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K eego Harbor-based Company Folders Inc., an innovative presentation folder printing company that offers a large selection of folders and styles, now ranks in the Inc. 5000 as one of America's fastest- growing private companies. Its revenue increased by 128 percent from 2011 to 2014. This meteoric rise in success came on the heels of near disaster. Between March 2012 and January 2013, Company Folders was in a tailspin of shrinking revenue, and founder and CEO Vladimir Gendelman was facing the very real possibility of closing the business and filing for bankruptcy. "We bet our entire marketing strat- egy on traffic from Google's search engine," said Gendelman, who lives in West Bloomfield with his wife, Janet, a teacher, and children Aaron and Noa. The family belongs to Temple Israel. Gendelman is on the board of Hebrew Free Loan. His wife sits on the board of Tamarack Camps. "That Google traffic was the life- blood of the company. And after get- ting penalized for over-optimized links by Google, our website traffic dropped by two-thirds almost overnight. Our revenue and profits quickly followed. We had gambled all of our resources on just one strategy — and we were at risk of losing it all." Gendelman left his home in Kharkov, Ukraine, when he was 15 in 1989. After stops in Austria and Italy, he came to the U.S. in 1990 with a few hundred dollars in his pocket. He enrolled is high school to learn English and took any job he could before launching Company Folders in 2003. On the brink of ruin, Gendelman considered closing Company Folders, but ultimately decided against it. "After everything that my team and I have dedicated to this company, I just couldn't do it," he said. "Instead, I bor- rowed the money that we desperately required to keep the business afloat and build the resources it needed to succeed." After downsizing, Company Folders reinvested the new funds by offering an exclusive 365-day quality guarantee on all products sold, a brand new web- site and a highly efficient online quote process. The business also hired customer service representatives with exten- sive backgrounds in graphic design and provided those employees with advanced educational resources. The company also unveiled a new marketing plan based around educat- ing and inspiring their graphic artist clients. That plan included a new blog, providing helpful tips, tutorials and other informative articles to graphic designers. This was followed by the debut of a folder design gallery, offer- ing an easy-to-access pool of inspira- tional resources and showcasing the work of talented designers around the world. "Over time, as we educated, inspired and helped our clients, they became return customers," Gendelman said. By May 2013, Company Folders' rev- enue and profits were better than ever. "It's been an arduous struggle," said Gendelman, "but our hard work has paid off tenfold. Our staff is amazing; every single person has been dedicated and supportive throughout this pro- cess." Gendelman is confident that Company Folders' dramatic growth points to a promising future. "I never thought we would be in the Inc. 5000 list," he said. "I was just hoping to survive, but now the future looks very bright. And the Inc. 5000 is yet another example of just how far we have come." * For information, visit www.companyfolders.com. business » 38 October 8 • 2015 Dramatic Recovery Local company goes from near-bankrupt to Inc. 5000 fastest-growing companies. Vladimir Gendelman 2039620 Help us set the record straight about Israel and the Middle East. visit camera.org …because facts matter. Shop on-line at www.Johnnypomodoros.com Now hiring experienced supermarket associates. Apply online at www.Johnnypomodoros.com We are taking requests for products you would like us to stock. Please stop at our service counter and let us know what you are looking for. 32906 Middlebelt Road at 14 Mile Road 248-855-0007 Delivery Available Locally Owned and Operated by Dan and Julie Sonenberg Vienna Beef products Ron Forman's Deli Nosh Tail Gate Special tMCTPG"OZPGPVS'SFTI%FMJ.FBUT t-BSHF$SJTQZ3ZF#SFBE t$PMF4MBXBOE1PUBUP4BMBE t:PVS$IPJDFPG$IFFTF t"MMPGUIF$POEJNFOUT IPUSFHVMBSNVTUBSEUIPVTBOE JTMBOEESFTTJOHBOENBZP Deli Nosh Carry Out $ 39 99