As with many startups, FourShare LLC was born in the basement of the founder's family home. That was in 1999.
Now, the Clemmons, S.C., umbrella company oversees multiple other endeavors from 40,000 square feet of space and is launching construction next month on a 10,000-square-foot warehouse. Construction is expected to be complete by mid-October.
Family member and young entrepreneur Jack Elliott oversees sales and growth for the private equity and venture capital firm and its brands: Battery Watering Technologies LLC, Stanford Manufacturing LLC, Xtreme Defense Face Shield, Paint Masters and Elliott International LLC construction.
"The core of our business revolves around plastic components, and Stanford Manufacturing is our plastic injection molding company," Elliott, 25, said June 15 via email.
Stanford started as a captive operation in 2017, with four presses making components for Battery Watering Technologies. Stanford began taking on outside business in 2021 and now has its 11th press on order. Its machines have clamping forces of 55-1,000 tons.
With 2022 sales of $8 million, Stanford has 27 injection molding employees. FourShare employs 73 in North America, Elliott said.
Stanford's logo features a fire-breathing dragon. There's a short story behind that.
"My dad, the owner, is a big Game of Thrones fan," he said, referring to the popular, dragon-laden TV show that ended in 2019 after eight seasons. "His ringtone is the Game of Thrones theme song."
Elliott has been with the business almost four years, working in many areas from production to customer service, sales and marketing. After learning the ropes, he was promoted to business development director six months ago.
"I oversee all potential acquisitions and growth opportunities," as well as companywide marketing, services and new products, he said.
Elliott noted he is excited about the company's environmental efforts. "One of the things I am most proud of is what we are doing to push sustainability in the plastics industry, and we are just getting started."
More information is coming on that project, he said.
Elliott's parents, Scott and Julie Elliott, founded FourShare. Scott is CEO; Julie is human resources director.
"My dad was on the road trying to grow the business while my mom was handling orders and customer service while caring for me at 2 years old," Jack Elliott said.