James McCann

James F. "Jim" McCann is an American entrepreneur who founded 1-800-Flowers, a corporation based in Long Island, New York; 1-800 Flowers was one of the first companies to pioneer and popularize the use of both toll-free telephone numbers and Web sites to sell goods and services directly to consumers.

Biography As a child, McCann grew up in Ozone Park, Queens, and is the oldest of five siblings in an Irish-American family; McCann is a third-generation American. For college, McCann attended the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, and graduated in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in psychology.

According to his autobiography, "Stop and Sell the Roses", he came up with the idea of building a nationwide flower service while "listening to the radio as he was shaving". In 1986, he bought a nearly bankrupt company in Texas which owned the phone number 1-800-Flowers.

As of 2016, McCann stepped down as chief executive officer of 1-800-Flowers in favor of his brother Christopher G. McCann. He is often sought after to speak on topics of entrepreneurship, marketing and the Internet. He also serves on various corporate boards. Additionally, he is a minority owner of the New York Mets, holding a 4% stake in the baseball team.

Published works

"Stop and Sell the Roses" - An autobiography written by McCann in 1998. "A Year Full of Flowers" - A book co-authored by McCann and his sister, Julie Mulligan, in 2004. "Lodestar" - Tapping Into the 10 Timeless Pillars to Success.