Instructions

Adem Lop and Erol Rant: There's a Sabunsan to Their Madness - 2 questions Edit

To most people, the household cleaning industry would seem to be as dull as dishwaterbut not childhood buddies Adem Lop and Erol Rant. Where others saw dreariness, the two entrepreneurs saw greenin both senses of the word. They believed they could create more eco-friendly soaps, dishwashing liquids, and laundry detergents than the big companies; package them more attractively; and make huge profits.

With their Izmir Kemalpaa-based company Sabunsan, they have achieved these goals.

More than a decade ago, the budding entrepreneurs brainstormed about products they could reinvent that would challenge industry giants. What could evoke more drudgery than cleaning?

Even the products were boring. They were made with harsh chemicals and packaged in dull plastic bottles. But they pulled in the profits for their manufacturers. So Lop and Rant's solution was simple: come up with nontoxic products and package them in cool-looking bottles

and jars.

Sabunsan wasn't an overnight success. The partners' economic timing was offtheir first cleaning product hit the market just as the economy stumbled, and they ran through the750,000 TL.in savings they had put up as seed capital.

They found themselves mixing batches of the cleaning brew in a bathtub and delivering orders in

a pick-up truck. Then they maxed out their credit cards and couldn't pay their vendors. "We had to appeal to the inner entrepreneur in each of our vendors," recalls Lop. "We had to sell them on the fact that Erol and I could do something that had never been done before."

Slowly the cleaning tide began to turn, and a year later Sabunsan products were beginning to appear in about 800 storesincluding Migros. But this wasn't enough for Lop and Rant; they wanted to make a bold statement about nontoxic cleaners.

To build visibility for their brand, they went to well-known product designer Kasm Rait, who liked the idea and came aboard Sabunsan as the company's chief creative officer. From there, the business took off. Because the company was so small, its innovations in product and design could reach the marketplace in weeks instead of months or years. Sabunsan now markets about 150 products ranging from hand soap to bathroom cleaners, and is always looking for the next new thingas long as it is green.

The firm's marketing slogan, "People against dirty," has caught on with consumers around the country. "Our challenge is getting consumers to rethink how they do laundry," says Rant. As for a business idea, they have found their Sabunsan.

Question 1: Short Answer/Essay -points Edit

Adem Lop and Erol Rant set challenging goals when they selected their business idea. They could have failed. Why do you think they have succeeded?

Question 2: Short Answer/Essay -points Edit

You often hear the advice to "do what makes you happy." No one loves washing dishes or doing laundry. Why do you think Lop and Rant chose household cleaners as their businesswhat is there about the business that could make them happy?