INSPIRING SMALL BUSINESS STORIES 2

Kenny Lao and David Weber of Rickshaw Dumpling 

Kenny Lao and David Weber met in 2002 when they were both students at NYU's Stern School of Business. They joined forces to enter the Rickshaw concept in a business plan competition in 2004. (They placed second behind a scrap-booking company that was never heard from again, as far as they know.) The partners opened their first store in 2005. Soon after, they opened a second, which quickly proved to be too ambitious. "It was a really dark time," Lao says. "It almost bankrupted us," Weber adds. After they closed that location, they decided to try a food truck—and the success was almost immediate. Their trucks produced the steady cash flow that made a second go at brick-and-mortar expansion possible. The business has grown to 70 employees, and the partners hope to double revenue this year.