Name
EJ Schaefer
Company
Books on
a Whim
Growing up as the daughter of an English
teacher, EJ Schaefer has always had a
penchant for storytelling. As a kid, she would
write fake student papers and sneakily place
them into her dad’s pile of papers to grade to
see if he would notice. Although the pranks
have stopped, the fake papers are far from over
Name
Vinnie and
John Suozzi
Company
The Ring Weeder
Here’s the story of a father and son to remind
you to not let a good idea go to waste! Vinnie
had worked as a landscaper for over 30 years,
but when he came up with a great new idea
while gardening... he sorta just let it sit there. It
wasn’t until he was encouraged by his son
Stephen (and Stephen’s college roommate)
— they’ve become her business! EJ’s publishing
company, Books on a Whim, writes and
publishes humorous books, parodies on pop
culture and politics, and of course her
infamous fake papers.
EJ found 99designs to be the perfect platform
to help her bring the make-believe into reality.
”For each story I write, I have a very specific
idea of what picture I want. Thanks to the
diversity of designers on 99designs, I have the
opportunity to choose which designer best
captures each concept.” Her stories may be
imaginary, but after holding over 50 contests
and 1:1 projects, we think it’s safe to say EJ’s
love for 99designs is real. Teacher? Give this
student an A+.
during Thanksgiving dinner that Vinnie
decided to launch The Ring Weeder.
The first step was launching a wildly successful Kickstarter — Bob Vila even ranked them in
a top ten list for Best Kickstarter Inventions for
the Home! Next, they turned to 99designs to
create a point of sale display that would attract
customers in the real world. The end result? A
happy family affair with Vinnie’s sons helping
get the business off the ground and his wife,
Anna, helping network... And to think, it all
started with a little push.