Co-Founders David Ortiz and Topher O’Rourke started NextDoor in 2006 with a single goal: Design and sell a creative line of promotional products to the pharmaceutical industry.
As industry veterans, the partners knew existing products didn’t always work aesthetically or functionally for the intended marketing campaign. To address this, the pair leveraged their 10 years of product development experience and strong factory relationships in China to design and sell custom manufactured promotional items.
Their efforts resulted in multiple patents and a successful product offering including: The Shandle, Whiteboard Clip, Pop-Up Pen Holder, Clothes Cubby and Medical Desk Diagrams.
Success from these custom projects brought more opportunities as customers continually asked for unique, tailored-made solutions for their specific marketing programs.
NextDoor quickly sought out other markets that could use their promotional product expertise. These included food and beverage, fashion, sports and entertainment, financial and agriculture.
As NextDoor grew more structure was needed overseas to manage production. In 2008 Virley Wu and Wilson Huen joined the company and opened NextDoor’s sourcing and development office in Guangzhou, China. NextDoor China continues to work directly with factories to reduce costs, drive customization and provide quality control on all projects. This partnership has provided the backbone for the company’s continued growth.
