Chris Dhooghe

in Southern Kansas on a family farm in 1976, Dhooghe ran his first successful commercial venture at age 9. While other kids were playing with hot wheels, he was riding his bicycle up and down gravel roads in the Country picking up discarded aluminum cans to redeem for cash at a local recycling center. By his early teens he could be found knocking on doors of local merchants to place vending machines for his new fledgling vending business. At age 19 he left Kansas to study mortuary science at Central State University in Edmond, Oklahoma. He left school after 1 semester because a part-time in home sales position was already creating an income greater than his college instructors.

Combining his interest in the mortuary business with his love of sales he could soon be found in living rooms up and down the Midwest pitching funeral insurance policies to the aging population. In 2001 a mentor of his called to inform him of an established insurance agency for sale in Pittsburg, Kansas. Dhooghe and a childhood friend borrowed $500,000 to purchase the 80 year old Steve Elliott Insurance Agency and quickly built upon the existing book of business. It was soon one of the largest agencies in the area and had over 2,000 customers. The pair soon purchased a 7,000 square feet retail center to house the insurance agency and Dhooghe would later add two mobile home parks to his commercial real estate holdings.

After selling part of the insurance business Dhooghe soon found himself exploring the new digital age. In 2004 he created an online photo contest which was an instant hit and soon had over 20,000 visitors a day on the site from all areas of the globe. A publishing division was added and soon Dhooghe was selling photography books to every Country in the world and generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales. A newsletter division was added in 2007 which quickly attracted tens of thousands of paid subscribers. Dhooghe grew bored with the day to day tasks of running the publishing business and sold the company to a supplier in 2010.

A brief return to the business of selling funeral insurance in 2010 opened Dhooghe’s eyes to the growing baby boomer market. After reading about a new invention developed in England for senior citizens called a walk in bath Dhooghe was soon putting together a business plan to corner the United States market. A business partner with a background in building a nationwide sales force was added in 2013 and millions in revenue soon followed. The business is continuing to expand across the Midwest with eyes on the entire North American baby boomer market.

Chris has been married to his high school sweetheart since 1997. Chris & Bridget Dhooghe have four beautiful children and live in Overland Park, Kansas.