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Charleston Business

#18 - Vapor Apparel

Nov 01, 2017 11:52AM ● By Emily Stevenson
#18 Vapor Apparel
Charleston, S.C. 
Christopher Bernat (pictured), Chief Revenue Officer and Jackson Burnett IV, President

Vapor Apparel, a dba of Source Substrates, LLC, is a textile company that offers digital printing and print-on-demand services to print text and designs on blank apparel. Founded in 2004, the company is headquartered in North Charleston and has distributors in Canada, Australia, and Europe. Vapor Apparel creates fabrics with sun protection, moisture wicking, and durability.

What are the keys to your company’s rapid growth?
We have a high-quality product that serves a number of unique vertical markets, including print-on-demand for e-commerce. This coupled with a great team has driven the growth over the past three to four years.

What do you see as your company’s greatest opportunities in the future?
Continued growth in business-to-consumer business and our in-house retail brands for specialty retailers and outfitters.

What are your biggest challenges and how do you plan to overcome them?
Systems improvement that allows the company to scale and continuing to find good people.

What advice can you offer someone just starting a business?
Make sure you are solving a problem for people who have the resources to pay you for solving it.

What is your strategy for innovation?
Listen to the market. Speak with partners and customers to identify new products that hit the mark.

How is your company legally structured?
Our company is a South Carolina-based LLC.