Elliot and Joseph Arking, 62 and 54, owned restaurants, bars, and two liquor stores in suburban Philadelphia when they got the idea to start a big-box arts-and-crafts chain. It failed, and by 2000, they were forced to sell off everything but the liquor stores. The brothers figured they would return to the simple shopkeepers' life for good. Little did they know that within 10 years, they would be running a $50 million flash-sale site. As told to Burt Helm.
Elliot: I had no interest in a Web store. It just seemed like a waste of time to me.
Joseph: That's when my son came to me and showed me a site...
Elliot: Wine-WOOT!
Joseph: Not Wine-Woot. Woot.com.