Learn the backstory on how Kevin Kamis graduated during a pandemic and founded Launch Kit, a transparent, collaborative, and authentic marketing agency.
It was the spring of 2020. The United States was in full COVID-19 shutdown. Kevin Kamis had just graduated from Grand Valley State University with double undergraduate degrees in Marketing and General Management.
For the past two years, Kevin had spent his spare time working on freelance creative projects for small businesses in Michigan. These creative projects included logo design, graphic design, web design, photography, and videography. He worked on these projects with his college roommate and best friend, Frankie LaPenna. Frankie would focus on videography/photography, and Kevin would focus on design and business operations.
During Kevin's time at Grand Valley, he pursued these freelance projects instead of doing the traditional internship. He chose this route because of the impact he could directly make on local small businesses. Seeing the difference a brand identity, website, or photo/video content could have on a business fulfilled him and motivated him to keep going.
Small family businesses had a place in Kevin's heart after growing up in an entrepreneurial family. At the time, the Kamis family owned Alpine Golf Club in Grand Rapids, Michigan. During the years 2013 - 2020, the business wasnt doing very well. It needed a facelift. Kevin looked for a local company that could help with marketing. He found plenty of marketing agencies; however, they were all incredibly vague about what core services they actually provided, how much working with them would cost, and how long projects would take. They were good at building fancy-looking websites and using industry lingo but not so good at being transparent and down to earth.
This was the initial spark to create a new form of marketing agency, one that focused on clarity, collaboration, authenticity, and accessibility. One that had a physical office you could visit. In-house, full-time staff. Worked directly on their client projects, with no outsourcing. And a website that lets you browse their offerings, see pricing and timelines, and get started today.
This was the initial formation of Launch Kit as we know it.
