“When we first started we bought traffic, but it wasn't sustainable. We wanted to achieve organic growth through customer satisfaction without a huge need for advertising. We've done that by focusing on our satisfied customers and responding to those who have issues. Having a personal experience with your customers creates a sense of authenticity -- one of the keys to our success is authenticity. We bring an authentic story that ties into the price and features. For credibility, we lead people to Amazon to show authentic reviews that are true customer testimonials.”
--Daehee Park (Class of 2009, information sciences and technology), co-founder of Tuft & Needle, on the importance of customer service to his company’s growth. Park leads business operations and marketing strategies for Tuft & Needle, and has successfully launched scalable business models for more than six years.
Park, along with his business partner, J.T. Marino (Class of 2010, computer science), spoke April 10 on “Bootstrapping a Successful Start-up Without Venture Capital,” as part of IST Start-up Week 2014, a week-long showcase of innovations and entrepreneurship featuring “insider” talks by industry giants, cutting-edge technology demonstrations and numerous networking opportunities for Penn State students who aspire to be trailblazers in whatever field they choose.