YES we made the inc. 5000! Yet somehow I feel like an impostor.

Flowtoys, with an 86% growth rate from 2012-2014, ranked 3626 in the Inc’s 2015 list of fastest-growing private companies in America. We are 168th in our industry, 523rd the State, 118th in our Metro Area. Really though, what do any of these stats mean?

Podpoi are known to be extremely durable. During beta-testing, we tried repeatedly to destroy them and found it quite difficult. A roomful of beefy boys took about 45 minutes of repeated smashing before it finally stopped working. We were quite excited and wanted to release a durability video shortly after the product launch. But it was not to be. Systemic issues arose that would have made the release of a durability video untimely. Although podpoi were designed to be extremely durable, a significant percentage have suffered various manufacturing defects that make them appear much less in the early batches.

This year I undertook a personal challenge to present poi as an activity that brings joy.

Why? Because it is true, and because there is power to that truth. Power in personal evolution, to bring people together, create new social and neural connections, power to heal and grow, and to bring pure and simple *joy*.

Flowtoys Special Event: 31 March 2015, Emeryville, CA
(Crowd murmurings and then applause as Sean appears on stage)

Sean von Stade:  Hey thanks for being here. 
(Loud applause)

It’s great to see y’all today.

Sean: A quick update. We’ve sold our 500,000,000th podpoi last week. Half a billion podpoi. That’s a lot of poi. 

We beat Google, Exxon-Mobil, and Wal-Mart.

When you think about it, these other companies have complicated ways of making money – selling ad space, drilling oil, distributing cheap goods that are bound for landfill.

We do something really simple:  We create delightful products that do something amazing.

It’s been 10 years since we first determined our fulfillment, shipping and handling structure. This post reveals lessons learned, the why behind our decisions, and why we are restructuring handling fees in our customers’ favor.

Fulfillment is an essential function of all e-commerce enterprises. While it doesn’t have the shiny appeal of designing products or marketing, it is the strong and silent personality that delivers the promise.