GroupGreeting with Founder Anthony Doctolero

Filling the Gratitude Gap with Group Greeting Founder Anthony Doctolero

Today’s guest on The Give Back Model is Anthony Doctolero, founder of GroupGreeting, an online digital card provider used by over ten thousand workplaces, including 80% of the Fortune 500 list. Anthony wanted his company to stand for making a difference, so a portion of each GroupGreeting card sent is put toward planting trees in areas hit hard by deforestation and wildfires. Anthony opens the episode by sharing the inspiration for GroupGreeting—a photo album sent all over the country and filled by many friends before being presented as a birthday gift. While it was an awesome idea, Anthony wondered if there was a more efficient way to do it digitally, which led to the creation of GroupGreeting. However, between starting a family and needing a steady income, it took nine years for Anthony to start running the site full-time, growing it month over month until the COVID pandemic hit, at which point the business really took off

GroupGreeting’s year-over-year percentage growth in 2020 was 4,000%, which Anthony credits to the desire for remote workers to maintain their work relationships and still celebrate events together. He discusses the importance of expressing gratitude and appreciation in corporate environments and the challenge of maintaining that as remote working became the norm, with his company helping huge corporations fill the gratitude gap and maintain social connections within their teams. Anthony then talks about GroupGreeting’s give-back partnership with One Tree Planted, why he wanted to give back to the environment, and the success of the model so far, with over 125,000 trees planted and counting. And he finishes the episode by sharing his biggest challenges and most fulfilling achievements over the thirteen years he’s been cultivating GroupGreeting, including the satisfaction of facilitating one-on-one moments of appreciation and gratitude between people.

For more information and other episodes on companies and entrepreneurs who give back, please visit TheGiveBackModel.com. That’s where you can also let Christine know about companies you’ve found that give back, and check out The Give Back Model merchandise, where $5 for every sale goes to non-profit organizations. Thanks for listening!

Episode Highlights:

Anthony’s journey to going all-in on GroupGreeting

The impact of remote working on work relationships

GroupGreeting’s give-back partnership with One Tree Planted

Anthony’s plans for growth and his biggest challenge

Anthony’s most fulfilling achievements

Quotes:

“I was one of those kids that would buy candy at a discount at Costco and sell it on the playground, or in high school, we would do fundraisers and car washes, but I kind of treated it like a business. And there was always this thing in me that, like, had this business entrepreneurial aspect.”

“All those people were at home, not connected to the people they’re seeing every day. And at the same time, there’s birthdays, there’s things that were going on, and work anniversaries, so they still wanted to celebrate. So they searched out on the search engines and found us, and we were only one of only maybe three or four people who are offering it. And it just kind of took off from there.”

“We thought, as business owners, this really is our chance to make a company whatever we want. And we wanted to stand for making a difference, not only in the lives of the companies and the customers we work with but also the environment. So we were like, let’s just do it, who cares whether we succeed or we don’t succeed, at least we tried, and we tried to help the environment.”

“It’s kind of like planting a tree, you know, you put the seed in the ground, you give it water, and you give it the right sun and soil and etc. But it doesn’t grow the next day, right? But what it’s doing, if you’re consistent, and you’re watering and whatnot, it’s growing its root system, and that’s going to propel it to grow one day. And I think that’s what, if I had to talk to someone who’s starting out, I would just say patience and focus.”

“Each card has anywhere from one message to, I think the most is we’ve had 2,500 people sign one card. So we’ve sent over 65 million messages through these cards. And I think having that impact—and you know that 99.9% of those were all positive, encouraging, well-wishes—feeling that is very gratifying.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel

Use Code: THEGIVEBACKMODEL (for 50% off your first card)

www.groupgreeting.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonydoctolero/