Remember the scene in the rock music mockumentary, “This Is Spinal Tap,” where the Stonehenge model built for the concert stage as a prop turned out to be 18 inches high instead of the intended 18 feet (thus turning the group into a laughingstock)? It was traced back to a bad spec written on a napkin.

Fifteen years ago, OnFulfillment was  in a 1000 square foot warehouse that was loaned to me by a great friend and mentor, Jim Moreton, now departed. The internet was the Wild West, and we were six months from the bubble bursting on a large portion the early adopters of the dot com craze. At that point, we were convinced that the internet would change the fulfillment business forever.  By us, I mean Dan Barnett and I. Shared information, universal access and real-time transactions – the possibilities were endless. We had an idea, enthusiasm, and a great support structure of friends and colleagues.

Our first customer was Zilog Corporation and Debra Erickson. Debra and I still exchange Christmas cards. No one wants to be the first customer, so I can’t thank her enough for our start. With Zilog on board, we had product in our warehouse and projects to do. At first my wife, kids and I did the work at home, but we soon hired  Juan Rosales from my previous job, and now I knew the work would get done. And so it continued as we added one new customer at a time. We soon moved to Hayward where another friend rented us space on a month to month basis.

Consider this a public service announcement from us. To all you marketers planning an upcoming print marketing campaign, make sure you jump on some great promotions at the post office.