This founder was nearly homeless after 3 failed startup ideas. Then he built a “50 million business – Image for illustrative purposes only (Image credits: Pexels)
Jared Kugel faced foreclosure on his home in late 2018 while scraping by on a diet of crackers and jelly to keep his latest venture alive. The founder had already burned through two startup attempts in the tire space, each one leaving him closer to financial ruin. Yet those repeated setbacks eventually led him to launch Tire Agent, an e-commerce platform that now generates more than $150 million in annual revenue and has sold over two million tires since 2020.
Early Experiments That Fell Short
Kugel had spent more than a decade working in his family’s tire distribution business before deciding to strike out on his own in 2017. His first concept was a specialized search engine for tires and wheels, which secured $100,000 in seed funding and a spot in a New York City accelerator program. Midway through the program, investors questioned whether a search engine could ever scale into a sustainable business, prompting an immediate pivot.
The next idea centered on a mobile tire installation service. Kugel presented the concept at the accelerator’s demo day but received no funding commitments. He proceeded independently, only to discover that scaling through franchising would require far more infrastructure than the operation possessed at the time. By the end of 2018, the company was essentially insolvent, and Kugel received formal notice that his bank intended to foreclose on his property.
A Narrow Window for Another Attempt
Angel investors in New York stepped in with $750,000 in pre-seed capital, allowing Kugel to shift focus once more. This time the business offered road hazard protection plans, which quickly attracted a partnership with Allstate and interest from roughly 100 retailers. Growth remained modest, however, because the model depended on third parties to sell the product to end customers.
Kugel recognized that the business-to-business-to-consumer structure limited control over the customer experience and slowed expansion. He decided to move directly to consumers through an online store that sold tires and wheels outright. The new approach eliminated reliance on intermediaries and placed pricing, shipping, and installation decisions under one roof.
Features That Drove Rapid Adoption
Tire Agent recorded $18,000 in sales during its first month, followed by $90,000 in the second and $120,000 in the third. Investors responded with additional funding once the early traction became clear. Kugel added services that addressed common customer frustrations, including high replacement costs and the difficulty of finding reliable installation.
The company’s decisive advantage emerged as a combination of competitively priced tires, free same-day or next-day shipping, and a nationwide network of installation partners. These elements removed the main barriers that had previously kept many buyers from purchasing online. Revenue has since grown 563 percent over five years, placing Tire Agent on the Inc. 5000 list for 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Why Constant Change Became Essential
Kugel has described the need to evolve as a core requirement for long-term survival in business. Each pivot addressed a specific limitation that the previous model could not overcome, whether it was investor skepticism, operational complexity, or slow customer acquisition. The final version succeeded because it aligned product, logistics, and service in a single, direct-to-consumer experience.
Today the company continues to refine its operations around the same principles that produced its initial breakout. The path from near insolvency to consistent nine-figure revenue illustrates how repeated adjustments, rather than a single breakthrough idea, can produce durable results in competitive markets.
