Business & Tech

Redwood City-based Zazzle Takes Over Bay to Breakers Race

After insurance giant ING backed out, the young company stepped in to preserve the longest consecutive running race in the world.

The 100th anniversary of Bay to Breakers just got a little more colorful—and customized. Redwood City-based Zazzle announced last Friday that they will be the title sponsor of the famous footrace, which attracts attendees from over 40 countries around the world, many who wish to do more than just run.

The company’s emphasis on creativity and uniqueness aligns perfectly with the centennial event, where running alongside men dressed in milkmaids’ costumes or a family of Sesame Street characters is considered mild.

“We literally made the decision in a day,” co-founder Jeff Beaver said. “We had a chance to step in and continue a tradition and we jumped on the chance. It was the right thing to do.”

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The race, which is run by AEG, was never at risk of not happening, but organizers were happy to find a sponsor to help shape and manage the  event, said Angela Fang, the race's general manager.

The 50,000 spots sold out nine weeks before the actual event, faster than any other race in the event’s history. But the company announced Thursday that 5,000 more entries were added.

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“When we got involved, we were intent on opening the race experience to as many participants as possible,” Beaver said. “So we’re excited that we can extend this opportunity to even more people.”

But the wildly popular event has had its fair share of obstacles. Complaints about safety, alcohol consumption, and even the number of porta-potties have been persistent problems at the event.

“It takes a lot to effectively shut down an entire city for a day, but we’re up for the challenge,” Beaver said. “Safety is our number one priority.”

This year, there will be increased security and enforcement of the no alcohol or floats rule. Participants won’t have to worry about over-hydrating due to the increase in toilets along the 12-kilometer route.

Because of the significant milestone, Zazzle will feature customizable official gear as well as commemorative shirts. Beaver added that Zazzle plans to infuse more social media into the event, to create a more shared experience in real time with people around the world.

“We grew up in the Bay Area and we know how important this event is,” said Beaver, who had participated in the event when he was young. “It’s a local event with national and historical significance.”

The event has continued even through times of war for 100 years with over 40 countries participating.

 

Zazzle’s beginnings

The company began as a 2005 summer project in a Palo Alto garage, as all Silicon Valley start-ups seem to begin. Brothers Jeff and Bobby Beaver along with their father Robert had the idea to combine the eBay marketplace with on demand customization.

“It’s all about self-expression,” Jeff Beaver said. “This is a different paradigm towards commerce.”

The big break came when Disney held a contest to partner with a company that could print the highest quality customized products. The corporation had no idea the family was working out of their home.

Beaver added that the wholesale model that many retail stores used, of designing a small number of options then mass-producing them, is rapidly changing.

The company offers over 50 top-level product lines (from apparel to buttons) with thousands of specific product skews, totaling nearly 40 billion ways to distinguish yourself from your friends in the Zazzle marketplace, he said.

And the Redwood City home base is ideal for their company, Beaver added.

“We love it here. There’s great weather and we draw our employees from the best in the area,” he said.

Zazzle spokesperson Mike Karns added, “We call this the Emerald City. When you drive in along the long Seaport Blvd., you can see all the buildings with this green-ish tint.”

But the company’s success wasn’t based on any sort of plea to a Wizard of Oz. Beaver rattled off the three crucial elements to Zazzle’s growing popularity:

  1. Quality, and that’s not a cliché lightly thrown around. When customers purchase products from Zazzle, they’re not just buying a standardized beefy t-shirt with some stick-on letters slapped on, Beaver said. For example, when a customer orders customized shoes, the shoes are meant to be worn everyday that can tolerate wear, Beaver said as he showed-off his own kicks with the Zazzle logo printed on them.
  2. 3-D modeling: when customers design the product, they can see exactly what their final product will look like. “The technology depth far surpasses any other site,” Beaver said.
  3. Culture and vision: Zazzle wants to be a platform for any product people can think of. They will customize everything from skateboards to ipad cases.

“And this is why Bay to Breakers is the perfect event for us to sponsor,” Beaver said. “We want to tell people ‘be yourself, do your own thing,’ and hopefully the event can continue for another 100 years.”

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Bay City News contributed to this article.


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