Kona Ice: Tony Lamb by Wyatt Stack

2007 Initial Inspiration

stawya17 — 2025-02-21 15:49:41 UTC

Factor: Entrepreneurship. In 2002 Tony Lamb, the creator, of Kona Ice walked into a book store looking for a birthday present for his wife. He bought the book and when he was purchasing he saw the store also selling shaved ice. So this is where his idea sparked from.

2007 Prototype Made

stawya17 — 2025-02-21 15:52:31 UTC

Factor: Land. After he got his idea of shaved ice he began experimenting with building custom shaved ice machines that produced it consistently and efficiently.

2007 Starting to Make Trucks

stawya17 — 2025-02-21 15:55:58 UTC

Factor: Land, Capital. After perfecting the shaved ice machine he began to look for possible manufacturers that could build custom designed trucks specifically made for Kona Ice. He found a small factory that could produce them for a good price so he decided to go with them among many other options

2008 Starting Business

stawya17 — 2025-02-21 16:00:40 UTC

Factor: Entrepenuership: Tony Lamb launches the first Kona Ice truck in Florence, Kentucky. It is an instant hit among the locals and he becomes very successful. He does events like fairs, fundraisers, and school events to grow his brand.

2008 Expanding

stawya17 — 2025-02-21 16:03:25 UTC

Factor: Labor. After about four months of running his business, he decided that he needed to expand it and get more employees. So he bought three more Kona Ice trucks and began looking for potential employees to run these new trucks. He finds them, and soon expands to all over Kentucky.

2009 Franchising

stawya17 — 2025-02-21 16:09:26 UTC

Factor: Capital, Labor. In 2009 he saw the need to expand again. He decided to do this because he saw profits begin to roll in at a higher rate. So he franchised his business and bought 25 more trucks. Many people were highly intrested in running one so he found many new owners and expanded all over the East coast and a little in the Midwest.

2012 Countrywide Expansion

stawya17 — 2025-02-21 16:18:01 UTC

Factor: Capital, Labor, Land. After 2009 when he franchised his business out he began to see more substantial growth. So he kept purchasing trucks. This led to him reaching a huge milestone of 100 trucks across the continental United States.