The story behind one of the area’s most successful, local-based companies is an interesting tale in classic business done right. After co-founding a successful social network company in Latvia with his longtime friend, Agris Tamanis, serial entrepreneur Lauris Liberts saw market opportunity again. This time it was in the insatiable consumer appetite for inspirational and motivational quotes. Liberts innovated with a unique spin that tapped the ultra-hot web and startup business community. StartupVitamins was born.
As the new venture grew, he reconnected with Tamanis and the duo began doing what they do best: building and growing a leading company. StartupVitamins became a voice for entrepreneurs around the world with its posters, clothing and other items — often spotted in the offices and on teams at some of the hottest internet startups. But as operations and product began to scale, Liberts and Tamanis faced a dilemma. They couldn’t find a printing resource that could meet the company’s needs, or deliver the quality and service that matched their own.
That’s when they created Printful and put on-demand, drop-ship printing on the map in Charlotte, North Carolina and beyond. Today, Printful doesn’t just provide printing, fulfillment and shipping for StartupVitamins. It doesn’t just focus on t-shirts and posters anymore, either. The company now has over one million business customers and carries 160+ products ranging from iPhone cases to apparel, home goods and more. It offers three different printing techniques as well as embroidery for the various merchandise it carries, feeding the new generation of consumers that love personalization and self expression. They’re also tapping into the booming category of social influencers, celebrities, solo entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes seeking to sell merchandise.
“We’re in an era where both businesses andindividuals want to sell products, particularly with the rise of solo entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and social influencers,” said Davis Siksnans, co-founder and CEO of Printful. “This would have been a challenge for both to do in the past, but we help address the need and meet the demand.”
By combining a mix of high quality product, ultra-efficient API integration, fulfillment and shipping service, Liberts and Tamanis saw a niche to eliminate many of the pain points that hindered businesses like StartupVitamins in the past. Drawn by low costs, no inventory, and scalable, on-demand fulfillment, hundreds of thousands of customers have flocked to Printful as result. As entrepreneurs who faced the same issues with their own business, they’ve known exactly how their customer thinks and how to be the solution. They’ve relied on age-old tactics like building partnerships with relevant vendors to grow, while blending the effort with new-era channels including social advertising on Facebook and other platforms.
“Businesses today have so many channels, tools and options to drive branding, marketing and sell products,” adds Siksnans. “We’ve taken a hybrid approach that mixes both traditional and new methods.”
2019 marks Printful’s sixth year anniversary. Over 500+ people are employed by Printful across the USA, Mexico and Europe, and it has fulfilled 9.2 million orders to date, generating over $350 million in products sold by its customers. The company is entirely self-funded, which is rare in an era where investment capital is often the expansion model. Tamanis and Liberts continue to eye new markets globally, and innovate with technology, product and marketing.
Once completely housed in the living room of Libert’s home, the company now boasts multiple locations, including its office and fulfillment center here in Charlotte.
