Greg Hrinya, Editor10.09.20
StickerGiant
www.stickergiant.com
StickerGiant has emerged as one of the true “Giants” of this industry’s up-and-comers. From John Fischer, the company’s founder, to the more than 100 employees – also known as “Giants” – this Longmont, CO-based converter has established a culture that is truly on the cutting edge of 21st century businesses – labels or otherwise.
Launched in 2000 as one of the first e-commerce retail sticker stores, StickerGiant has created an environment that is built upon a diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible work space. The company’s Giants are encouraged to bring their whole selves to work and to spread positive energy. That workplace atmosphere has resulted in one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry.
“This supports an open and transparent culture, from the visibility into daily finances to our long-term planning for the growth of the business,” explains Jesse Freitas, director of marketing. “Having every Giant involved in the daily decisions helps us keep a forward-thinking and innovative approach to everything we do. John established this culture early on by allowing the Giants flexibility in work schedules and to have fun at work. Fun is at the heart of StickerGiant and what we do. We are also the home of the World’s Largest Sticker Ball, whom we refer to as Saul the Largest Sticker Ball, and who won the Guinness World Record in 2016, which was part of the first ever National Sticker Day that we registered at that time. Really, he is one of the many fun things to find at StickerGiant, including the random Nerf battle, Giants joining meetings wearing fun filters, and maybe a few people getting tagged with a sticker or two.”
A positive workplace atmosphere is just the start of the company’s success. Following the establishment of StickerGiant, the company grew quickly, selling a range of stickers for political campaigns and sports teams to popular bumper stickers. Customers started asking to have their own custom stickers printed. In 2010, the company transitioned to a manufacturer of custom stickers, with the goal of providing fast turnaround, high quality and an amazing customer experience.
“Over the years, our product offerings have grown, and we’ve navigated our way into the business of product labels, as well as enhancing the types of stickers we make,” says Freitas.
StickerGiant’s Colorado campus consists of two buildings to house its manufacturing and support staff. The company differentiates itself in its operations, where it utilizes methods from Open Book Management, Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) and Lean methodologies to grow the business. These systems have helped StickerGiant create more transparency around all aspects of its operations, ensuring that all Giants have an opportunity to offer their voices into how the company operates.
“As a manufacturer, we are unique in that we are purely e-commerce driven with no outbound sales team,” explains Freitas. “Our website is our sales team, and it navigates potential customers captured from online searches by helping them build out their custom product as an online order request. From there, it’s all about turning around an artwork proof fast for their approval. Our teams are set up in a way to facilitate 1-2 business day(s) production time on all our products from that moment of proof approval.”
In order to meet fast turnaround times, StickerGiant runs an all-digital shop, from printing to laser finishing. StickerGiant staffs its teams to accommodate these quick turnaround orders, all while promoting excellent quality.
“Quality is a major part of every step from the initial product development to how it goes out the door, and we have lots of processes in place to ensure our standards,” states Freitas. “We also guarantee customer satisfaction for 30 days after receiving an order.”
StickerGiant’s partners have helped make its vision a reality. HP was StickerGiant’s first partner when it established its own manufacturing line back in 2010, and the company still utilizes all HP presses today. ABG International and Spartanics provide the company’s finishing machines, and all of its materials and laminates emanate from Wausau Coated Products and acpo. To help with its diecutting needs, StickerGiant relies on Kocher + Beck and RotoMetrics. StickerGiant also works with another company, called Preferred Packing, for all of its shipping materials, cores and substrate warehousing.
StickerGiant has deftly navigated the challenges presented by COVID-19. Throughout the pandemic, the company has served as a committed partner to small businesses across the country, providing essential labeling needs for everything from hand sanitizer and take-out food and beverage labels to health and safety stickers.
“Our top priority has been the health and safety of our Giants so that we are able to continue to support the economy and keep things running,” says Freitas. “In doing so, we have fostered a community of safety and trust. We give constant updates in regards to what the company is doing, which helps our team understand what needs to be done for us to continue to create great stickers and labels for our customers.”
StickerGiant noticed some impact initially in March, but it quickly saw a sharp increase in sales as customers pivoted their business models, which created a higher demand for custom labels.
“Sticker sales have taken a hit with the lack of events and in-person interactions, which we typically see for promotion,” he adds. “Over the past few months, we have seen this start to come back as people continue to be creative in the virtual spaces we are all navigating through. Overall, growth of the company is up significantly, year over year.”
The industry has taken notice of StickerGiant’s efforts, too. The company was recently honored as the Colorado Manufacturer of the Year in Advanced Manufacturing & Machining. The award recognizes outstanding operations resulting from continuous improvements in operations, infrastructure and people. StickerGiant was largely recognized for its production process that allows the company to turn around most sticker and label products within 24 hours, outpacing what the company says is the industry standard of 4-5 business days. StickerGiant was also ranked #6 in the Denver Business Journal’s 2020 Best Places to Work Awards. This was the second year in a row the company was featured in the annual rankings based on company size, revenue and employee feedback.
“It’s very humbling for us as a business to receive this recognition and at the same time a proud moment for each individual Giant at StickerGiant to reflect on how they contributed to this honor,” notes Freitas. “The Colorado Manufacturer of the Year in Advanced Manufacturer & Machining award serves as a waypoint of our journey. We did not start as a manufacturer from the beginning, but it’s been a 10-year ride to build a unique production process that delivers custom stickers and labels fast. It’s an achievement that speaks to the continuous improvement it takes every day from many people to accomplish something special.”
StickerGiant is not resting on its laurels, either. The company has taken strides to grow the business at every turn. As an active member in TLMI, StickerGiant has welcomed the collaboration to help boost its own operations. “TLMI has been a great resource for us over the last couple of years to create more meaningful relationships with our suppliers and make new connections with people and businesses in the labeling industry,” says Freitas. “Everyone we have met or interacted with, from the first meeting, has been amazing. Through participation in many of the events, committees and reports we have found a lot of value and insight into the industry as a whole.”
According to Freitas, StickerGiant is positioned to succeed well into the future. “Our focus is to continue to help our customers tell their stories through stickers and labels,” he says. “We want to continue to improve our customer experience and the processes that support our business. The way we do this will be through all the Giants of today, and tomorrow, lending their expertise to what we do. This will continue to create a good company to work for even in 2030 and beyond.
“Our ongoing success is a testimony to our Giants’ commitment and love for each other and our company – this is what makes our growth engine meaningful, and what fuels internal relationships that foster trust in innovative thinking and process improvement,” says Beth A. Smith, COO at StickerGiant.
www.stickergiant.com
StickerGiant has emerged as one of the true “Giants” of this industry’s up-and-comers. From John Fischer, the company’s founder, to the more than 100 employees – also known as “Giants” – this Longmont, CO-based converter has established a culture that is truly on the cutting edge of 21st century businesses – labels or otherwise.
Launched in 2000 as one of the first e-commerce retail sticker stores, StickerGiant has created an environment that is built upon a diverse, equitable, inclusive and accessible work space. The company’s Giants are encouraged to bring their whole selves to work and to spread positive energy. That workplace atmosphere has resulted in one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry.
“This supports an open and transparent culture, from the visibility into daily finances to our long-term planning for the growth of the business,” explains Jesse Freitas, director of marketing. “Having every Giant involved in the daily decisions helps us keep a forward-thinking and innovative approach to everything we do. John established this culture early on by allowing the Giants flexibility in work schedules and to have fun at work. Fun is at the heart of StickerGiant and what we do. We are also the home of the World’s Largest Sticker Ball, whom we refer to as Saul the Largest Sticker Ball, and who won the Guinness World Record in 2016, which was part of the first ever National Sticker Day that we registered at that time. Really, he is one of the many fun things to find at StickerGiant, including the random Nerf battle, Giants joining meetings wearing fun filters, and maybe a few people getting tagged with a sticker or two.”
A positive workplace atmosphere is just the start of the company’s success. Following the establishment of StickerGiant, the company grew quickly, selling a range of stickers for political campaigns and sports teams to popular bumper stickers. Customers started asking to have their own custom stickers printed. In 2010, the company transitioned to a manufacturer of custom stickers, with the goal of providing fast turnaround, high quality and an amazing customer experience.
“Over the years, our product offerings have grown, and we’ve navigated our way into the business of product labels, as well as enhancing the types of stickers we make,” says Freitas.
StickerGiant’s Colorado campus consists of two buildings to house its manufacturing and support staff. The company differentiates itself in its operations, where it utilizes methods from Open Book Management, Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) and Lean methodologies to grow the business. These systems have helped StickerGiant create more transparency around all aspects of its operations, ensuring that all Giants have an opportunity to offer their voices into how the company operates.
“As a manufacturer, we are unique in that we are purely e-commerce driven with no outbound sales team,” explains Freitas. “Our website is our sales team, and it navigates potential customers captured from online searches by helping them build out their custom product as an online order request. From there, it’s all about turning around an artwork proof fast for their approval. Our teams are set up in a way to facilitate 1-2 business day(s) production time on all our products from that moment of proof approval.”
In order to meet fast turnaround times, StickerGiant runs an all-digital shop, from printing to laser finishing. StickerGiant staffs its teams to accommodate these quick turnaround orders, all while promoting excellent quality.
“Quality is a major part of every step from the initial product development to how it goes out the door, and we have lots of processes in place to ensure our standards,” states Freitas. “We also guarantee customer satisfaction for 30 days after receiving an order.”
StickerGiant’s partners have helped make its vision a reality. HP was StickerGiant’s first partner when it established its own manufacturing line back in 2010, and the company still utilizes all HP presses today. ABG International and Spartanics provide the company’s finishing machines, and all of its materials and laminates emanate from Wausau Coated Products and acpo. To help with its diecutting needs, StickerGiant relies on Kocher + Beck and RotoMetrics. StickerGiant also works with another company, called Preferred Packing, for all of its shipping materials, cores and substrate warehousing.
StickerGiant has deftly navigated the challenges presented by COVID-19. Throughout the pandemic, the company has served as a committed partner to small businesses across the country, providing essential labeling needs for everything from hand sanitizer and take-out food and beverage labels to health and safety stickers.
“Our top priority has been the health and safety of our Giants so that we are able to continue to support the economy and keep things running,” says Freitas. “In doing so, we have fostered a community of safety and trust. We give constant updates in regards to what the company is doing, which helps our team understand what needs to be done for us to continue to create great stickers and labels for our customers.”
StickerGiant noticed some impact initially in March, but it quickly saw a sharp increase in sales as customers pivoted their business models, which created a higher demand for custom labels.
“Sticker sales have taken a hit with the lack of events and in-person interactions, which we typically see for promotion,” he adds. “Over the past few months, we have seen this start to come back as people continue to be creative in the virtual spaces we are all navigating through. Overall, growth of the company is up significantly, year over year.”
The industry has taken notice of StickerGiant’s efforts, too. The company was recently honored as the Colorado Manufacturer of the Year in Advanced Manufacturing & Machining. The award recognizes outstanding operations resulting from continuous improvements in operations, infrastructure and people. StickerGiant was largely recognized for its production process that allows the company to turn around most sticker and label products within 24 hours, outpacing what the company says is the industry standard of 4-5 business days. StickerGiant was also ranked #6 in the Denver Business Journal’s 2020 Best Places to Work Awards. This was the second year in a row the company was featured in the annual rankings based on company size, revenue and employee feedback.
“It’s very humbling for us as a business to receive this recognition and at the same time a proud moment for each individual Giant at StickerGiant to reflect on how they contributed to this honor,” notes Freitas. “The Colorado Manufacturer of the Year in Advanced Manufacturer & Machining award serves as a waypoint of our journey. We did not start as a manufacturer from the beginning, but it’s been a 10-year ride to build a unique production process that delivers custom stickers and labels fast. It’s an achievement that speaks to the continuous improvement it takes every day from many people to accomplish something special.”
StickerGiant is not resting on its laurels, either. The company has taken strides to grow the business at every turn. As an active member in TLMI, StickerGiant has welcomed the collaboration to help boost its own operations. “TLMI has been a great resource for us over the last couple of years to create more meaningful relationships with our suppliers and make new connections with people and businesses in the labeling industry,” says Freitas. “Everyone we have met or interacted with, from the first meeting, has been amazing. Through participation in many of the events, committees and reports we have found a lot of value and insight into the industry as a whole.”
According to Freitas, StickerGiant is positioned to succeed well into the future. “Our focus is to continue to help our customers tell their stories through stickers and labels,” he says. “We want to continue to improve our customer experience and the processes that support our business. The way we do this will be through all the Giants of today, and tomorrow, lending their expertise to what we do. This will continue to create a good company to work for even in 2030 and beyond.
“Our ongoing success is a testimony to our Giants’ commitment and love for each other and our company – this is what makes our growth engine meaningful, and what fuels internal relationships that foster trust in innovative thinking and process improvement,” says Beth A. Smith, COO at StickerGiant.
