Here's the secret to making CNN’s list of "10 Generation Next entrepreneurs to watch": Drop out of college, move into your parent’s basement, and make crass T-shirts.

Continue reading

Micha Weinblatt, a 28-year-old U Street resident, did just that a few years ago. He launched Crooked Monkey in 2005 while studying for a master's degree in public policy at the University of Maryland, then dropped out to run his business from his folks' home in Potomac, Md., where he grew up. Now he's got 10 employees and an annual revenue of $750,000, which is both inspiring and terribly upsetting.

What makes Crooked Monkey's shirts so popular with young people? Bad puns and sexual innuendo! A few examples: "She kissed a girl and I liked it."; "DTF," which means; and "Fat Chicks: Fun Til Your Friends Find Out" — all men's shirts. The women's shirts, meanwhile, are all about tanning, shopping, and vampires, vampires, vampires. Welcome to your gender stereotypes, America. The sales figures don't lie.

The tees are sold at Nordstrom and, naturally, Urban Outfitters.

[via 94.7FreshFM]