Split personalities: torn between two opposing teams, this fan created a split jersey—and a successful business

Entrepreneur, August, 2004 by Nichole L. Torres

ON A SHOESTRING

WHAT: Card stunt producer for large sporting and entertainment events

WHO: Joe Kivett of CardStunts.com

WHERE: Orlando, Florida

WHEN: Started in 1991

HOW MUCH: Less than $1,000

Have you ever wondered who's the brains behind those nifty card stunts at big stadiums--where each member of the audience holds up a card to create massive pictures and messages for the world to see? Joe Kivett, 40, organizes these fan-friendly events with his company, CardStunts.com. Kivett learned the card-stunt business as an employee of another company and branched out on his own in 1991 when word about his successful Super Bowl card stunts started to spread.

Armed with less than $1,000 in startup cash, he landed his first client by virtue of his reputation. Kivett says most of his startup money was for travel expenses to examine the site in Minneapolis where he was doing the card stunt.

His serious startup-cash coup was drafting an agreement with the organizers of Super Bowl XXVI to pay him half his fee upfront and half on the day of the event--this way, he was able to organize the event with no out-of-pocket costs. "I paid all my bills and had my little profit left over," he says. "I took that profit and used it to market my company."

Word-of-mouth is still a key element of his marketing efforts, and the years have seen him grow CardStunts.com from planning one to two big card stunts per year to about 10 yearly today. In addition to doing card stunts for two Super Bowl half-time shows, he's coordinated events for the World Series and the Daytona 500. With about $350,000 in projected 2004 sales, Kivett is definitely playing his cards right.