Yahoo Finance:

“Markoff’s unique chocolate concoctions use ingredients like wasabi, paprika, and chili powder. 

‘I started out in my apartment mailing holiday gift packages to family and friends. Then I got the chance to bring a single sample box to Neiman Marcus. The buyer called me the next day to say that the staff loved my chocolate and that he wanted another 12 boxes. That’s how it started. Then the media got wind of me. The big turning point was an article that ran in Food & Wine magazine in November 1998. That really helped launch our brand not only in the U.S. but also all over the world.

‘Now we have four stores. Two in Chicago, one in New York City, and one in Las Vegas. I still create all the recipes and the new products. My biggest challenge now is finding the right people to help run the operational side of the business so I can stick to doing what I’m best at. The hardest thing with running a growing business is that you end up doing less and less of the thing that led you to start the business in the first place.”