How the Subscription Model Upended (and Helped Realign) This Startup

The Bulu Box founders talk about the need to pivot their business.

By Gary Bredow Jan 29, 2019
Entrepreneur Network

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Paul Jarrett grew up in a trailer park in Lincoln, Nebraska. By the third grade, he was selling novelty items to classmates. He met his wife, Stephanie, in college, and they worked together at several advertising agencies. After finishing a half-marathon in San Francisco, Stephanie and Paul noticed that the companies that were giving away promotional items to runners were not collecting any information, which sparked the idea for Bulu Box, one of the very first subscription boxes. Within 60 days of conception, Stephanie and Paul deposited their first million from a group of Nebraska based angel investors. Today, Bulu Box offers private label subscription boxes for major companies like GNC, Disney and Crayola, bringing in over $50 million in annual gross revenue, with that number expected to double by 2020.

Related: How This Husband-and-Wife Team Grew a B&B Empire

Paul Jarrett grew up in a trailer park in Lincoln, Nebraska. By the third grade, he was selling novelty items to classmates. He met his wife, Stephanie, in college, and they worked together at several advertising agencies. After finishing a half-marathon in San Francisco, Stephanie and Paul noticed that the companies that were giving away promotional items to runners were not collecting any information, which sparked the idea for Bulu Box, one of the very first subscription boxes. Within 60 days of conception, Stephanie and Paul deposited their first million from a group of Nebraska based angel investors. Today, Bulu Box offers private label subscription boxes for major companies like GNC, Disney and Crayola, bringing in over $50 million in annual gross revenue, with that number expected to double by 2020.

Related: How This Husband-and-Wife Team Grew a B&B Empire

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Gary Bredow

Host at Start Up TV Show
Join host Gary Bredow as he travels around the country interviewing over 26 small business owners to hear their personal stories and find out what it really takes to start a successful business from the ground up. Energetic, inspirational and educational, Start Up is a fast paced new series sure to capture the imagination and...

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