First They Started Businesses. Now They’re Celebrating Milestones.

With Here’s My Story’s Avery Chenoweth (L) and Dominic Sinibaldi

It’s hard enough to start a business after age 40 – or at any age, for that matter. When you can sustain the drive and determination needed to grow the company, create new products and give back to causes, that’s pretty special.

I sometimes wonder about the many late-blooming entrepreneurs featured on this blog.  Where are they now?  Here’s a look at what some of them are up to:

Here’s My Story expects a May 11th release for Time Trekker, the company’s mobile app that uses augmented reality to teach history.  Avery Chenoweth, 61, is the founder of Here’s My Story, which is based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Per the photo above, I had the pleasure of meeting Avery and CEO Dominic Sinibaldi at the app’s beta version testing held at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park last fall.

This year marks the 15^th anniversary of Licorice International, the go-to place for licorice lovers all over the world. Elizabeth Erlandson and Ardith Stuertz  were in their 50s when they bought the business from a New York confectioner and move it to Lincoln, Nebraska (their hometown).

Also celebrating a 15^th anniversary this year is Drawing Conclusions, a Pittsburgh graphic design firm founded by Donna Herrle after she was laid off from her job two weeks before her 50^th birthday.

Len Forkas, who founded Reston, Virginia-based Milestone Communications at age 40, is about to peddle 3,000 miles in the 2017 Race Across America, a California-to-Maryland bike race that’s one of the world’s toughest sporting events. Now 57, Len is racing to raise $1 million for his charity, Hopecam.

Bill McKechnie, who began several Five Guys franchises in Charlottesville and Nashville while in his 40s, has a new restaurant in the works:  Mechum’s Trestle in Crozet, Virginia.

Barbara Cosgrove Lamps has a new addition to its product line:  reproductions of some original paintings created by Barbara Cosgrove herself.  The artwork is a natural extension of the home accents offered by the Kansas City, Missouri company, given that Barbara was an accomplished artist long before she founded her lamp company at age 47.

CS Lewis once said, “You’re never too old to set another goal, or to dream another dream.” Kudos to the entrepreneurs who keep setting goals – and fulfilling them.

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