DARRIN KING & JEFF KING

Net Worth               : 6.5+ million

Country of Residence     : Charlotte, North Carolina

Darrin & Jeff King, are the owners of the website CLUBFURNITURE.com When brothers Darrin and Jeff King decided to open an online furniture retail business in 1998, they were so confident in the power of the internet that they established their business in North Carolina, the furniture capital of the world. Even though they opened their online business during the dot.com bubble, they were saved by their slow and steady growth approach. This was something that was frowned upon at a time when everybody was looking for spectacularly fast profits.

Previously working at manufacturing companies, the two had noticed inefficiencies in the supply chains and calculated that the internet, if used correctly, could bring down costs and streamline their operations.
The Clubfurniture.com website offers a full line of fabric and leather furniture handcrafted by nearly 100 North Carolina artisans, but offering their goods solely online initially posed quite a challenge for the brothers.

To convince manufacturers to supply them with furniture, the Kings had to pay for the initial product development and marketing. Since then, they have gained customers’ trust by mailing them swatches and samples, producing a high-quality catalog biannually and taking advantage of their low overhead costs to keep prices competitive.

“As entrepreneurs, we took a lot on ourselves, put a lot of pressure on ourselves and tried to wear too many hats,” says Darrin.