Zinepak Update: What Happened After Shark Tank
THE BEGINNING OF Zinepak
I co-founded ZinePak (pronounced zeen-pack) in 2011, based on a business plan I wrote in college in 2004 and a proposal I sold to Walmart in 2010. At its core, ZinePak was a marketing agency that helped entertainers connect with their fans through innovative products, experiences, and collectibles.
OUR EARLY SUCCESS STORIES
My founding partner Kim and I enjoyed a lot of success early in the company, hitting milestones like $1 million in revenue in less than 12 months, 2 million product sales worldwide in 18 months, and accolades from some of the most respected media brands in the world, including Forbes, Fortune, Billboard, Advertising Age, and Inc., just to name a few.
The Celebrities Of ZINEPAK
Over the years, our client roster included some of the biggest entertainers on the planet, including Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, KISS, Dolly Parton, and many, many more. We appeared on Shark Tank in 2015 where we secured a deal at one of the highest valuations in the show’s history. And, although we ultimately didn’t go through with the deal, the worldwide exposure helped propel us to even more success and spurred our name change from ZinePak to The Superfan Company.
APPEARING ON SHARK TANK
The Shark Tank appearance also fundamentally changed our business in that it led to more consulting, speaking, and writing opportunities. In the years that followed, I fell in love with this newer side of the business. I had always enjoyed speaking and consulting, but when I moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2016, I began to focus more on this growing segment of the business.
EXITING THE SUPERFAN COMPANY
After a couple of years of juggling the speaking/consulting with our existing agency work — and, by that point, with a baby boy born in 2017 — I decided I needed to choose a single direction: I could either continue to focus on building the business I had worked on for years, or dedicate more time to the inbound speaking requests that were building up. After much discussion with my clients and partners, I decided to follow the universe’s signs… to the stage! I sold the majority of my equity in The Superfan Company to my partners in 2018.
HELPING OTHERS CREATE SUPERFANS
Now, instead of creating products for specific fandoms, I help clients find their fandoms and buoy their businesses by creating superfans of their own. I’m applying what I learned from more than 15 years in the entertainment industry (and almost a decade as an entrepreneur) to help brands large and small move customers from apathy to advocacy, whether their businesses revolve around mortgages, makeup, or anything in between!
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
The Superfan Company (formerly ZinePak) is still doing great under the leadership of my founding partners, working with some of the world’s greatest entertainers. And, although I’m no longer active in the day-to-day of the company, I’ll always be proud of what my team and I built… and a little excited when I think about the millions of collectibles that will be unearthed in garages, basements, and storage units around the world decades from now.
