How Jared Kugel Turned Three Failed Startups into a $150M E-Commerce Empire

Jared Kugel, founder and CEO of the e-commerce site Tire Agent, began his entrepreneurial journey with a flawed concept. After more than a decade working for his family’s tire distribution business, Kugel pitched a venture capitalist in 2017 on creating a search engine for tire and wheel products. To his surprise, the VC firm offered him $100,000 in seed funding and a spot at its New York City-based tech incubator, the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator—despite his lack of tech experience.

Kugel quickly embraced the industry’s “fail fast” mentality. Midway through the program, a partner challenged him:

“When was the last time you ever heard of a search engine selling the business?”

“Exactly, and how long ago was that?”

At the accelerator’s demo day months later, he pitched investors on a mobile tire installer—only to receive zero funding commitments. Undeterred, Kugel launched the business independently but soon realized its flaws. To scale, he considered franchising across multiple cities, but the company wasn’t ready. By late 2018, he was “flat broke”, surviving on crackers and jelly while taking a minimal salary to keep the company afloat.

“My options were either make it work or become homeless,”

Kugel’s fortunes changed when a group of New York City-based angel investors stepped in, helping him secure $750,000 in pre-seed funding. He pivoted again, this time into road hazard protection. This venture gained traction, forming a strategic partnership with Allstate and attracting interest from about 100 retailers. However, growth remained slow due to a B2B2C model that relied on third-party sales.

Kugel made one final pivot: launching Tire Agent, an e-commerce platform selling tires and wheels online. The gamble paid off. In its first month, Tire Agent generated $18,000 in sales; the second month, $90,000; and the third, $120,000. Investors, impressed by the rapid growth, provided additional funding. Kugel then enhanced the platform by addressing key customer pain points—such as the high cost and difficulty of tire replacement and installation—by offering affordably priced tires, free same-day or next-day shipping, and access to a vast installation network.