This CEO quit Wall Street at 23 to buy a frozen yogurt chain. It now makes Rs 185 crore a year

The self-serve frozen yogurt company allows customers to create their own customised frozen yogurt desserts. (Image credit: 16 Handles/Instagram)

New Yorker Neil Hershman left a career in asset management at 23 to buy a frozen yogurt franchise. Seven years later, he’s the CEO and majority owner of 16 Handles, a frozen yogurt chain that brought in $20.6 million (about Rs 185 crore) in systemwide sales in 2024, and $12.5 million (about Rs 110 crore) in the first half of 2025, CNBC Make It reported.

Hershman moved to New York in 2017 and became a regular at a 16 Handles outlet near his apartment. The self-serve frozen yogurt company allows customers to create their own customised frozen yogurt desserts. By 2019, he had quit his finance job and invested nearly $560,000 (about Rs 5 crore) — including his savings and a small business administration loan — to buy his first franchise.

“I worked the register for full shifts days in and days out,” he told the publication. “Through that, I learned the business from the inside.”

Reviving a shrinking category

Once crowded with brands like TCBY and Menchie’s, the self-serve frozen yogurt space has been shrinking since 2016. But Hershman says 16 Handles has seen a “surge” in demand since he took over in 2022. Same-store sales are up over 10 percent year-on-year, and in-store spending has increased.

“Everybody thought frozen yogurt was fading … but we revived the category,” he said.

Acquisition and expansion 

By 2022, Hershman owned six locations and was the largest franchisee. He acquired the company using his stores as collateral. Today, 16 Handles has 40 locations, mostly on the East Coast the US. YouTube comedian Danny Duncan and other minority investors hold stakes in the company.

Hershman’s go-to order? A tart swirl with berries, chocolate chips, and hazelnut crunch — but only a few times a week.