Already $700,000 in debt from a previous failed enterprise, Orville and Heidi Thompson used their last dime to purchase Scentsy, a tiny, six-month-old wickless candle company, and were desperate to make it a success. Over the past seven years they have built a thriving, high-growth company.
The most challenging aspect of building Scentsy was generating capital. In the early days they describe themselves as economic lepers, unable to secure any funding. On top of that, they had five children to raise.
An early success came for Scentsy when they celebrated their first $1,000 home party. They saw their customers light up when they demonstrated their products. A second critical point came in late 2006 when the company was experiencing a serious cash pinch. By chance, the county wanted to purchase some land the Thompsons owned. With savvy negotiations they raised enough money to fund their inventory for the 2006 holiday rush. That $60,000 was the only capital Scentsy ever needed.
The Thompsons attribute the success of Scentsy to sticking to their core values of simplicity, authenticity and generosity.
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