Summary
CupOCode's backstory might not be superhero worthy, but it is inspiring nonetheless. Learn how Tim and Nick met and birthed their business, how they learned resilience during the lean times of Covid, and how they built their fantastic marketing team.
The CupOCode Origin Story
Every good origin story begins with an unexpected problem. SpiderMan gets bit by a radioactive spider. The Fantastic Four suffer mutations from cosmic radiation exposure. Dr. Strange, a masterful surgeon, loses the use of his hands after a tragic car accident. And if this were enough to forge heroes, then the stories would end here, in the bleakness of situations.
ORIGINS
Our CupOCode story starts similarly. Okay, so there were no radioactive spiders, but it did start with a hernia. You see, Nick and Tim met in 2015 while working as delivery drivers for a uniform laundry company. Lifting heavy loads day in and day out had taken its toll on the two men. They soon discovered they had untapped skills that could benefit one another. After serving in the military, Nick had gotten his business degree and was ready to put it to good use. Meanwhile, creative genius Tim found he had a knack for website design but had no idea how to start a business. So, while Nick recovered at home from a hernia, the third between the two of them, CupOCode was birthed.
Just as every superhero has a cool name and an emblem, their business needed a memorable identity. Tim, known for his caffeine addiction and weakness for Cup O Noodles, began sketching out an idea that would become CupOCode’s official logo. Nick believes strongly in taking as little money as possible for the first 3-5 years of running a business and reinvesting it in the company instead. His convictions proved profitable. Three years after starting the 2-man show, both were able to quit their day jobs and run CupOCode full-time. They secured their first lair, er I mean office space, in 2019 thanks to the help of Chad Evans of Stone State Entertainment, a friend and frequent collaborator. (More recently, in 2023, they adopted their mascot: a plucky penguin named Glytch, inspired by Nick’s affinity for the polar creatures.)
LEAN TIMES
If being gifted with skills and talent were enough to build a company, then it would have been smooth sailing from here on. But March 2020 came… and Covid hit. Like so many long-established businesses, CupOCode could have called it quits. They learned many foundational lessons during the lean times of Covid. Tim found out he wasn’t invincible when a bout with the virus landed him in the hospital for several days. They grasped how to lose customers and not take a “no” personally. They grappled with how to drop their egos and work on being better than they were yesterday. And they learned how to stay relevant by 3D printing and giving away over 15,000 plastic “mask ear savers” to first responders. Perseverance during hard times… this is how diamonds are made, how superheroes are molded, and how businesses find their backbone.
ASSEMBLING THE TEAM
An increasing workload eventually demanded the dynamic duo to hire help. So, one year after the proving ground of Covid, they expanded to include Brandon. The plan was to subcontract him, but within a year, they had not only made the Full Stack guru their primary website developer, they offered him a stake in the company, too. Norm came next. Norm hired CupOCode in 2023 to rescue him on a site build whose deadline expectation seemed ridiculously unrealistic. Not only did they knock it out of the park, but Norm respected their work ethic so much he accepted their offer to join them as co-owners and became their Director of Business Development.
Rounding out the Fabulous 4 owners are Kalin (Social Media Manager & Content Creator), Sam (Content Creator & Influencer), Dave (Graphic Designer) and Apryle (Marketing/Design Specialist). Recruitment for CupOCode has been providential. Stars aligned during each new hire to provide not only a valuable team asset, but a synergetic energy that continues to expand the company’s relevance in an ever-changing marketing climate.
A BEACON IN THE SKY
With 3 locations now in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and North Carolina, CupOCode doesn’t show signs of slowing down anytime soon. Our goal is simple: to help our clients’ businesses thrive using both traditional and cutting-edge marketing. When you hire us, you won’t get the same in-the-box thinking that stalls so many businesses from growth. You’ll have a talented superteam of developers, designers, influencers, writers and marketers who are always innovating and discovering better ways to reach audiences. Perhaps this is CupOCode’s biggest marketing flex of all: we never quit learning.
Are you ready to tap into our talent and expand your business’s reach? Click here, and we’ll help you get started!
