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Custom Ink
Custom Ink is an American online retail company headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, that makes custom clothing and other items such as t-shirts, sweatshirts, bags, and tech accessories.
Custom Ink (first launched as CustomInk) was founded in 2000 by Marc Katz, the company's CEO and Chairman, and several of his college friends. It began as a t-shirt design company with funding from family and friends, and consisted of a ten person team. BT Wolfenshohn was the company's first lead investor. Custom Ink reported $1 million in sales its first year and $3 million in 2002. The company's first profit was reported in 2003 with gross revenue of $7 million.
In 2005, Inc. magazine ranked Custom Ink the 55th fastest growing business in the U.S. The company reported $61 million in sales in 2009.
In 2011, Custom Ink opened its first production facility in Charlottesville, Virginia. At the time, the company had expanded to include customized specialty items such as golf balls and umbrellas. It would continue to expand, offering more customized clothing and items including sweats and hats.
In November 2013, Custom Ink received $40 million from Revolution Growth, the investment fund run by Steve Case, Ted Leonsis, and Donn Davis. The investment reportedly helped the growth of two new projects: Booster and Pear. Booster (later Custom Ink Fundraising) is a crowd-funding website where organizers design and sell T-shirts to raise money for different social causes.
In 2016, the company had nine locations and around 1,670 employees. The company’s name changed to the current form of Custom Ink in 2017.
By 2020, Custom Ink provided customization services for more than 1,000 types of apparel and accessories.[citation needed]
During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, the company saw sales drop 80% in only a few days as people stopped planning reunions or in-person gatherings of any kind. The company was forced to furlough around 75% of staff, but continued paying health insurance premiums for all, helped employees apply for unemployment benefits, and offered other support services. Due to the N95 mask shortages, the company switched gears to sell cloth masks, they also sold work-from-home kits to help remote employees remain connected and drive-by graduation gear for schools. Sales from these ideas and a return to normal business as the pandemic began to recede led the company to bring back its employees by August of 2020.
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Custom Ink
Custom Ink is an American online retail company headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, that makes custom clothing and other items such as t-shirts, sweatshirts, bags, and tech accessories.
Custom Ink (first launched as CustomInk) was founded in 2000 by Marc Katz, the company's CEO and Chairman, and several of his college friends. It began as a t-shirt design company with funding from family and friends, and consisted of a ten person team. BT Wolfenshohn was the company's first lead investor. Custom Ink reported $1 million in sales its first year and $3 million in 2002. The company's first profit was reported in 2003 with gross revenue of $7 million.
In 2005, Inc. magazine ranked Custom Ink the 55th fastest growing business in the U.S. The company reported $61 million in sales in 2009.
In 2011, Custom Ink opened its first production facility in Charlottesville, Virginia. At the time, the company had expanded to include customized specialty items such as golf balls and umbrellas. It would continue to expand, offering more customized clothing and items including sweats and hats.
In November 2013, Custom Ink received $40 million from Revolution Growth, the investment fund run by Steve Case, Ted Leonsis, and Donn Davis. The investment reportedly helped the growth of two new projects: Booster and Pear. Booster (later Custom Ink Fundraising) is a crowd-funding website where organizers design and sell T-shirts to raise money for different social causes.
In 2016, the company had nine locations and around 1,670 employees. The company’s name changed to the current form of Custom Ink in 2017.
By 2020, Custom Ink provided customization services for more than 1,000 types of apparel and accessories.[citation needed]
During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, the company saw sales drop 80% in only a few days as people stopped planning reunions or in-person gatherings of any kind. The company was forced to furlough around 75% of staff, but continued paying health insurance premiums for all, helped employees apply for unemployment benefits, and offered other support services. Due to the N95 mask shortages, the company switched gears to sell cloth masks, they also sold work-from-home kits to help remote employees remain connected and drive-by graduation gear for schools. Sales from these ideas and a return to normal business as the pandemic began to recede led the company to bring back its employees by August of 2020.