Jason Trent, 29, and Jared Kelley, 31

Pittsburgh
Laid off from: Washington Mutual, Aug. 29, 2008
New venture: Pittsburgh Pretzel Sandwich Shop
Last year's profile

Where they are now: Jason Trent and Jared Kelley opened their pretzel sandwich shop in October 2009, months behind schedule. But their pretzel creations caught on quickly with nearby University of Pittsburgh students and workers on lunch breaks. "The first couple months we were crazy busy," Kelley says. "We had two-hour waits for food—and people waited." Business slowed during the winter, especially after students left for winter break, but the pair expect it to pick up again as the weather warms. They estimate revenue from when they opened in October to the end of 2009 was $30,000, and Kelley says the shop is on track to be profitable in May or June. They just added online ordering and plan to do deliveries soon. Most of the customers, Kelley says, are repeats, and their biggest challenge is spreading word about the shop.