Had someone told Anup Gupta before late 2000 that he would found an award-winning print and marketing firm in Cuyahoga Falls, he would have been flabbergasted.
Gupta left India in 1989 to get his master’s degree in business in the U.S., and success always seemed out of reach. Struggling to find a job after graduation, he finally found a managerial position for a printing company in Akron in 1991. But then — just as he seemed to be edging toward the American dream with a wife, a home and a baby — he lost his job in 1996.
He took that as a sign to pursue his lifelong dream of starting a business and founded AG PrintPromo Solutions that year. The company designs and prints marketing products, decorative apparel, stationary and more. At first, he worked seven days a week out of his one-bedroom apartment.
“For a few years, it’s very hard to make any money,” he says.
Eventually, Gupta was able to move the company to Cuyahoga Falls, where his first small rented office and staff in 2000 grew into his current 3,000-square-foot facility and showroom. Awards started coming, such as the 2014 Distinguished Sales & Marketing Award, among others.
Beyond awards, Gupta is motivated by helping his customers thrive. He enjoys hearing success stories, like one about designed mugs a client purchased from Gupta that sold out in a month and a half when it usually takes at least six months to sell out.
“It’s rewarding because we are helping customers grow their business or help them retain their employees with our ideas,” he says.
It is this above-and-beyond relationship with clients that has made Gupta successful and sets his company apart.
“We genuinely care for our clients and their projects,” Gupta says. “It doesn’t matter what the product is — we take pride in what we do.”
