FOUNDERS’ STORY
Graduating from high school shortly after the first Iraq War, Bill Quarless and Jordan Pine each ultimately served four years in the military during the 1990s. Bill was an infantryman in the Marines, and Jordan was a paratrooper in the Army. Both were honorably discharged around the same time and went to Rutgers University in New Jersey. To help pay for college and maintain their warrior ways, the two joined the New Jersey National Guard, which is where they first met and became friends. That was 1996.
Bill’s Story
After graduating college, Bill Quarless immediately went to work for a top company in the ‘As Seen on TV’ industry. He was recruited by an associate professor straight out of one of his business classes. He joined as a procurement manager, overseeing the development and production of products in China. In 2000, within 10 days of joining the company, his former professor and new boss sent him to China. He has basically been there ever since.
In 2002, Bill formed Impact Products as a sourcing and supply company for the DRTV industry. Today, Impact has 18 employees in Hong Kong, including engineers, production managers, sourcing experts and quality-control specialists. True to his roots, Bill tries to run the organization like a Marine would. It is a precise operation highly specialized for high-volume DRTV products only. (more about Impact Products)
JORDAN’S STORY
Jordan Pine graduated college with a journalism degree and went to work as a business writer. Soon after, he switched to marketing the online publication for which he worked. A few years later, Bill convinced him to switch industries as well. In 2003, Jordan joined another top company in the DRTV industry. He spent five years there and rose to vice president of marketing.
In 2008, Jordan started his own marketing consulting firm, SciMark Corp. He also created and launched the first blog dedicated to covering the industry, The SciMark Report. Jordan has advised every major TV company in the industry, helping them improve their processes for evaluating new products and perfect their commercials and advertising strategies. As part of this work, he co-pioneered the first system for online sales testing that aligned with ‘As Seen on TV’ metrics. Jordan has also written and served as the creative director for more than 150 commercials and counting. (more about SciMark)
Paragon Products
In the beginning, Bill and Jordan came across many great ideas for products and pitched them to TV companies — essentially for free. They were in it for the manufacturing (Bill via Impact Products) and marketing consulting (Jordan via SciMark). Later, they realized they had all the knowledge, contacts, and resources needed to find and prove out their own hits, significantly increasing their value to the industry. They formalized their processes, combined all of their experience and expertise, and started investing in their own projects. Paragon Products was born.
Paragon is in the business of finding hit items, creating winning commercials, testing and proving them out on TV, and then selecting the best distribution partner. In addition, Paragon develops the items, ensures quality and regulatory compliance, mass produces and supplies the product. Every year since its founding, it has become stronger as its founders meticulously improve its systems and processes. Today, it is not just a product source: It is the go-to company for other product sources. The reason is that Paragon is led with military integrity and a mission to build long-term relationships of trust.