofdoers.substack.com/

Andrew Evans started a magic speakeasy in his apartment in San Francisco as a fun project with friends -- after selling 1000 tickets in 60 seconds he realized he was on to something and quit his job at the design firm IDEO to build his business full time. This is an awesome story of following your curiosity and always evolving. Check out Andrew's show and get tickets here: https://www.themagicpatio.com/Subscribe to my newsletter to read about all of the founders of unusual businesses on this podcast: https://nationofdoers.substack.com/

Assaf Eshet is the founder of the toy company Clixo, which makes incredibly innovative building toys are a bit like magnetic origami and lot like magic ⭐️In this conversation, he talks about how he transitioned from graphic designer to toy designer, how he prototypes, and how he knows when to stop tinkering and launch. Check out Clixo toys here: https://clixo.com/

When Laura was working as a police officer in Kansas City, she responded to a homicide scene where the victim’s family asked when the police would return to clean up the body. The answer was: they wouldn’t. Even more surprising, Laura couldn’t find a single local company to recommend to the family.In that moment, she saw a real, unmet need in the market.Spaulding Decon grew from a business Laura ran entirely on her own into a nationwide company with 75 franchise units. And on the very day I interviewed her, Laura was signing the papers to exit and sell the business.She had achieved success on her own terms—which, in her words, meant gaining the reward of flexibility: the ability to “do what I want, when I want, how I want.”

Leah Koch founded the romance bookstore The Ripped Bodice with her sister Bea Koch - they now have two locations, consult to major movie and TV studios, and have been rightfully called "the cool whisperers of romance." In this episode, I talk to Leah about how she made her wild idea of being the first romance-only bookstore in North America happen, despite the many skeptics who told her it couldn't be done. https://www.therippedbodice.com/Leah's museum rec: https://www.dackelmuseum.de/

Have you ever looked at a business and thought, "Wow, I cannot believe that is a thing!" With the right alchemy of skill, passion, and a healthy dose of good timing and luck even the wildest dream can become a successful business.In a world where we're inundated with stories of huge tech businesses and mainstreet store fronts, I want to tell you the stories of all those other businesses, the businesses that fly under the radar. The cool, unique, unusual, the amazing. I'll talk to an entrepreneur who started an inflatable water park. Another who guides photographers on journeys to take pictures of elusive cats, a professional magician, a toy maker, and so many more.I want to know how they came up with their wild idea and why they decided to turn it into a business. We’ll dive into what success means to them and what makes them love their jobs. My name is Dana Mauriello and I’m an entrepreneur – I spent most of my career building software for small business owners to help them get started and grow. For five years at Etsy, I built tools for artisans that made bracelets out of old records, started goat farms to make handmade soap, personalized cutting boards. It was so inspiring to be around entrepreneurs who were following their dreams in all of the many unique directions that took them.I'm also an adjunct professor at NYU Stern, teaching students how to generate new business ideas and decide which to pursue. I often hear when talking to aspiring entrepreneurs that they're searching for that one great idea - the idea that will help them raise funding and earn tons of money.I believe that there are no good or bad ideas. There's only the right idea for us. I wanted to start this podcast to explore the incredibly wide range of entrepreneurship.The vastly different goals that we all have, the different ways that we define success, and the unbelievably unique paths we pursue. Oh and a warning – I am *super* excited about these entrepreneurs and their business and I’m not going to try and play it cool and hide it. You can expect a fair amount of gushing, fan-girling, and general hysteria. Talking to these is folks is my dream and I’m stoked that I can make it a reality. So, it's going to be a wild ride. I'm just so happy you're here.

Robert Cirjak is the co-founder of Wibit Sports, the world leader in floating waterparks. Robert started his career as a professional soccer player and now is the CEO of a waterpark company... the two dream jobs of every kid. His company inspires so much passion and excitement that he has fans with Wibit tatoos and he's even gone to a wedding of two people who met on a Wibit. Wibit: https://www.wibitsports.com/Robert's Wibit Bucket List Recommendations: https://landofnatura.com/https://www.zlatniratbol.com/enhttps://www.visitdubai.com/en/places-to-visit/aquafun-the-beach-waterparkCrystal Lagoons: https://www.crystal-lagoons.com/

Rachel Tobias left her career in tech — quitting her job at Salesforce — to travel the world with her husband, Sebastian, photographing wild cats. Together, they lead small-group expeditions across the globe where guests can learn about, photograph, and support the conservation of some of the planet’s most elusive and endangered feline species.I talk with Rachel about her decision to walk away from corporate life, how she defines success now, and what it’s really like to spend nearly every day of the year on the move. (Spoiler: there’s a lot of heat rash.)Cat Expeditions: https://catexpeditions.com/Cat Expeditions Youtube Show:    • This Secret Cat Lives in a Minefield  Whale Expeditions: https://whaleexpeditions.com/Rachel's Shout-out for the Magic Patio! https://www.themagicpatio.com/