Today we’d like to introduce you to Phil Koosed.
Phil, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started out selling T-shirts in college as a way to make some money. During spring break one year, when the rest of our friends were in Cabo, my business partner and I decided to head to an industry trade show and see what this whole promo industry thing was about. We were shocked at what we found – this was a massive industry that was ripe for disruption.
I was a corporate finance major and I remember going home and telling my parents that instead of going into investment banking, I was going to make a career out of selling pens. From there, we just kept grinding away and turning left every time we saw the industry turn right. Today we’re running one of the largest and most rapidly growing companies in our more than $23 billion/year industry.
Has it been a smooth road?
There are no smooth roads, just steady hands. The path is always filled with peril — how you react to life’s potholes dictates where you’ll end up. The interesting thing is that the challenges just got bigger and more difficult as our business grew, but we also got much more capable of dealing with them. Issues that would have been devastating a decade ago are easily dealt with today.
Growth has a funny way of training you to get better at dealing with challenges while giving you challenges that are ever increasing in difficulty. The key is to keep a level head, maintain a positive mindset, and keep working until you get the result that you want.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with BAMKO – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
BAMKO designs manufacture and deliver award-winning merchandise. We are trusted by the world’s biggest brands, using innovative branded merchandise to solve real-world business problems, drive customer excitement, and forge lasting connections between brands and their customers.
Our international presence, best-in-class technological solutions, state of the art fulfillment centers, and boots on the ground approach to ethical manufacturing offers companies an unrivaled solution for all of their merchandise needs.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
People are drawn to LA by a thirst for excellence. You see it everywhere you look — LA is a city of dreamers willing to bet on themselves to do great things. We’ve got one of the greatest collections of human capital in one city that the world has ever seen. Given the opportunity to work together, there’s no limit to what the people of LA can do.
I wish this city were more connected. The struggle to find and create community and connection in this city is something that so many people struggle with. It leads to a sort of spiritual malnourishment that I think limits our potential. If we could facilitate more connection and foster community more easily, I think you’d see a sort of flourishing that would be incredible to behold.
Contact Info:
- Address: 11620 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 610
- Website: www.bamko.net
- Phone: 3104705859
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bamko.us/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BAMKO.US/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bamko?lang=en
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bamko/
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
