UF startup Imprint Genius named industry’s fastest growing promotional products company

With year-over-year growth of 762.3%, Imprint Genius takes the number one position for “Fastest Growing Distributors” in 2020, as published in Print+Promo Marketing Magazine last month.

A shining achievement for the start-up and its young founder, an inspirational story of a college student with a dream to blow the lid off lame merch and inefficient distribution.

At just 23 years old, CEO Isaac Hetzroni (BSBA ’20) has positioned his business as the disruptive new kid on the block. From dorm room to boardroom, this University of Florida graduate has turned a small business of selling USB fans at football games into a blue ocean solution that resolves decades-old operational friction in corporate merch management.

So out of 20,000 companies in the industry, what’s the secret sauce that made this UF startup fit for explosive growth?

On the backend, it’s the supply chain that makes all the difference. Imprint Genius has developed a hybrid supply chain model that combines Print on Demand (POD) and overseas sourcing. POD is a production method defined by custom printed items and no order minimums. Through the Imprint Genius app, a client can select from over 50,000 items made available completely on demand. To further maximize value and slash long shipping times, Imprint Genius also runs a robust international supply chain across China, Pakistan, Mexico, Sri Lanka and the U.S.

Leveraging this unique supply chain, Imprint Genius builds beautiful online merch stores with many powerful use cases. For instance, stores can be used internally as company “Swag Stores,” designed to reward employees and streamline corporate gifting. Conversely, external “Merch Stores” are tech-powered solutions that enable eCommerce brands and artists to sell their products to the masses.

Per Hetzroni’s vision at the outset of the venture, the stores are powered by a dynamic combination of cutting-edge technological integrations, POD and high-volume screen printing. This strategy ensures an experience that is intuitive for employees, fun for HR teams and hands-off for company management. With Imprint Genius taking over as a client’s “Chief Swag Officer,” gone are the days of lame mugs and too many XL T-shirts.

The title of “Fastest Growing Distributer” is a big win for the recent grad’s start-up, and a clear indicator for where Imprint Genius is headed in the future.