When he was just shy of being five years old, Benjamin Stern couldn’t buy a stuffed animal because he didn’t have enough money. He knew he needed to be innovative to make more money. His early entrepreneurial pursuits included peddling cookies in a shopping mall. He figured when he bought a whole box of cookies at Costco that if he sold them one at a time, he’d make a significant profit. And he did.
He also started a small business selling coffee door-to-door in his neighborhood and donating 10% of the proceeds to Wounded Warriors. While these businesses were profitable, nothing compares to his latest venture with Nohbo.
The idea for Nohbo came to him while he pondered dishwashing detergent and suddenly wondered why there wasn’t a detergent tablet for personal care products.
Nohbo is the world’s first eco-friendly shampoo ball. No more plastic shampoo bottles. Just you, your hair, and the elements. Nohbo is completely waste-free, paraben-free, and sulfate-free. Each Nohbo ball is wrapped in a biodegradable plant-based material, which means COMPOST!
Nohbo and its creator Benjamin Stern were showcased at “Shark Tank,” which got the attention of Mark Cuban, who invested $100K in his company. Now 17-year old Benjamin is on to the major leagues. About to enter his Senior year at Viera High School in Melbourne Florida, Benjamin squeezes in meetings with his attorneys, manufacturers, marketers, graphic designers and photographers. You might find him traveling to the west coast to visit with his manufacturers or forming a strategic alliance with a charity.
Juggling being an entrepreneur and a student comes naturally to him. “I try not to overpromise and under deliver,” he said. Setting goals is the main aspect. I juggle it all because I have a great team.” Currently, there are six people on his team: a designer, writer/editor, financial person, two lawyers and a marketer.
Suddenly cast into a leadership position, he finds managing a team is something he learned on the job. He remembers working at the east coast grocery chain Wegmans, where he stood outside in frigid weather and pushed grocery carts all day. It’s a matter of having to do the work. This disciplined thinking is applied to Nohbo, where running a business is not about glamor a la Shark Tank, but a matter of enduring the daily grind, and the ups and downs. “There is only one direction,” he said. “Forward.”
Right now Benjamin is focused on getting Nohbo into hotels because that’s where the money is. Consumers are great, but hotels are a constant source of revenue. Working out a distribution deal with a chain of 200 hotels bumps the numbers of units being sold. He also wants to get into the government GSA schedule and develop a strong Amazon subscription service. There is also the possibility of expanding Nohbo to be a white label product that is sold and distributed by other companies. Benjamin is quick to point out that Nohbo is more than another beauty product. It has a social mission: Nohbo won’t test on animals, has no degrading ingredients and is friendly to the environment.
Benjamin offers advice to entrepreneurs of all ages. “There is not much a difference doing it when you’re young or old. You can take more risk when you’re in a flexible position.” He attributes his early inspiration as having come from his grandmother, Doris Stern, who was a teacher and a graduate of Johns Hopkins University. “Her work ethic was to get things done and she was very aggressive.”
Benjamin Stern came up with the idea for Nohbo because he thinks of a lot of ideas. He keeps compiling ideas and so far he’s amassed about 160 new concepts. He keeps his ideas on his phone and every so often he prints hard copies as a backup. With firm resolve he said, “I do plan to launch and build other businesses someday, but not until I take Nohbo all the way.”