When Bobby Deraco was a national accounts representative for a franchised printing and marketing company, clients often asked him for services his employer didn't offer. In 2007 he started his own business so he could decide for himself what do to for customers.
Synapse Marketing Solutions started out as a printing shop that sold direct-mail pieces and completed customers' print jobs. But decreasing reliance on paper meant Deraco had to diversify his business.
“How am I going to keep this business growing?” he thought. “Print isn't growing. What are we going to do?”
The answer was to expand into other services. Now Synapse's capabilities include website design, marketing campaigns and applications for mobile devices. Print now comprises about 45 percent of its business, down from 90 percent when Synapse started.
Inc. magazine recently ranked the Lancaster company No. 396 on its list of the 500 fastest growing businesses in America. It now has 30 employees, up from just three in Synapse's first month. Its revenue last year was listed as $3.3 million. And Deraco is looking for two more interactive Web designers.
Along with its range of services, Deraco says Synapse grew so fast because it focuses on giving clients what they need and employs a great group of people. He says he believes expanding payroll instead of hiring freelancers because that yields superior work. “If somebody isn't on your payroll, they're not going to work as hard as someone who is,” he says.
Source: Bobby Deraco, Synapse Marketing Solutions
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen
