Texas

Ezra Coffee CEO Jessica Taylor believes the best conversations start with a bold cup of coffee. That’s why her mixed-origin blends are named after pivotal figures and moments in American history. A former educator and lifelong learner, Taylor tapped into Amazon’s small business resources to grow her brand online. Her Amazon success has fueled expansion into major retailers—and empowered her to invest back in her community through scholarships and mentorship programs.

In the heart of rural Texas, Sean and Erin Gaudet have built a thriving million-dollar business that is challenging perceptions about small-town entrepreneurship. The husband-wife duo behind the brand Ranch Junkie have leveraged Amazon to transform their handmade leather goods, home decor, and other rustic-chic products into a rapidly growing family enterprise.

By tapping into Amazon’s loyal customer base and tools like Fulfillment by Amazon, the couple was able to achieve “explosive growth” - scaling their operation from a home-based hobby to a 5,000-square-foot warehouse in just 12 months.

“Ranch Junkie was a hobby, until Amazon,” they said, “made it a business.”

Gerrard Larriett realized the potential of scent-based petcare when an aromatherapy candle soothed the nerves of his skittish poodle. A former beauty exec, Larriett used his industry connections to launch Gerrard Larriett Aromatherapy Pet Care. When juggling a full-time job and business school with his growing business became too much, he found a solution with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), which helped him grow sales while freeing up time to earn his MBA.

Since launching in the Amazon store, Gerrard Larriett Aromatherapy Pet Care has become a $5 million international brand with over 20 part-time employees—success its CEO attributes to Amazon’s suite of innovative tools.

Robert Strong began his entrepreurial journey as the owner of a successful food truck in Austin, Texas. The intention was never to create a sauce and spice brand, but when customers kept asking if they could buy bottles of his sauce to use at home, Strong saw an opportunity.

The Pretty Thai CEO slowly started bottling his sauce and spice blends, selling them at local farmers markets and from the window of his food truck. Popularity grew and soon, Pretty Thai was selling in over 500 retail locations in the U.S. Then, in 2022, Robert embarked on the journey of launching his specialty line of sauces in the Amazon store.

Using tools like Amazon A+ Content to tell his brand story, Strong found an equally dedicated fanbase online. Within six months, his Amazon sales grew 83%. Pretty Thai’s Thai peanut sauce has even become an Amazon best-seller, earning the number one spot in its category. Strong says Amazon’s innovative data tools, like Amazon Brand Analytics, helped him find an audience hungry for his delectable sauces.

If you would’ve asked Coolhorse founder Matt Harris what he thought about Amazon in 2019, he would have told you the retailer is ‘direct competition.’ Fast forward to 2024, and this entrepreneur from the Texas panhandle will tell you that Amazon is one of the best retail partners a small business can have.

Only one thing has changed between then and now, said Harris: “I quit listening to the critics and decided to give it a try.”

Amazon now represents one of Coolhorse’s fastest-growing sales channels, generating nearly $1 million in sales last year, with projections to double sales in 2024 and quadruple in 2025.

PetCultures Probiotics is a labor of love. Years ago, when Santiago Gelvez’s springer spaniel Tango fell sick, he turned to developing a life-saving remedy he struggled to find on shelves. Santiago partnered with a veterinarian and a chemist to develop a specialized probiotic formula tailored to the unique needs of dogs. Within months, Tango’s health had dramatically improved.

Santiago launched PetCultures Probiotics on Amazon in March 2023 with the mission of providing superior gut health solutions for dogs. The formula is sold in small packs to shelter it from external elements (like air) that can weaken the efficacy of the product. After just 18 months, PetCultures Probiotics is already seeing remarkable growth, with sales increasing by 200% year-over-year and international expansion into Canada and Mexico.

TUR Party Supplies founder, Hamza Raja, doesn’t need to think long about what he would tell other teens considering starting a business; it comes quick. “Don’t wait until you’re older, thinking there will be a better time in the future,” he said. “If you have the urge to start a business, do it now. And, start on Amazon.”

Anyone, at any age, said the entrepreneur, can do what he and his two best friends did in high school. It takes time, determination and desire. Everything else, he said, you can learn between first and second period on YouTube.

Now 25, the University of Texas medical student is still running TUR Party Supplies with his two best friends, Dr. Mohammed Dairywala and Mustafa Doctor, but the business has come a long way from its first boardroom meeting in his parent’s garage. The entrepreneur is an employer, with two full-time staff dedicated to running the ins and outs, while he’s making rounds, checking patient charts.

It’s a self-described side hustle, that he has no desire to ever give up, even after he gets his MD. And now that it’s on track to earn $2 million this year, you don’t need to be a brain surgeon to know why.

Before Terrasoul Superfoods founder and CEO Dennis Botts was an independent seller, he was an Amazon shopper. He and his wife, both health-conscious, noticed that the superfoods they loved sold at their local grocery store for what Botts describes as “ridiculous prices on the shelf.”

“I saw that there was an opportunity to offer value to the consumer in the Amazon store by delivering a great-quality product at a great price and start a brand to sell there,” he said.

Today, the Botts are continuing to reinvest 100% of profits back into Terrasoul’s 70 employees, their company and their community so they can create jobs, offer better prices and expand their product line.

Femi Oyenekan started Simpleaf in 2017 to sell sustainable hygiene products for home and personal use.

“When you grow up in a third-world country, hygiene amenities and accessibility to hygiene is a major, major problem that a lot of people don’t talk about. Simpleaf is changing that.” he said.

“Amazon partnership has been the vehicle, the driver to reach all our social vision, and also to help develop a community that believes in what we’re doing. Six years later, we’ve grown about 15 times. We are now selling in Whole Foods and we are really excited because it gives us the opportunity to also impact our community in a larger way,” Oyenekan added.

When Unoma Okorafor was pregnant, she went to local supermarkets and natural health food stores in search of the wild-grown organic fruits, vegetables and herbs she grew up eating as a child in Nigeria.

“The ones I found didn’t taste the way that I knew they should taste: healthy, juicy, beautiful, amazing,” she said. Okorafor set out on a journey to bring nutritious superfoods and super herbs to American consumers—and Herbal Goodness was born.