Catch a Piece of Maine

John Ready, co-founder of Catch of a Piece of Maine, spoke last night here at Bryant University. The company, which he created with his brother Brendan, offers what some have described as a lobster trap timeshare. Customers purchase ownership of a trap for a year and receive a credit every time their traps catch a lobster. They can choose to have the lobsters shipped to their homes, or they can gift them to others. Through video emails, the customer learns about lobstering and receives personalized messages from their lobsterman. What a unique idea!

Today, the Ready brothers’ companies generate revenue in excess of $10 million. The Ready brothers have received many accolades for their entrepreneurial success. John and Brendan were named by Inc. magazine as one of the 30 coolest entrepreneurs under the age of 30. They received the Small Business Administration's 2008 National Young Entrepreneur Award. Fortune magazine, USA Today, and other leading periodicals have described their story. CBS News, NPR, Boston’s Channel 5, and WBZ radio have all featured the Ready brothers at one point or another.

John has not only created a company that generates healthy profits. He has helped enhanced the livelihood of Maine lobstermen, many of whom have struggled mightily in recent years to make a decent living. Catch a Piece of Maine also strives to adhere to eco-friendly harvesting methods, producing little to no by-catch and enforcing strict laws to allow the release of all lobsters too small and too large. John and Brendan donate a portion of the profits from Catch a Piece of Maine to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute to fund educational programs on marine ecosystems for 5th and 6th graders.

For more about the company, you might take a look at this video from the CBS Sunday Morning show: