Today we’d like to introduce you to Min Polley.
Hi Min, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
We are one of the positive things that came out of Covid! The Gifterie started in Nov 2020, founded by Min Polley and Elise Nach. I had left Caruso to focus on the family and Elise was freelancing, but withe events at a halt, there was not much happening. In November, we thought we would take the rest of the year to build the operations of the business (create website, instagram, admin, etc) and hit the ground running in January 2021, but through our friends, family and previous colleagues, we immediately booked projects (Caruso holiday employee gifts being one)! The demand for creating unique experiences at home and giving people little gifts to brighten their days while couped up gave everyone more hope and happiness you could imagine. We were so busy with holiday gifts for personal and corporate clients, it was unbelievable. With the entertainment studios (Netflix, HBOMax, Amazon Prime, AppleTV, AMC, IMAX, Paramount, etc, a few clients) not being able to do in person premiere parties, we were tasked to create the launch event experience in box delivered to media and influencers’ homes. We had to figure out how to bring the creative elements of a live event to a smaller scale. With our marketing and experiential background, it was not new territory, so that helped us tremendously. The hardest part of inventory and distribution since access to some of the gifts were hard to find or get in time. To this day, we have a fruitful business in custom gifting for personal and corporate clients which continue to grow. Once live events started back a couple years ago, we went back to our roots with producing live events however, a lot more personal along with corporate clients than the red carpet premieres we both had experience in. The Gifterie has given us a great balance to work for ourselves, build a thriving business, be creative and have fun, while providing the balance we both needed with our families (especially with the demands of our kids – we each have 3 kids).
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Ironically, it has been smoother than we could have ever imagined. Crazy to think that this business thrived during covid and continues to grow. A lot of our clients have come through word of mouth and referrals. The main struggle is usually timing. Clients come last minute hoping for the most custom items and we hate when we can’t deliver to produce in time, but most of the time we make miracles happen! We work out of my home, so the flexibility is great, but we struggle with deciding if we need to have a physical office all the time. Building a small business is not easy. The city and state actually do not make it easy for all of us small businesses to succeed. They want to make the red tape harder and harder on these small businesses, when they should be supporting us more.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are the one-stop destination for all things festive. The Gifterie is a bespoke gifting and experience company with a focus on thoughtfully curated gift boxes, interactive experiences & events. At The Gifterie, our goal is to make the gifting & event process simple and seamless. All of our gifts & events are filled with high end artisan products and are carefully tailored to each client’s needs. We’ll focus on every detail so you don’t have to.
Events & Experiences
Personal & Corporate Events
Dinner Parties to Large Scale Productions
Branded Activations & Launch Events
Milestones & Celebrations (holiday, birthday, anniversary, weddings, mitzvahs, etc.)
Custom Gifting
Product & Premiere Launches
Influencer Seeding
Corporate Employee Gifting
Welcome Gifts
Milestones & Celebrations (holiday, birthday, anniversary, weddings, mitzvahs, etc.)
“Happiness doesn’t result from what we get, but from what we give.”
Min Polley Background – I have over 20+ years of experience across special events, experiential marketing, entertainment partnerships, retail strategy, brand promotions, PR and integrated marketing. I love all the details to make things pretty. You’ll always see me trying new things, especially food. Although we love to travel as much as possible, LA is where I call home with my husband Matt and three children, Nolan, Myles and Eyla.
Elise Nach Background – From corporate to personal events, intimate cocktail receptions, to 1000 person award show parties, I have produced it all over the last 18 years. I love a challenge, being forced to think in a new way and most of all, creating event experiences and custom gifts that make people happy! When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time with my husband and 3 boys, traveling, trying new restaurants and spending time with friends.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We love to expand our network of vendors and partners. Helping to showcase unique products and other small businesses to include in our client gifts. Most of our clients comes from referrals which gives us a good background check before we dive into large projects.
Pricing:
- All custom based on project and scale of needs
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thegifterie.co
- Instagram: @thegifterie.co
