Beach Party
Profile of Bikini.com, a “bubble-gum retro” site
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Sure siblings Howard and Gail Sonnenschein seemed destined fortheir roles as purveyors of wholesome fun via their”Disneyland meets the beach” site . Between their swimwearfabric manufacturer father and swimwear boutique proprietor mother,walls of the family abode donning vibrant fabric as opposed towallpaper wasn’t atypical, nor was co-producing swimsuitspecials for E! Entertainment Television.
A beach brand with a diversified revenue model (of whichlicensing things like swimwear and calendars featuring Bikini.comsupermodels brings in most dollars) and a multifaceted site thatresurrects Frankie and Annette fun seemed the obvious route the duowould take. But Howard always knew “founder” would followhis name. “I love the word [entrepreneur],” he says.
Good thing, because the Sonnenscheins should enjoy a long haulwith Bikini.com, founded in 1997 with the intention of gettingtheir guy- and girl-friendly beach programming to TV. Expectingprofitability next year, the site has already received greatreception, a cover piece in Variety and meetings with TVexecs after exhibiting at a trade show last January. “I feelthe same as I did when we invested our savings and were working inan apartment,” says Howard. “It’s like being a bullin a bullfight-just charging ahead until it happens.”
They secured the perfect name (“If we didn’t get thatexact name, we wouldn’t have done the project,” saysHoward); they’ve also gotten about 50 investors fromentertainment, merchandising and the VC world. Expect to see andhear a lot more from the Sonnenscheins.
Sure siblings Howard and Gail Sonnenschein seemed destined fortheir roles as purveyors of wholesome fun via their”Disneyland meets the beach” site . Between their swimwearfabric manufacturer father and swimwear boutique proprietor mother,walls of the family abode donning vibrant fabric as opposed towallpaper wasn’t atypical, nor was co-producing swimsuitspecials for E! Entertainment Television.
A beach brand with a diversified revenue model (of whichlicensing things like swimwear and calendars featuring Bikini.comsupermodels brings in most dollars) and a multifaceted site thatresurrects Frankie and Annette fun seemed the obvious route the duowould take. But Howard always knew “founder” would followhis name. “I love the word [entrepreneur],” he says.
Good thing, because the Sonnenscheins should enjoy a long haulwith Bikini.com, founded in 1997 with the intention of gettingtheir guy- and girl-friendly beach programming to TV. Expectingprofitability next year, the site has already received greatreception, a cover piece in Variety and meetings with TVexecs after exhibiting at a trade show last January. “I feelthe same as I did when we invested our savings and were working inan apartment,” says Howard. “It’s like being a bullin a bullfight-just charging ahead until it happens.”
They secured the perfect name (“If we didn’t get thatexact name, we wouldn’t have done the project,” saysHoward); they’ve also gotten about 50 investors fromentertainment, merchandising and the VC world. Expect to see andhear a lot more from the Sonnenscheins.
