About Us

PropellShops began with a group of dedicated people with years of experience in delivering personalized products on-demand -- to individuals as well as to big retailers and theme parks. Then we brought in a team of young, enthusiastic and web-savvy designers and engineers who understand that today's online experience -- whether you're setting up a store, or buying something -- has to be amazingly easy to figure out, quick to set up, and really fun.

We built PropellShops to give schools, non-profits, groups, businesses -- anyone -- a way to raise funds or make money without spending any! We figured that would be really good for everyone. Especially -- as it turns out -- with today's economic challenges.

When we built PropellShops, we all put our heads together -- experienced hands to run the shop, and younger designers and engineers who understand what makes the best web sites work.

And the journey began... We looked at all the ways people order products online. We talked to schools and non-profits about the challenges of raising money (they were thrilled with the idea of sending everyone to a web site to order exactly what they wanted -- no more setting up card tables at the school entrance or at the finish line of a race). And, we talked to businesses who wanted to streamline their process of ordering personalized products. What we found was everyone wanted the same thing.

SEEMS LIKE EVERYONE WANTED THE SAME THINGS

• Everyone we spoke to wanted an easy way to set up an online store without having to manage it or pay for it.
• Everyone wanted a way to sell t-shirts, mugs, and gift items online, without the risk of ordering too many items and being stuck with unsold inventory at the end of the season, event, or fund drive.
• Everyone wanted real choices -- from name-brand boxy and fitted T-shirts to green and organic apparel. And everyone -- even those with experience creating merchandise on other websites -- wanted to sell products on their website, without somebody else's brand name appearing everywhere.

So we set out to build what you see today. Our goals are simple -- we want to make your life easier, we want to help you raise money, we want to make the process of creating personalized merchandise online as simple as possible, and we want to do all of this without charging you a penny for it.

We pledge to do everything possible to make your experience with us both positive and profitable, because, at PropellShops, our success depends on yours.

THE PROPELLSHOPS TEAM

PropellShops is run by an diverse group of people drawn together by their experience in each of their fields — and a shared passion for helping schools, nonprofits and other organizations make great products.

Each member of the PropellShops team brings incredible knowledge in their own particular field. We have very serious engineers, very creative designers, some true experts in direct-to-garment printing technology — and a whole merchandising team constantly on the lookout for great new products.

If you are a large organization needing advice on how to work with us, want to place a bulk order, or just want to explore business opportunities, you're likely to speak to Paul Scapatici, our business development expert, or Lane Folliott, our chief sales guy.

Our software and design teams are led by IT Director Alan Ryman, who used to be one of the guys responsible for all the ones and zeroes at Travelocity, among other things, and senior engineer Devon Berry.

New product development is led by Donna Epstein, who keeps her eye on fashion trends, the competition, and keeps tabs on what our customers are looking for — along with helping with all aspects of marketing. Speaking of which, marketing and design are overseen by Darilyn Kotzenberg (of DK Design Studio, a very cool SF marketing and design firm with special expertise in sustainable products and businesses).

All operations, technology and customer service fall under the watchful eye of Jim Wallace. Finally, keeping all this focused and organized is CEO Ed Bernstein, who has many years' experience building and leading successful companies in the education, computer game, digital photography and personalized merchandise markets.

OUR TECHNOLOGY

PropellShops uses state of the art digital printing machines to turn your logos, artwork, and photos into great looking personalized merchandise. Our web designers and software engineers work hard to make the process easy. It's all amazingly efficient. We can print one or a thousand of your products with consistent, high-quality results every time.