Calvin grads Andrew and Tim Harris started their business from scratch. Today, it’s a flourishing printing company specializing in high-end graphics packaging and retail displays. Here are three of the components that led them to success.
1. An entrepreneurial mindset
Entrepreneurs will tell you that when you start your own business, it’s important to have a vision. Brothers and Calvin grads Tim and Andrew Harris learned what it meant to have a vision from their family as they were growing up.
“Our grandpa owned a tool distribution and supply company and our parents were missionaries in the Philippines, so I think we grew up with the mindset of starting things from scratch,” explained Andrew. “We grew up with an entrepreneurial mindset.”
2. An edge on competing businesses in the industry
After graduating from Calvin, Tim was working at a corrugated box company, and Andrew was working for a startup as a Venture for America fellow. Tim stumbled upon the idea for their future business when he came across a video of an innovative, single-pass digital printer made in Spain.
“I was so excited about it,” recalled Tim. “I couldn’t get it out of my head.”
So Tim pitched the idea to Andrew.
“I could see us building a business around it,” Andrew commented. “What made it difficult is it’s not the kind of thing you can start in your basement and casually grow from there.”
The brothers’ entrepreneurial spirit led them to take the risk. They built their business, ColorHub, around the Barberán Jetmaster 1260, the only press in the world with the print quality and speed capability to make their revolutionary packaging and display production possible. Theirs was just the second installed in the U.S. at the time.
“It’s cutting-edge for the industry,” Tim noted.
The company has done retail displays and packaging for national membership-only stores, Fortune 100 and 500 brands, ecommerce, and other startups.
3. A purpose
Tim and Andrew are committed to seeing ColorHub thrive financially but also as a place that values relationships with their employees.
“I know that we are called to serve God through our gifts and abilities and to steward those as much as we possibly can,” Tim shared. “Part of that for us in this business is showing God’s grace and light through how you interact with others. We take that seriously.”
“I’m grateful for the perspective of Calvin’s business department,” added Andrew. “They helped me see a way to use business for good. I know I can pursue a career in business without feeling like I’m walking away from my calling.”