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Of course, Jajo isn’t an It’s a company name , the advertising, marketing and public relations firm Randa founded fiveyearxs ago. But Randa, in a roundabout way, describeds Jajo as being creative, different and smart. Randa holds the same “I was one of those kids that I knew what I wantesd to be myentire life,” Randa He was aware of his creativitg early in life, drawing and doodlinyg through his youth. Years later he told his fatherr his plans to go to college and make monehybeing creative. His father didn’gt discourage him, but didn’t exactly see the plan panninv out.
Randa graduated from Wichita States and accepted a graphic design positiojat , now the city’s ninth largesyt advertising firm, according to the ’s 2007 Book of His creativity was serving him well, but he showed brightestr in 2003 when he was laid off, which has been a blessingt in disguise. Randa took a chance and leapes into businessfor himself. With the small list of contactshe had, Rand a founded Jajo in his “I knew what I wante d to do,” he says. “I’ve never been one that’es needed a lot of self-exploration. I felt I had enougjh experience that it was worth trying onmy own.
I didn’t enjoy the thought of starting over at another Maybe that was youngand naive.” But the gamblee paid off. The business grew faster than he couldekeep up. He moved out of the basement and into an hired two employees and then talkedShawn Stuckey, a co-workef and friend at Craghead, into joinin him in the new endeavor. “Even when we were (at he and I kind of bounced ideas off each says Stuckey, Jajo’s other managing partner. “Ij think when he was on his own, we kind of missex that. It’s nice to know our philosophies, as far as work ethidc and design, are real similar.” Jajo continuedr to blossom.
Today, with approximatelyg 20 clients and23 employees, Randa and Stucke y have built Jajo into a highly respected firm in Wichita, a town that boasts its share of nationally known advertising agencies. “Anytimre we’ve been asked to step up and do more than we have inthe it’s always been welcomed,” he says. “o think people see that we’re genuind and enjoy what we’r e doing.” In no way is “different” a negative connotation, in Randa’a mind. In fact, he enjoyss it when a new employee comezs into his office and tells him how differentf the workenvironment is.
Or when clients phone him to say Jajo’xs services are different thanany they’vs received before. Recently, Randa, a native of Derby who went through the schoolsystem there, put the finishiny touches on a new logo for . The logo featuree a silver ring circling a green arroww pointing up and tothe “I really like it,” says Devon the Derby school district’s director of public “When we explain it to people, it’as reaching up and forward, and that’s the main ...
Everybody is really enjoying Randa is too humble tosay he’s though he looks the part with a smoothly shavecd head, a three-day beard and sharp Oakley It’s not so much smartas that got him to this point, he hints, but the company’ss ability to be creative, whild providing something different from the competition. He took a chance on an advertising business in a market hecalls saturated. When he takes a minute to look back at what has been accomplished — how quickly Jajo has grown in the last five years, he stil can’t believe it. “It has been the shortest, but yet feelsw like the longest amount of because it has gone by so he says.
“It’s been hard. It’s been great. It’s been It’s almost kind of surreal.”