Name of business: eGestures.com  

Mission: Enabling people to experience gifts beyond the ones of materialistic nature.

Began in: 2007

Where: Founded out of Arlington, MA, USA.
Services currently available in Boston, NYC, Miami and will soon be available in other  metropolitan areas across USA and Canada. 
 
Founder: Dmitriy Peregudov

Employees: 3

Founder's Past Life/Business:
Peregudov's original profession was software engineering, which quickly transitioned into business opportunities in eCommerce. In 2002, he founded International Gift/Flower business: GoodChoiceFlowers.com - delivering flowers, gift baskets and gift certificates to many international locations around the world.

At Babson, he founded OnsiteVideos.com, a service that enables a company to feature a virtual spokesperson on its website.

With a Babson MBA ('07) under his belt, Peregudov is once again positioning his new company in upscale gift space, selling Gift Certificates for experience.

How the Idea Began: I ran out of ideas of what to send my mother for her birthday.  And at 5,000 miles away, I realized a nice dinner or concert was also out of the question !  My friends—who purchased gift certificates for her -inspired me. Gift certificates open lots of opportunities for those who are running out of ideas… and don't mind spending $50 or more.

Initial Preparation to Germinate Idea: I selected the list of gift experiences I wanted to offer on my website and started calling vendors to include them in the network.

Favorite Thing about the Business:
Potential ideas for experiences are endless… imagination is a limit: we can keep going for a while.

Worst Thing about the Business:
Potential ideas for experiences are endless …imagination is a limit: no chance for early retirement!

Biggest Challenge:
Creating a credible brand, a network which every vendor will want to join.

Lesson Learned:
Make what you can sell, don't sell what you can make.