Business career Jay Steinfeld

1 business career

1.1 meineke discount mufflers
1.2 laura’s draperies/nobrainerblinds
1.3 blinds.com
1.4 global custom commerce, inc. (gcc)

business career
meineke discount mufflers

in 1979, steinfeld moved houston, texas, , began working meineke discount mufflers franchisor vp of finance. while @ meineke, steinfeld developed targeted marketing program helped find franchises in smaller markets. worked clarify franchise contracts increase accountability. during steinfeld’s seven-year tenure, meineke discount mufflers grew 35 franchises on 900 locations nationwide.

steinfeld cites time @ meineke discount mufflers inspirational experience sought @ kpmg-peat marwick.

i learning more business auditing companies… loved seeing growth. loved seeing ability establish formula of success, franchise is.

steinfeld left meineke following 1983 acquisition gkn.

laura’s draperies/nobrainerblinds

while working @ meineke discount mufflers, jay steinfeld explored possibility of franchising window coverings businesses. after leaving meineke, steinfeld , wife decided purchase , run chain of drapery , blinds stores called laura’s draperies. following birth of third steinfeld child in 1990, steinfeld merged businesses 1 location , took sole responsibility store management.

in 1993, steinfeld read article in trade magazine world wide web. decided set website, www.lauras.com, , establish online presence physical laura’s draperies location. original website did not include e-commerce components; instead displayed advertisement store , detailed catalog of products. steinfeld started selling products online in 1996 after investing $3,000 have second website, www.nobrainerblinds.com, built make “buying blinds , shades no-brainer.” while online ordering marginally increased traffic, steinfeld remembers, “...hoping sale day then.”

at time, steinfeld employee of nobrainerblinds.com. took phone calls on personal cell phone while driving , laura’s draperies appointments. although manually inputting customer information, steinfeld utilized answering services , template forms make business seem more established.

in 2001, increasing success of internet venture, steinfeld sold laura’s draperies focus on online business. acquired blinds wholesale, e-commerce window covering retailer based in st. augustine, fl, allowed online purchasers use shopping cart feature automatically tallied prices of selected products.

blinds.com

in 2004, steinfeld supplemented nobrainerblinds.com , blindswholes.com website “blinds.com.” company gained quick recognition , named 1 of internet’s fastest growing “e-tailers” internet retailer in 2005.

steinfeld created , maintains business model encourages associates adhere 4 core values. values are: 1) improve continuously, 2) experiment without fear of failure, 3) , speak up, , 4) enjoy ride. form basis of blinds.com’s strong sense of corporate culture, has been recognized houston’s best , brightest companies work in medium business overall category.

in january 2014, blinds.com acquired national home improvement retailer home depot.

global custom commerce, inc. (gcc)

gcc 20-year old technology , direct marketing organization, specializes in driving sales of hard-to-buy configurable products. e-commerce platform built in-house , company operates domestic-based contact center operation.

acquired in january 2014 home depot, wholly owned b2b subsidiary drives seamless integration of home-improvement retail via internet, on phone, , in physical home depot locations.

the culture of global custom commerce highly entrepreneurial, dedicated transforming retail associates.

although company specialized in window treatments, intention expand configurable product , service categories.