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businessentrepreneurshipeducation
$5 Million in Promotional Products
About this Episode
Company Stats:
- Revenue: $5 million
- Employees: ~30
- Founded: 2015
Podcast Highlights:
✅ Ink’d Stores scales by shifting from a local retail swag shop to building on-demand company stores that manage and fulfill employee merch with no upfront cost.
✅ Jay emphasizes that action beats ideas. Cold calling, local events, and relentless experimentation are how you take a business from zero to one.
✅ The company wins in a $28B promotional products industry by focusing on corporate clients, service, and niche execution, not by trying to be “the Amazon of swag.”
Episode Summary:
In this episode, Jay Sapovits, President of Ink’d Stores, walks through the journey of pivoting from a fitness business into a thriving promotional products company. He explains how the company started as a physical retail swag shop and evolved into a B2B provider specializing in on-demand company stores for corporate clients. Operating in the $28 billion promotional products industry, Ink’d now generates around $5 million in revenue with just under 30 employees and celebrates its 10-year anniversary.
Jay dives into why reaching $1 million in revenue is statistically rare—only about 1% of U.S. businesses ever hit that milestone—and why entrepreneurs shouldn’t get distracted by unicorn headlines. Instead, he focuses on consistent, gritty execution: chamber networking, cold calling, knocking on doors, and even standing outside in a penguin costume to get attention in the early days. He shares how mugs, classic branded merch staples, still rank among the top gifts thanks to their low cost and high perceived value, and compares the industry to pizza: tons of local players can thrive simultaneously because demand is so broad.
The conversation also covers Ink’d’s major pivot from a walk-in retail model to hosting internal company swag stores that employees can order from on demand. Jay talks about “zero to one” mindset, surrounding yourself with strong people, and letting go of control so the business can scale. His main message to new founders: take shots constantly, analyze what happens, refine, and keep shooting—because every “no” gets you closer to a “yes,” and momentum only comes from action.
Notable Questions We Asked:
Q: Why did you pivot from a fitness company into promotional products?
A: Jay realized the original fitness product didn’t have the velocity he hoped for but learned how to decorate complex materials like PVC, plastics, and foam. That expertise led him to ask, “How do we decorate more things people actually want?”—which became the basis for Ink’d’s pivot into branded merchandise.
Q: Is there a specific industry or niche Ink’d focuses on for promotional products?
A: Ink’d primarily serves corporate clients of all sizes, rather than teams, schools, or leagues. The business model, service style, and systems are all optimized around recurring B2B relationships and ongoing company swag needs.
Q: Are mugs still a strong promotional product in today’s market?
A: Yes. Jay says mugs remain a massive category—low cost, high perceived value, and always present on someone’s desk. They consistently rank in the top promotional gifts because they’re practical, visible, and customizable.
Q: Why is hitting $1 million in revenue such a big milestone for small businesses?
A: Jay notes that only about 1% of U.S. businesses ever reach $1 million in revenue, pointing out that most local studios, vape shops, and boutiques never hit that mark. It’s a hard threshold to cross, which is why founders shouldn’t be jaded by headlines about eight- and nine-figure exits.
Q: What advice does Jay give entrepreneurs trying to go from zero to one?
A: He stresses being creative and relentless: cold call, knock on doors, ask for referrals, host events, and try anything that might work. Treat every “no” as one step closer to “yes,” analyze what happened, adjust, and keep shooting—because there’s no substitute for actually taking action.
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:14 Company Stats
01:23 Target Market and Industry Insights
04:15 Challenges and Successes: The First Million
07:15 Strategies for Startups: Taking Action
10:39 The Big Pivot: Adapting During COVID
11:44 Connect With Ink'd
Listen on:
Add us on:
#promotionalproducts #brandedmerchandise #corporateswag #smallbusiness #entrepreneurship #businessgrowth #marketingstrategy #ecommerce #onlinestore #businesstips
Hosts & Guests
No transcript available for this episode.
