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Amped UpCigarette pack-sized amplifiers

ByVictoria Neal

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

They say too much TV rots your brain, but that's certainlynot the case for 32-year old Bruce Zinky, whose "cigaretteamp" raked in $700,000 in sales last year. When too manyGet Smartepisodes and James Bond movies propelled thiselectronic tinkerer/guitar player into an intoxicating whirlwind ofshoe phones and martini transmitters, inspiration manifested itselfthrough a mini amplifier housed in an empty cigarette pack, aptlydubbed the Smokey Amplifier.

"I've never smoked," admits Zinky, "but theidea of [an amp] that was the right size and resembled somethingcompletely different was perfect." After crafting a fewprototypes for his guitar buddies back in the `80s, Zinky set asidethe invention for a career with Fender Musical Instruments. In1997, a friend grew nostalgic for the battery-powered amp, soZinky, now equipped with manufacturing and buying know-how, andpartner Annette Yurchak, 26, made Smokey Amplifiers into abusiness.

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