Five Successful Startups Founded By Retirees

Did you always have the perception that only the younger bunch can become entrepreneurs and run their own business? Well, it’s time to drop that. There are lots of people who, aged between 55 and 64, have launched their startups. These people constitute around 24% of the retirees in the United States or so, as revealed by the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurship report in 2016. The trend of retiring from their jobs and entering into entrepreneurship is growing quite rapidly. Looking around, you will come across several enterprises that you never knew have been started by retirees. Below are some of those successful enterprises. Have a look.

Kentucky Fried Chicken

Kentucky Fried Chicken or KFC is a household name. The chain of fast-food restaurants has its headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. After McDonald’s, KFC is the second-largest chain of restaurants in the world. It is spread across more than 150 countries. The foundation stone was laid by Colonel Harland Sanders. Sanders started selling fried chicken from a roadside eatery at the time when the Great Depression struck.

Gradually, Sanders became aware of how strong the concept of restaurant franchising can be. The first franchise of KFC opened in 1952 in Utah. Sanders went on to become a figure to reckon with in the cultural history of America. But with his growing age and the rapid expansion of the company, Sanders was compelled to sell KFC to a group of investors.

Denali Flavors

Moose Tracks is a popular brand that sells different flavors of ice cream. It is owned by Denali Flavors Inc. Though the products from Original Moose Tracks have always been its trademark vanilla ice -cream with peanut butter cups and the highly popular Moose Tracks fudge. The first scoop of the Moose tracks flavor was tasted for the first time in 1988.

Today, aside from the original flavor, a lot of other varieties are available such as chocolate moose tracks, caramel brownie moose tracks, mint moose tracks, extreme! maximum fudge moose tracks, brownie moose tracks, peppermint bark moose tracks, black raspberry moose tracks, cherry moose tracks, maximum fudge moose tracks, original moose tracks no sugar added, glacier mint moose tracks, chocolate peanut butter moose tracks, and many more. The venture was started by Wally Blume, too at the age of 62. The company has witnessed unprecedented growth over the years and offers more than 30 flavors to hundreds of distributors across the United States.

Women’s Automotive Connection

Gail Dunn used to manage an automotive body shop, a job she retired from in 2007. She was 62 at that time when Dunn decided to launch a startup for women to prevent them from being cheated by car salesmen and mechanics. A program named Women’s Auto Connection was initiated by Dunn to help women buy, finance, and negotiate while they are buying a car and or exchange their old ones.

Dunn has always stood against the dishonest people in the automotive industry. Gradually, people have started to take notice of her endeavors. It has always been a dream for her to keep on working even after retirement and that’s what she is doing. However this time, she isn’t working under anyone else.

The Thesaurus

This isn’t an altogether new business, but Peter Mark Roget took the onus on him to publish Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases. He was 73 years old at that time.

It eventually reached legendary status. As many would like to believe, Roget suffered from an obsessive-compulsive disorder. He made up his mind to put an end to his difficulties and utilize his obsession. That was the beginning of a legendary creature.

StashAll

StashAll, as you all might know, is a convertible walker bag that can be used on a majority of walkers, motorized scooters, and travel wheelchairs. It can be folded with the walker and is available in a wide ensemble of attractive fabrics.

They also have pockets and that’s certainly an attractive feature. You can also opt for coordinating accessories. StashAll was created by Mary Tennyson when she saw her elderly mother fall and break her hip.

These were exceptional efforts taken by some retirees and today, they have grown to a simply unmatched level. If you are toying with the idea of starting a business after your retirement, you can take some inspiration from these success stories and launch your business too.