Today we’d like to introduce you to Ted Glasnow.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
After graduating from college, I was invited to join an Olympic development decathlon team in Santa Barbara, CA. While training and studying for the LSAT, I started managing the sales/marketing functions for a few wineries in the Central Coast region. I also helped out with the Kickstarter campaign for The Morph Foam Roller (which just got more funding on Shark Tank!). I also tried to start my own wine-related business and reached out to some contacts at Notre Dame for help.
A few people recommended that I speak with Pressbox’s Cofounder, Drew McKenna. He gave me great advice and I agreed with many of his business philosophies. After being fully-washed up in Decathlon, drinking more wine that one person should, and realizing that law school wasn’t for me, I moved to Chicago to be with my girlfriend. Initially, I worked for Motorola Solutions. A few month after moving back, I noticed there was a sales manager role open with Pressbox.
I interviewed with Vijen Patel- the other Cofounder – and learned that the company was planning to expand nationally. Vijen and I decided that a city manager role would be a better fit, so I moved to DC to head up the company’s second market. After a year and a half, I am now in charge of national business development efforts.
Great, 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?
I trained as a decathlete for about 7 years. Decathlon might as well be greek for “struggle”. The event consists of 10 track & field disciplines over 2 days, so there is ample opportunity for things to go wrong. The sport has taught me the importance grit and luck. The number of variables that need to perfectly coalesce to put together a successful Decathlon is inconceivably large.
My coach and I were simply trying to optimize for the variables we could control and learning to cope with the ones we could not. I quickly learned that about 60% of the event was out of my control, so I had to callous myself to hundreds of failures until I got the opportunity to exercise my tiny sliver of the agency.
I think operating a business is the same way. One should pick an arena in which they are willing to get continually pummelled, then develop a thick enough skin to stick it out long enough to get lucky!
Please tell us about Pressbox.
Pressbox provides 24/7, on-site fabric and shoe care services. Once Pressbox is installed on a property, customers manage orders through our mobile app and pick-up/drop-off at the boxes.
I am particularly proud of the fact that we offer the best customer experience in the entire country while keeping prices and turn around times in line or below the average brick and mortar store. Plus, we don’t charge delivery fees. Overall, it is very rewarding to be part of a team that is so committed to reducing the headache of dry cleaning, laundry, and shoe care.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I loved playing chess with my father and tinkering with things at his shop. I also fondly remember my mother coaching me in gymnastics and track and field. In general, I just thought my parents were pretty cool.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1123 W Armitage Ave, Chicago, IL 60614
- Website: usepressbox.com
- Phone: (312) 257-3888
- Email: installs@usepressbox.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/usepressbox/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/usepressbox
- Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/UsePressbox
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pressbox
Image Credit:
Zan Passante
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