Kevin Scharnek, president of 14 West LLC (asi/197092), had no idea when he delivered a single customized jersey to a 25-employee advertising agency that the business would become one of his most important and enduring accounts. “I’m not exaggerating when I say that project incredibly influenced the trajectory of my career,” says Scharnek.

Scharnek’s own company was in its early stages of development when he first met with the agency in the mid-1990s. The meeting was scheduled for 10 a.m., and when it ended at 11, he had an order to deliver one customized Red Dog beer baseball jersey with the name ‘Foxworthy’ on the back at 5 p.m. for the comedian Jeff Foxworthy to wear at a performance that same night.

“When I left the meeting, I was so mad that they’d think this was even possible. But we nailed it,” says Scharnek. “The agency was impressed because it made them look good to their client. And for me, it was like a walk-off home run in Game 7 of the World Series in the bottom of the ninth to win the game,” in terms of the goodwill – and future business – it generated.

To this day, that jersey remains the quickest project turnaround he’s ever done, and that small agency ended up becoming a global agency with offices and employees worldwide.

“I’ve developed dozens of lifelong relationships as a result of that first order,” Scharnek says. “It was like fertilizer for my book of business.” The agency remains an important customer. At its peak, the agency has produced revenues of $2 million, and its low point averaged about $100,000. The many relationships Scharnek built within that company continued as different employees left the company and moved on in their careers and became important customers in their new positions.