Hardware Podcasts

Kinko’s: Paul Orfalea

How I Built This · 21 Aug 2023 · 1h 01m

What this episode covers

Paul Orfalea, founder of Kinko's, explains how he launched a single copy shop in 1970 near UC Santa Barbara by renting a Xerox machine for $1,100 a month and leveraging the 'float' from Xerox's billing delays. He details his unique 'co-owner' partnership model, which avoided traditional franchising by giving local operators equity and profit-sharing, and describes the strategic pivot to 24-hour operations that doubled daytime revenue. Orfalea also discusses the company's evolution through a copyright lawsuit, the introduction of computer workstations, and its eventual $2.4 billion acquisition by FedEx.

Most relevant to

founders before launch and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Xerox, FedEx, Office Depot, Office Max
Products
Kinko's

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