Our annual picks of the industry’s rising stars – a brave, bold group that’s trailblazing a unique path to success.

Marcia Tarnoff

Blank2Branded (asi/141113)

Tarnoff was 13 years into a lucrative career in promo product sales when she decided to leave the company she was with and start her own distributorship. The hardworking “Jersey Girl” felt going independent would empower her to provide the best creative, values-driven service – a formula that she believed would lead to even greater success. “I went from making a very respectable living back to zero,” Tarnoff says. “I had to start all over, but I knew it was the right thing to do.”

Four years since founding Blank2Branded (asi/141113), Tarnoff and her team are thriving. Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Avis Budget Group are among the clients happy to be working with Blank2Branded. Annual sales growth has been robust. “We’re small and lean with a wide reach,” says Tarnoff. “Our strategy involves aligning with amazing partners to enhance our global presence.”

While Tarnoff leads the way as president and founder, she’s quick to praise her Blank2Branded crew, saying each team member’s expertise is essential to rounding out the distributorship’s core competencies.

Her team is fast to return the praise, sharing how Tarnoff’s creativity and leadership were instrumental in Blank2Branded besting some 50 other firms to win the right to create employee-facing branded merchandise web stores for Macy’s. From that initial relationship, Tarnoff has led the way in proactively building the account to where Blank2Branded now provides a spectrum of solutions, including awards and recognition items. “Her tireless efforts as the owner of a small WBNEC-certified woman-owned business have brought us some amazing opportunities,” says Renee Chirico, Blank2Branded’s VP of operations/finance.

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