How Cotapaxi Really Began - Our Story
Before There Was a Company,
There Was a Decision Made in a Parking Lot.
A fired art director. A box carried to a car. A promise made on the spot. That is how Cotapaxi started.
Chapter One
The Day Carl Watched His Colleague Get Walked Out the Door.
Carl was working at another company when, without warning, they fired the Art Director, Chris Suess, someone Carl loved working with and deeply respected.
As they escorted Chris out the door, Carl offered to carry his box of stuff to the car. And walking to the parking lot, Carl made a decision that would change both of their lives.
"Don't let this get you down. They are foolish for letting you go. I'm hiring you right now — meet me at my house tomorrow and we will start a new company."
Carl Cetera, in a parking lot, 2001
Chapter Two
Six Months at a Kitchen Table. Before the Company Had a Name.
The next morning they started what would become Cotapaxi, before they even knew it was going to be Cotapaxi. They worked in Carl's kitchen every morning before Carl had to go to his day job.
For over six months they designed and patented their own line of promotional pens. No samples. No actual models. Just designs of what they could look like with client branding on them.
Once they formed the company they set out to sell to the pharmaceutical industry. They called on everyone they knew. No samples. No prototypes. Just designs, relationships, and a promise.
Chapter Three
Then One Client Said Something That Changed Everything.
They called on everyone they knew. Most people were skeptical. No samples, no prototypes, no finished product to hold. Just Carl's reputation, Chris's designs, and a belief that they could pull it off.
Then one of Carl's old clients from the previous company said something that became the foundation of everything Cotapaxi stands for.
I Didn't Buy From Your Old Company.
I Bought From You.
And if you say you can turn this pen into a reality and deliver a better quality, design, and writing pen than you did in the past, I trust you.
Cotapaxi's first client, 2001
Chapter Four
100,000 Pens. Sold From a Dream on Paper.
She placed an order for 100,000 pens. That was Cotapaxi's first order. One hundred thousand pens sold from a design on a piece of paper.
They had the mold built, samples made, and produced the order by the skin of their teeth. It delivered a little late, but she gave them some leeway and they made it happen.
She could not have been happier. And neither could they.
Chapter Five
From That Day Forward, Trust Was the Business.
From that day forward Carl and Chris knew that client trust, delivering on promises, and relationships were the keys to success. Not the biggest catalog. Not the lowest price. The relationship.
That is still exactly how Cotapaxi operates today. Twenty-five years later the company looks different, more capabilities, more industries, more team members, but the core is identical to what it was in Carl's kitchen in 2001.
Show up. Deliver. Protect the relationship. Do it again.
That Is How We Built the Company.
Here Is How We Got Our Name.
A trip to Ecuador. A majestic volcano. An Ancient Incan name that means Neck of the Moon. The story behind why Cotapaxi is called Cotapaxi.