First Pitch

Beauty supply manufacturer Larry Gaynor has launched a book that coincides with a $251,000 startup pitch competition.

Larry Gaynor was on a family vacation in Puerto Rico in January 2023 and had just finished reading “Fairy Tale” from his favorite author, Stephen King.

“I finished it and I told my wife and middle son that I was going to write a book,” says Gaynor, founder and CEO of TNG Worldwide Inc. in New Hudson. “They both said: ‘Are you crazy?’ And I said, ‘No. I’m an entrepreneur.’ ”

The 400-page book, “Take a Chance! 101 Entrepreneurial Lessons of Making it Big,” chronicles the ups and downs of owning and operating TNG Worldwide since Gaynor launched his beauty supply business in 1985 (TNG stands for The Nailco Group). The 90,000-word tome was written in two months’ time.

In tandem with the book, Gaynor launched a startup pitch competition on March 1 with a grand prize of $101,000, as well as six category prizes: AI and Immersive Reality; Entertainment, Media, and Con.tent; Nutrition, Wellness, and Health Care; Next-Generation Workforce Solutions; Urban Innovation, Transportation, and Sustainable Solutions; and Emerging Student-led Venture.

Each category includes a $20,000 first-place award and a $5,000 runner-up prize. In addition to a seven-member panel of startup experts who will review each submission, the winners will receive mentorship and networking opportunities as well as publicity and exposure.

“The words just came off the keyboard like oil coming out of a bottle,” Gaynor says. “The book is geared to startup companies (and) established entrepreneurs, and it’s a historical look of my life as an entrepreneur. So many businesses don’t make it past the five-year mark, and I want to help them.”

Gaynor says his business has had its share of ebbs and flows. In its peak revenue year of 2004, the company, then a distributor and manufacturer of beauty supplies, posted $86 million in sales with 380 employees. In 2019, the year before the pandemic, TNG had around $45 million in revenue and 140 employees.

“Our low point was in 2021, with $29 million (in sales) and 40 employees,” Gaynor says. “From there, we went to being a manufacturer, and last year was our most profitable with $55 million in revenue and 37 employees. Being a manufacturer is the best because you control everything. This year we’re looking to do between $70 million and $75 million (in revenue).”

Operating from a 170,000-square-foot facility, and with production centers in 10 different countries, Gaynor says his team “has the ecosystem down to a science.” The most popular brands among 1,000 company products are the ForPro Professional Collection and Ginger Lily Farms.

“We were a lonely distributor, but when we switched to solely manufacturing, we became a Top 200 Reseller on Amazon,” Gaynor says. “They handle all of our fulfill.ment, which took a huge load off the business. It allows us to focus on the core business and innovation. We now launch between 50 and 100 new products each year.”

The startup applications must be submitted by May 31, and the pitch competition event will be held on Sept. 6. To submit an application, visit takeachance.biz/apply-now.

Ground Floor

Comer & Cross Concrete Floor Coatings in Troy plans to expand throughout the Midwest.

BY R.J. KING

Charlie Comer was studying finance and entrepreneurship at Michigan State University when, in 2020, he got the urge to give up classes to launch Comer & Cross Concrete Floor Coatings in Troy with his classmate, Owen Cross.

Eager to start their own business, Comer and Cross, in three years, have expanded throughout southeast Michigan and suburban Chicago, and have their sights set on being the largest business of their kind in the Mid.west by 2027.

The pair are well on their way to meeting that goal, after recording $5.3 million in sales last year, with projected revenue of $12 million in 2024. The company, which operates from a 12,000-square-foot facility near E. 14 Mile and Dequindre roads, has 35 employees and plans to have close to 60 workers by this summer.

A typical residential garage floor costs around $6,000 to complete. The process includes surface preparation, primer application, coating application, and curing time. The company also preps and applies its proprietary

polyurea/polyaspartic coating in basements and commercial buildings.

“When I was attending Brother Rice High School (in Bloomfield Town.ship), I stained decks and did power-washing,” says Comer, CEO of Comer & Cross. “I didn’t like to work for anyone else, but I did like speaking to and working with adults who were older than me.”

Comer and Cross, who as COO oversees production, new products, and technology, say they prefer to hire sales reps who are older than them. “Sometimes people ask how old I am, and at 23 years old, I’m young,” Comer says. “When I show up at a job site, people may think I’m an installer or a manager, not one of the owners.”

While their potential clients might have explored using an epoxy, the pair says the coating can easily chip or peel within two to three years. Comer says the company’s coatings have a chemical bond that creates an extreme level of adhesion that epoxy can’t match. Their coatings also are slip-resistant, chemical-resistant, and are four times stronger than epoxy.

Last year, the company did close to 4,000 jobs, the majority of which were residential garages. A typical customer is between 55 and 65 years old, and often recently retired. Close to 40 percent of buyers are women, who either purchase the coating for their husband or to keep their homes clean of dirt and dust.

“We do a lot of big homes and have orders locally as far away as Lansing,” Comer says. “We repair the existing concrete, reground it down, and then coat it so it preserves the concrete. We offer 20 different colors, including stargazer, tidal wave, desert sand, midnight blue, and cabin fever.”

The partners do all of their own lead-generation, marketing, and brand.ing, and operate a call center.

“Owen and I lived at a fraternity house and we planned the entire company from there,” Comer says. “We learned not to deviate from that plan. We could offer logos (beneath the coating), but our goal is to simplify and standardize everything so we can con.centrate on delivering the same great product and service every time.”