From Zero to a Billion: One Founder's Story

How Car Keys Express founder Mark Lanwehr created his own luck and became the “king of car keys.”

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Mark Lanwehr, founder, Car Keys Express

In 2002, when Mark Lanwehr started selling car keys online to earn enough to cover his bills, the term “side hustle” wasn't part of the popular vernacular. He was struggling to pay his rent, and his student loans were in default. But after nearly four years of building what would become the company's product database, he finally considered going all-in on launching a business.

“Working out of my bedroom, I remember the moment I considered asking friends to work with me. I thought, ‘Is selling car keys really what you want to do with your life?’ If I asked someone to leave their job, I had to commit. That was when I made the choice,” he recalls.

Today, Car Keys Express has become a global leader in automotive key replacement and a proven industry disruptor by offering easy, inexpensive options. The company serves 8,000 businesses and hundreds of thousands of consumers across 3,000 North American cities. This year, the company surpassed $1 billion in cumulative sales and earned its seventh Inc. 5000 honor.

A culture of self-reliance