How Founder Jesse Aquino Started SudzBox

Jesse here, so for those of you who don't know, I am a 28 year old entrepreneur who was raised in the field of sales.

My entrepreneurial days began back in middle & high school when my dad used to take me to the flea markets to sell some stuff laying around at the house like clothes, CD's, art, etc. He paid me to help sell and load/unload the stuff that we brought. We would wake up at 4 in the morning and work until about 2-3 in the afternoon.

At the end of the day, if we met a certain goal for sales he would give me more money as a bonus. I loved working towards that every time. We must have done this for a couple of years and then I really started to get good at it.

I wasn't shy to talk to strangers anymore and I became so comfortable with meeting people. Negotiating was the funnest part.

Fast forward to college, I didn't know what career I wanted to do. I also had purchased my first car which was a 1995 Honda Prelude with 150,000 miles. It was all dented up on the driver side door, the bumper was hanging off, speakers blown, but that car was like a spaceship inside. I absolutely loved it.

Driving it was like driving a go kart. So much fun.

I had to figure out how to make my car look amazing. This thing had crazy swirls, chipped paint, but I love the challenge of bringing the new look out of something that looks so dreary.

I learned how to wash cars and do some very minor paint correction. I bought a polisher and removed all the swirls from my car.

But then this is where I came into a problem: I took it to a self service car wash and used the foamy brush. At that time, I didn't realize that every one else's dirt was on that brush because they had used it before me. So when I washed my car with it, the grains of dirt, salt, and whatever else was on the other person's car before me, was grinding into my paint.

I went home looked in the sun and realized all of the swirls were back! At this time, I took detailing extremely seriously. I became obsessed with it. More specifically, the theory of detailing.

There were so many brands when I walked down the car wash aisle at my local stores. I was always testing them. I always have ideas running through my head, so I decided I wanted to start a subscription box showcasing all of the detailing and car wash products on the market. My plan was to send out a box every month for people to see different products and brands.

That's actually why our company is called SudzBox. The "Sudz" was for soap and "Box" was the meaning for subscription box.

I dropped the subscription box idea and started making and selling kits that had 2 to 4 oz. bottles with a mixture of different car care brands. I still decided to keep the name "SudzBox."

Once I started successfully selling them online, I knew I was progressing and getting better at marketing (making videos and posting them). So I thought to myself, "Why don't you just create your own line of products?"

And that's exactly what I did. It took me about a year to produce my first line of chemicals which was 7 products. I started out of a basement and after a couple years, I finally got my own 1200 sqft warehouse.

As a couple more years went on, I made tons of videos, released more products, and moved into a bigger facility.

Fast forward to now, we have over 21 products and many more accessories. Hopefully I can add to this article in a couple years from now with some more great stories.

Time flies guys, I can't believe where I am now, it's an honor to have your guys' support. Without you guys, none of this is possible.

Thank you so much for reading!

- Jesse Aquino (Founder of SudzBox)