In yet the latest manifestation of the Cal State Fullerton College of Business and Economics as the Shark Tank of achieving business concepts, Radar Promotions, a promotional products and business gifts enterprise, was recognized in the Inc. 5000 List, recognizing the top 5,000 private companies in the United States.
The company founded by Ryan Paules ’06 (entrepreneurship) reached #534.
Paules shared about the major milestones along the way, the future of Radar Promotions, and how none of it would have been possible without the College of Business and Economics.
What were the major milestones along the journey to reaching the Top 5000 List?
Instead of being stuck in the “Everyone Needs Swag! Let’s Sell to EVERYONE!” mentality, we chose a focus of the largest non-profit organization in the U.S., and that’s become about 2/3 of our revenue. I needed that ‘line in the sand’ to keep me focused.
We hired our first employee in July 2021. We are still a fully remote company. We managed to double sales from 2020 to 2021, about $250,000 to $550,000
I attribute the overall growth to having a painfully dedicated focus on revenue growth, specifically by partnering with clients and learning what other kinds of marketing investments, products or value-adds that we can offer and driving that mentality for the entire Radar team. If we get one order from ANYONE, that is a failure in my book, I don’t care if it’s $100 or $100,000 – we’re very focused on the lifetime value of the client.
I believe the entire economy is a meritocracy, and the best vendor for any project should EARN that project, and we try to be “that best vendor” for every one of our clients, despite widely varying definitions of what “best” is to them. It’s estimated that there are 25,000 to 30,000 other promo/swag distributors in the industry, so these clients have lots of choices in who they buy from.
Where do you see yourself and Radar Promotions in the years to come?
Our non-profit focus has been a wild ride for the past three years of the Inc. magazine Inc 5000 lookback period (2020 to 2023 is what 2024 celebrates).
For 2024, we are seeing the past few months of missed sales targets, and while this particular non-profit holds a special place for me, where my kids learned how to swim, and tons of other family and friend connections, but we’ve got our numbers to hit and we’re having to quickly pivot, just like we did during COVID. The promotional products industry is estimated at a $26 billion estimated annual spend, and at the end of the day, the Radar portion of that business spends and achieves our sales goals $1 to $1 , no matter where that $1 came from.
We started 2024 with a tapered goal of 50% growth (each of the prior 3 years were 100% EACH), from $2 million to $3 million, but as the year passes, it looks like we’re going to miss that – and that’s ok – 833% over the past three years has my hair stylist asking about this formerly blonde hair becoming gray before I’m 40.
How did your CSUF experiences prepare you for your current success?
The business college and Center for Entrepreneurship prepared me unlike any other college experience I heard from my peers. Just the upper division consulting engagements were like an MBA-on-a-budget education.
These consulting engagements provided real world business insights and experience that any other program could even come close to touching. I use what I learned at CSUF every day, whether it’s my FIN 320 class, or MKTG 462 with JJ, or ACCT 463 with Richard Ginnaty. I think the entrepreneurship concentration is the most well-rounded and versatile degree program in any business school.
What advice would you give to other current or potential entrepreneurs in the Titan Business community?
Entrepreneurship can be the most fulfilling role for so many enterprising people, but just like everything, there is a personality that can excel in it, but there are also very concrete lessons you have to learn along the way, or they will be forcefully taught upon you – and that won’t be at a time, place or method of your choosing.
I walked the stage at CSUF in 2006 at 21 years old while in escrow to buy a Cookies by Design franchise location, and that business put me into bankruptcy four years later. Even with that story and many, many lessons from it, I still love speaking to people about whatever crazy idea, product or service they want to turn into a business.
A business must do so many things well, or at least competently, and you can learn those things in a bunch of different ways. I love selling, and I think that’s a common entrepreneur trait, but if you know selling or sales isn’t your strong suit, you MUST staff to your deficiencies – that’s exactly what I did in 2021, because I knew I could learn graphic design and go buy Adobe Illustrator for the vector artwork that our industry requires, but I knew that wasn’t my superpower.
Focus on what you’re good at, and hire out for what you know you’re not good at. These investments might seem like expenses, but if you’ve got the right skills and mindset, these investments are just pre-purchased future success that you NEED to make to get to whatever success looks like for you. For me, success is being able to drop whatever I’m working on and going to Italy for a week with my wife, or getting a phone call from after-school care for my kids and picking them up early if they need it, and no one is docking my pay or writing me up.
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