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SF Chronicle, 10/08/06. In 2000, two men in their then-twenties decided to transform the stodgy old household soaps and detergent business. Today, their business (Method Home) has been recognized as the seventh fastest growing private company in America by Inc. Magazine. Their current revenue is about $45 million a year. What they did: they took a look at the detergent aisles in the grocery store and thought "yawn!". The bottles looked outdated, stodgy and just no fun. They then packaged a natural dish soap in a neat bottles and they spiced it up with new, cool scents. When they started out, they went door-to-door, getting in the face of grocery store buyers as they came in to work in the wee hours of the morning. Once the product was on the shelves, they personally restocked and did in-store demos. Their big break came in 2002 when they were signed on with Target. They partnered with one of the high end industrial designers to come up with new packaging and pitched th...

SF Chronicle, 06/04/06. Taylor Pham, a local Vietnamese-American woman worked as a makeup artist specializing in wedding makeup. Then she got the idea to create her own line. Her line is called Thi (pronounced "tea") and may be viewed at www.thicosmetics.com . It includes shadows, blush, lipstick, gloss and brushes. While the color palette is limited, the packaging and formulation are designed to be luxurious. In particular, the line is geared to suit the Asian woman. Pham's efforts reflect the trend toward boutique "prestige" makup brands. According to industry experts, growth in these brands is very strong. One thing that makes her stand out is an invention for which she has "patent pending" status. The invention is a unique type of false eyelashes specifically for the Asian eye. More than 5000 were sold in the first three weeks they came out, at $15 a pop. Pham also worked to develop her own line of brushes which work particularly well to a...