Johnny Cupcakes

Voted America’s  #1 Young Entrepreneur of 2008 by BusinessWeek Magazine — Johnny Cupcakes at age 26 is living proof of the American Dream and continues to be such without compromising ethics, morals, or reputation. Johnny created a multi-million dollar, homegrown, unique t-shirt brand at the age of 19 that embraces one’s independence without the use of advertisement and outside venture capital.

Johnny Cupcakes does not sell food but instead sell food themed clothing and accessories. His shops are set up like old fashioned bakeries, with limited edition t-shirts displayed in ovens + refrigerators. Employees wear aprons, the stores even smell like frosting,  but no real cupcakes whatsoever. Loyal customers have traveled from all over, camping out on the streets up to 4 days ahead of time, to get first dibs on some of the more collectible t-shirts. His cult following of customers appreciate that Johnny started his family-run brand from the trunk of his rusty car, keeps his shirts out of chain stores / away from investors, and focuses on all the little details + experiences that most brands tend to forget about.