In 2017, with a long history of pin trading behind us, at the ages of 8, 11, and 13, GoPinPro® was born.
We didn’t set out to start a business. All we wanted was for our pins to be safe and not get lost. What started as a hobby and a love of pin trading magically became a business and we wouldn’t have it any other way! For us, it takes the help of our entire family to make our business so successful!
It all began when our family would travel from NY to Walt Disney World with our grandma, who we called, Baba. On our first trip to Disney, Baba would let us choose a lanyard and a few of our favorite pins. This became our favorite tradition and with each passing trip, we added pins to our lanyard. Each pin became a special memory and told a story of our special time with our Baba. We proudly displayed our treasured pins on our lanyards as most pin traders do. At the end of a long day at the park, it wasn’t uncommon to realize one of our special pins had fallen off. This is a common struggle among pin traders, but at the time we weren’t aware all pin traders shared the same problems...yet.
At the ages of 7, 6, and almost 3, our family moved to the Orlando area and our occasional Disney trips became a new way of Florida life. We would spend weekends pin trading at the parks with guests and cast members. Our pin collection grew and so did our love for pin trading and collecting!
We found that pin collections require a place to store pins and the pin books that were available were not at all user friendly. Lanyards were extremely uncomfortable and became a nuisance when going on rides. When we realized how many of our special pins would go missing after falling off of our lanyards, we became determined to find the solution.
Many pins are extremely rare with limited editions and are valuable, we purchased pin books to protect and store our pins. With countless PINjuries using the only method available, blindly sticking your hand into a sleeve to pierce a pin through to place a back on to secure pin to the pin book, and after fumbling with pin backs on lanyards with each pin traded,we quickly realized there had to be a better way to
trade and store pins and that is how PinFolio® was born.
PinFolio® is the solution we created in 2017, after realizing that pin trading is a hobby to be enjoyed, not endured. We began by compiling a list of common problems the pin trading community struggled with, and we slowly started to create a pin book that fit the needs of the pin community.
Our story began as we experimented with various materials before finding what we were looking for. We crafted our first PinFolios right at home and as we began using PinFolios for trading at the parks, we noticed a lot of attention swirling around as we walked around trading pins effortlessly without needing pin backs.. We were approached by many individuals and families inquiring about where to buy our PinFolios. When we explained we made them, they eagerly asked where we sold them. We had no intention of selling them, until we were stopped over and over by fellow pin traders of all ages inquiring where to purchase our PinFolio!
Our parents told us how important it is to have a brand presence, a unique name to call your product so it is instantly recognizable to your customer and to differentiate your product from the rest of the marketplace. We spent a couple of days and hundreds of ideas coming up with the names PinFolio® and GoPinPro®.
With the help of our mom, we decided to list some "PinFolios" online for sale and we were amazed they would sell quickly and we would make more to replenish our stock. Quickly, people were purchasing more for friends or family members who also wanted a PinFolio.
We realized we had created a product that solved the problems most pin traders faced. This is when the three kids from GoPinPro attended trade shows to seek out manufacturing options and the ability to grow as a business. Since our creation of PinFolio, we have remained the industry leader with our patent pending, revolutionary Stick’N’Go™ technology for holding enamel pins. We have grown our product line, selling over 50,000 units worldwide.
We are grateful for the meaningful opportunities such as speaking alongside the former Vice President of Magic Kingdom to a room of fellow entrepreneurs, to presenting to classrooms of hopeful entrepreneurs, and being featured on a Fox Business segment with the Original Shark from Shark Tank, Kevin Harrington. We have been commissioned to design lapel pins and customize PinFolios for business owners, speakers, and for Downtown Orlando. We have attended many networking events as well as selling out of our products as MegaCon in Orlando and D23 in Anaheim vendor.
We love hosting our own GoPinPro® pin trading nights near Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
It has been our absolute pleasure to donate over $15,000 to Give Kids the World, a nonprofit resort that provides weeklong stays to children with life threatening illnesses and their families. We have recently created pins and proceeds will be donated to the organization RAINN, the nations largest anti sexual violence organization.
