Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Kurt H. Harrington
Owner, Something Fishy Aquarium Sales & Service
Charlestown, RI
Kurt Harrington’s entrepreneurial spirit sprouted at age 14 when he and his twin brother Donnie put up a sign in a pet shop in Charlestown. The two brothers were speculating that people would pay them to clean their fish tanks. Their hunch was so thought provoking that they even ran a newspaper ad. Thus, the Fish Tank Cleaning Service was born. Within a week they had three accounts, sustaining their belief that a niche business was looming. But, being entrepreneurs had its drawbacks. Because they were so young, they had to rely on their parents to drive them to their customers.

After two years, Donnie decided to depart from the business. This didn’t discourage Kurt, it reaffirmed him. He continued his sales efforts, and changed the company name to Something Fishy Aquarium Sales and Service.

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Harrington hit pay dirt when he made a cold call at the Best Western Hotel in Groton, Connecticut. The hotel’s owner happened to be sitting in the lobby when he made his sales pitch to the manager. He convinced both the owner and manager that an aquarium would be just the right look for the hotel’s lobby. That was the break Kurt needed, because this gave him the exposure to expand his sales. This one location provided him with more aquarium customers.

As a senior at Chariho Regional High School, Kurt faced a dilemma: How could he keep his business going and still maintain his studies? Ever the entrepreneur, Kurt came up with an idea. He proposed to school officials that he be allowed to operate his business during school hours for academic credit. At first they said no, but he appealed to top school officials and they supported Harrington’s idea. The school officials were tremendously impressed with Kurt’s schoolwork and his business skills. So much so, he was elected the president of the Future Business Leaders of America at Chariho.

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After graduation from high school, he was more determined than ever to expand his business. He hired a part-time employee, and replaced his aging company minivan that had clocked over 140,000 miles.

In 1997, Kurt entered the University of Rhode Island. Balancing a full course load and trying to manage his business proved to be too much for Kurt. This led to the reduction of his course load with the hope of providing a more manageable schedule.

Kurt began working with some major corporations. His enthusiasm grew along with his business. And in December 1997, Something Fishy reached its second milestone.

Harrington decided that “Something Fishy” needed to move out of his house to a professional building in Charlestown. This provided him with more exposure and also additional personal needs. At this point brother Donnie rejoined the company part-time. He is now the company’s service technician.

Harrington was working late at his office one night when he received call from a buyer from Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, CT. Kurt had worked to get information on his company to the right person.

He needed to submit a bid within 48 hours in order to be considered for this very important piece of business. The contract would include daily services at the world’s largest casino.

To put it mildly, Kurt was excited about the possibilities. But he asked his family and customers about the proposal and wondered whether his little company could handle a contract of such magnitude. He submitted the bid and beat out other bidders for the one-year contract. His determination and quality service has been rewarded with an extension of the contract for a second year.

The young entrepreneur recognized the marketing value that such a large contract could mean to his company and he started contacting other major corporations. The effort certainly paid off.

Today, Something Fishy lists among its clients, Mystic Pizza, K-Mart, Red Lobster, and the United States Navy Submarine Base at Groton, CT. In addition the company is a subcontractor for Marineland Aquarium Services in California. Something Fishy performs service work for Marineland’s national accounts in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

The U.S. Small Business Administration proudly honors Kurt H. Harrington as the 2000 Rhode Island Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

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