From gumball machines to AI stores: How an entrepreneur followed what's trending to build an 8-figure business

• Mike Burnett, CEO of SmartMarket Solutions, has a 27-year entrepreneurial track record.
• He's found success by spotting trends to stay ahead of the curve.
• To spot trends, he says, listen to the people closest to the customer.

For 27 years, Mike Burnett has built businesses by getting ahead of the curve.

In 1999, while working in sales and supporting a growing family, he started a side hustle placing tabletop games in restaurants. He bought a few machines to earn extra income. Then, the manufacturer asked whether he would consider becoming a distributor, selling the same opportunity to other would-be operators.

Burnett and his friend-turned-business partner, Jeff Marsh, built a bare-bones website and, with little savings, used credit cards to buy newspaper ads. In their first month, they sold $20,000 worth of equipment.

"Honestly, I thought it was a fluke," Burnett told Business Insider. "Like, we just got lucky."

The next month, however, sales reached $25,000. In month three, they hit $40,000, he said. At that point, Burnett rented a small office, hired his niece as a receptionist, and went all in on the business.

Over the years, the company expanded from tabletop games to gumball and bulk-candy machines, then snack and soda vending. Around 2007, Burnett began moving into healthy vending with HealthyYOU, which evolved into an eight-figure revenue business, according to company financial statements reviewed by Business Insider.

His latest bet is SmartMarket Solutions, which sells AI-powered micro-stores called SmartMarts that let customers unlock a cooler, browse its shelves, and pay automatically for the items they take.

The products have changed over the decades, but Burnett's operating principle has not: Learn to distinguish a fad from a lasting trend, then validate the opportunity before making a bigger move.

Know the difference between a fad and a trend — and jump on the latter

Around 2007, Burnett began hearing a similar request from the people operating his machines: Could they stock healthier options, such as Clif Bars? The feedback matched what he was seeing elsewhere. Whole Foods and Trader Joe's were expanding, while more consumers were looking for convenient ways to eat better.

Burnett and his team began testing healthier products rather than immediately abandoning traditional vending. Eventually, the evidence was hard to ignore. The shift was not about one buzzy snack or a short-lived wellness craze. It reflected a broader change in consumer behavior, he said.

"Americans were sick and tired of being sick and tired. They wanted to feel better. They wanted to eat better."

There's a key difference between trends and fads, he added: "Fads come and go all the time. But trends, you catch the right trend, and you're on the front of that wave — boy, that can take you a long way."

He sees AI-managed micro-stores as the next trend worth testing early. With SmartMarts, customers tap a card or phone to unlock a cooler-style store, pull products from the shelves, and close the door when they are finished. Camera-based technology tracks what they keep and charges their card.

To Burnett, it improves on the traditional vending experience. A vending machine is "like window shopping," he said: Customers can see a product behind glass, but can't inspect its ingredients or expiration date before committing to a purchase.

He sees the micro-stores as something that's going to "revolutionize vending," particularly because it can hold a wider mix of products, including items that do not fit neatly into a traditional machine.

How to spot trends: Listen to the people closest to the customer

Burnett didn't first spot the healthy-vending trend in a market report. He heard it from operators, who were getting the same request from people at their locations: Could they stock healthier snacks?

The veteran entrepreneur's advice for other business owners is to stay connected to salespeople, operators, and customers. That's where you may notice a change in demand before it shows up in the numbers.

"Listen to the people on the front line," he said. "Success leaves clues."

Companies that don't pay attention can get stuck, he said: "A lot of companies become antiquated because they didn't move quickly enough. They didn't jump on the trend, and so they became obsolete."

Test the signal before you make the leap

Spotting a potential trend is only the first step. Before leaning into healthy vending — and again before moving into AI-managed stores — Burnett's team tested new products and concepts, measured the response, and sought evidence that demand was real.

Once they saw sufficient interest, they moved.

"Before we make a leap like that, we always test it," Burnett said. "We would try it with a small number of prospects or customers. We would test the market and see what the results were and what the interest was."

That process doesn't completely eliminate risk, but it can keep an entrepreneur from confusing enthusiasm for a real opportunity and help them act with more confidence when the evidence points to one.

"At some point, you have to decide whether you're going to go for it or not," he said.