South Carolina Business Review

SC Company Sees Dynamic Growth During Pandemic

By Mike Switzer

Published May 14, 2021 at 5:38 AM EDT

Ways To Subscribe

The last time we interviewed our next guest, about a year and a half ago, her company had four employees. But then the pandemic hit, and it grew to twenty. Did they pivot to a COVID-related business?

Mike Switzer interviews Donna Brin, CEO of bFIVE40 in Little River, SC.

Tags

Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

See stories by Mike Switzer