Everyone always brags they have the best team and the best company culture – congrats. We are not making those claims because they seem vague and cliché, but what we do have is a team that has a lot of fun together while doing some incredible things for our partners. Being a truly international company it’s so difficult to shut off. At any given time during the day one of our offices is up and fully operational. That’s why we like to make sure we take the time to relax, get out there, sort of vent, let loose. It’s so important that we have fun in our personal lives as well as in our work place. We have a rule of not hiring assholes… and enjoying the people we work with. Such a simple concept. We’re spending so much time together in the work environment that we really need to make it a point to socialize, unwind and not talk about the office, or shipping or products that we’re doing. If we aren’t laughing, then what’s the point. Ideoli and the energy of the team is contagious… just ask our partners.
Ideoli has quickly become a leader in developing custom furniture elements for international retail, restaurant, hotel and commercial clients. Today we are on site at our furniture factory to give you a glimpse into our manufacturing capabilities. As you can see, we have the capacity for large, multiple location rollouts for the world’s largest chains. For our chairs, it all starts with the spinning of the metal. We can produce enough metal to make thousands of chairs daily. Depending on the product requirements, we use the latest technology in fabrication equipment, such as our CNC machines – carving out the perfect seat imprints. Each seat is hand-stained depending on the finish requirements. Each table top is customized depending on the wood, finish and quality requirements – such as solid, laminate, MDF or other materials. For outdoor metal seating, we have an industrial stamping machine to create patterns on the seat and back. Each and every chair we produced is hand-welded to perfection. That is the only way we can guarantee durability in the fields. Each metal chair frame is passed through the electro-plating painting process. Whether it’s a chair, table base or table top, Ideoli can customize exactly what you need for your national rollout.
“We literally fly to international destinations for a couple meetings in the same day, then head back. It’s what we do. “It’s a little after 10pm and I have a flight boarding in 45 minutes. My GPS says I’ll be at the airport in 55 minutes. So, a good way to start a trip,” says George Stroumboulis, Ideoli CEO and Co-Founder. So what’s the game plan? “Getting ready to hopefully catch a flight to Texas. Connect and then go to Mexico then back here tomorrow night within 21-22 hours,” says George. George got lucky this time, with a flight delay in his favor. On to Texas we go! “Want to get out there and do what we have to do and get home to my family,” says George. After 8 hours of travel, we arrived in Mexico City. “We just landed in beautiful Mexico City in a fantastic ride heading to our first meeting. The city is just vibrant and millions of people everywhere,” says George. Straight to the meetings we go. “We’re sitting here in beautiful Mexico City. I have a meeting in one of the tallest buildings in the Reforma District. Absolutely stunning here from what we’ve seen. Mexico is a big market for us. We started here from a manufacturing standpoint. And now we’re actually coming back here from a client facing standpoint and getting our products into various locations,” says George. That being said, back to the airport we go! Viva Mexico!
Sure, we make some really incredible products for our client’s spaces… but how well can we cook? We like to unwind with the team over some drinks and gourmet cooking lessons! The Ideoli team rented out the luxury-mattress retailer, CocoMat, showroom in SoHo, New York to learn how to cook authentic Greek food. Opa! How fun is this! We learned and mastered how to create four amazing Greek dishes from appetizers to dessert. The team learned that the best ingredients to cook with is all fresh organic ingredients. And lots of olive oil, of course. We also took time in between lessons to try out some luxury mattresses made in Greece and ranging in cost up to $40,000 per mattress. Wow! It was an entertaining night and the Ideoli team discovered that cooking is a great stress reliever. Check back with us to see what food we cooked, and how well it turned out!
California is so sunny all year round… but this week, no sun for us as we are indoors at our client’s warehouse. We’re not perfect, but we are pretty damn close… On a recent order, the client requested a vital component be added after the order left our factory. With some quick thinking and proactive actions, we received the shipment and repaired hundreds of the custom furniture units on site with our superhero team. Within a couple days, we were in and out, making sure the client could proceed with their operations.
Ideoli is a global company based in all parts of the world. Being so extended makes it very important for us to host team summits where we fly in all associates from around the world to strategize in person. We brought in our whole team from around the world, representing 12 different countries and everyone flew in. And there is just magic that happens when everyone is in the same room talking about stuff and team building. It’s a great bonding experience for the Ideoli team to connect together to discuss current projects, new strategies and have a little fun while we’re at it! Because we are spread out all over the world, there is nothing as good as when we’re together. Going through everything, our processes, projects and just every aspect of the company. Sounds like extremely productive meetings – how often do we host these exactly? Seeing what really happens when we’re all together versus being in a remote office it’s just pretty cool. Then you see how every six months when we bring everyone together, it’s growing, everyone’s excited and that’s what we’re all about. It’s unbelievable how we grow too. We need another bigger conference room, a bigger space because we’re hiring that many more people. And the team we’re building is unbelievable and it’s an exciting time. That’s amazing that the team is growing so quickly – and that we all hang out so frequently outside of the office environment. Having activities from bowling to Downtown Manhattan, doing a bunch of fun activities, it’s absolutely awesome. It’s unbelievable what we can accomplish. The results are on another level – until the next team summit!
On a recent trip to Tokyo, Japan, we indulged in some of the most delicious food we have ever experienced. When you hear Japanese – you immediately think of sushi, right? Well, we took a different route on this meal. Our 4 course meal included a delicious Vegetable Salad… steaming Miso Soup… 100% Kobe Beef with Fried Rice… and topped off with authentic Cherry Blossom Ice Cream. And can we just say, that the Kobe Beef was so soft, you didn’t even have to chew. Culinary bliss… what Ideoli is all about.
Our adventures take us South of the Border to beautiful Mexico. Ideoli continues to establish key client partnerships around the globe. “We are back in Mexico and we’re really excited. Last time we were really here to establish our footprint was on the manufacturing side,” says George Stroumboulis, Ideoli CEO and Co-Founder. With continued growth, Ideoli is expanding throughout Latin America. “On the client side, in actually moving our lighting products into the country, today is a first. We’re meeting with some key developers here in the retail and commercial space. We’re really excited to get some of our LED lighting products into their spaces throughout the country,” says George Stroumboulis, Ideoli CEO and Co-Founder. We have meetings with potential clients here to supply their commercial spaces with our high-tech LED lighting fixtures. “Mexico is the gateway to the south, to really get to the Latin America and South America. This is the gateway we really need to get our foot here, present well and trickle it down,” says George Stroumboulis, Ideoli CEO and Co-Founder. Ideoli is motivated to take its business to the next level and establish the footprint needed to penetrate Latin America.
When you walk into a beautiful mall or shopping center, every store is fighting to get your attention. At Ideoli, we’ve inspired several projects for our clients in the most prestigious malls located around the world. We just wrapped a very productive day here in Dubai. We did three different mall visits, looking at five different projects in the retail and restaurant space. We’re super excited to see how our products look and enhance the clients space. From spectacular lighting to custom furnishings and fixtures, Ideoli takes our client’s vision and makes it a reality to invigorate their space. It’s very promising seeing what we’re doing over here and the reaction our clients have. Makes it all worth it. Next time you walk through a mall, chances are, Ideoli has helped invigorate that store you are shopping in.
Our travels take us to the booming city of Tokyo, Japan. Ideoli continues to embed itself in markets around the world – to establish key partnerships. “We are in Japan for the first time as Ideoli for a couple reasons. We are working with some new power supply companies that are based here and their technology is phenomenal. And, we also have some key meetings over here with some end users. Getting into the Japanese market with our lighting products which is also very exciting,” says George Stroumboulis, Ideoli CEO and Co-Founder. Japan is a country with tremendous technology and efficiencies. The business practices here are a gold standard internationally and we have a lot to learn and share with our partners here. “Really exciting to know that Ideoli is going to be in several locations throughout Japan, primarily in Tokyo. It’s an immaculate place to be,” says George. Ideoli is entering the local Japanese market with our advanced LED lighting products – a significant step for our growing business. Join us on our next market-penetrating adventure.
Ideoli’s Co-Founders have established a strong manufacturing footprint in key markets around the world, allowing for a targeted approach when producing and creating custom products. China is strategic to Ideoli’s business model because China is the manufacturing center to the world. Ideoli has offices and an assembly factory in Shanghai with a strong network of subcontractors. When it comes to manufacturing, two of the biggest concerns are the quality of the product and making sure you can deliver the product on time. Chris has been embedded in Asian manufacturing for nearly a decade, establishing strong relationships with key people, setting up dozens of factories and overseeing the efficient production for hundreds of thousands of products. Ideoli has an experienced team here in Shanghai. This allows us full control over everything from incoming component inspection to final quality control. Ideoli’s revolutionary approach to custom manufacturing has decreased the overall production turnaround time – from start to finish. We pride ourselves on how quickly we can take a new product idea, generate physical samples, obtain client approval and move into full production – all in a matter of weeks.
Hey Guys – Ideoli is on the road again and we are glad you can join us. Take a guess where we are at? Just south of the border in historic Mexico. George & Chris are thrilled to have established a manufacturing footprint in the heart of Mexico – servicing the expansion plans of its national account clients. Mexico is a strategic location for ideoli and its clients because of its close proximity to the United States, its advanced manufacturing capabilities and a design flare second to none. We have established a strong manufacturing footprint here in Mexico along with a powerful network of subcontractors. We work with “best in class” subcontractors. Alvaro is based in Guadalajara, Mexico and is a specialist in manufacturing components for Ideoli’s quality products. Alvaro says, “Mexico is a country that can compete world-wide. Our quality is excellent. Ideoli is a competitive company, a visionary company. They have the capabilities to achieve any contract. We manufacture everything from furniture for large restaurant chains, fixturing for hotels to decorative lighting for large international retail brands.” As our clients continue to grow in North and South America, Ideoli needs to be in Mexico to help support their expansion goals. Ideoli has helped make the world a smaller place for its clients by understanding key international markets and establishing a business presence that matters.