10 Ideas that Earned $100 Million

#10 1-800-FLOWERS.COM

Master Brain: Jim McCann

When Jim McCann bought a flower shop for $10,000 in 1976, he was only a bartender and a social worker looking for a way to increase his income. After buying the flower shop, he could built 13 more shops in the New York metropolitan area.

But it was not until he acquired the 1-800-FLOWERS phone number in 1986 that his business really could bloom. His flower company was the first in the line to add an 800-telephone number in its name and the very simple marketing idea could lead the company to huge profits.

He also found that technology is the only thing that could buy attention in the coming years and he seized on the internet as an opportunity as early as 1991. In 1999, 1-800-FLOWERS went public online with a ‘.COM’ added to its name. The company further got expanded by the acquiring of companies like Popcorn Factory and Fannie May. And as of 2011, the total revenue of the company is reported as $689.8 million.