DESIGN SCHOOLS OF AMERICA
Business: Offers eight-week courses in flower design covering everything from floral retailing and wholesaling to event design and freelancing. The curriculum goes beyond flower design to include classes in starting and managing a floral design business.
Founded: 2005
Headquarters: Minneapolis
Website: www.minneapolisflowerdesign.com
Executive: Founder Michael Gaffney
Employees: 1 full-time plus 10 contract designers who help teach the courses.
2009 revenue: $525,000
Quote: "I figured out the math and science of design." -- Gaffney, talking about his focus on the "science of beauty": the "order, balance and symmetry" of the triangles, rectangles and other "symmetrical shapes familiar to anyone who's taken geometry."
