Tiny greeting card company scores big on Internet

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), May 10, 1999 by Sandy Shore Associated Press

BOULDER, Colo. -- Stephen and Susan Polis Schutz were flower children in the Sixties. Now they deliver the passion of that era on artful greeting cards.

Their 23-year-old son Jared is a tightly wound computer entrepreneur. He's delivering his parents' messages too, but at the lightning speed of the Internet.

The blend of the parents' creative juices and their son's business acumen has transformed the family's Blue Mountain Arts into one of the most popular Web sites. Millions of Internet users visit www.bluemountain.com to send free electronic messages for birthdays, anniversaries, all the major holidays and some little-known ones too. In February, Blue Mountain was ranked the 10th most visited Web site, surpassing Amazon.com and eBay, according to Media Matrix, a marketing research firm. "We don't consider any of the other electronic greeting card companies to be competition," said Jared Schutz, who handles business development for both Blue Mountain operations. "Our main competition is going to be the other top 10 sites." The Web site dominates the Internet greeting card business -- even though Blue Mountain Arts holds less than 1 percent of the traditional greeting card business. Its secret is a well-stocked supply of electronic cards, ranging from wriggling, singing animated animals to Shakespearean sonnets. It's ready for almost any occasion, even the Chinese Lantern Festival and Bastille Day. "Every day at Blue Mountain.com is like 10 years at Blue Mountain Arts," Schutz said. "It's more hectic now, probably the most hectic it's ever been because of the Web site." Analysts believe the company gained an edge by launching the site in 1996 when most businesses were still figuring out how to take advantage of the technology. "It's a completely remarkable phenomenon even for the Web," said Drew Ianni, an online advertising analyst for Jupiter Communications. "I would be hardpressed to think that any company could do what they have done starting out from scratch today." The strength of the company comes from the Schutzes, who met in New Jersey while he was a graduate student in physics at Princeton and she was getting a bachelor's degree in English at Ryder University. They protested the Vietnam War and rallied for farm laborers in California, driving an older car nicknamed Freedom that was decorated with psychedelic hearts and flowers. They married in 1969 and relocated to Boulder, where Stephen Schutz worked at an atmospheric agency and his wife nurtured a writing career. It was their desire to work together that prompted them to put one of her poems and his artwork on a silkscreen poster. They talked the manager of a bookstore into selling a dozen on consignment. As other stores followed suit, the Schutzes created Blue Mountain Arts in their home, renting out the main floor, and living and working in the basement. Schutz's poems are words of love, hope and encouragement inspired by her family. Her husband's artwork is mostly in pastel shades, with silhouettes of people, trees and plants. "We thought if we could sell our posters around the country, then we could travel, be together and have a great time," Schutz said. "We took all the money we had and put it on a down payment for a pickup truck and put a camper on it... that's how we supported ourselves." Their three children were bundled along for the cross-country trips, sometimes sitting in baby carriages at their parents' side at trade shows. The company gradually branched into books, stationery and other products. Stephen Schutz got the idea for a Web site as a way to keep in touch with his son while he was getting a political science degree at Princeton. The younger Schutz has been the driving force behind trying to make it profitable. Since the cards are free, the publishing company has financed the site, a cost that has grown significantly in recent years. "It's a major business right now, but the money is going one way and it's out," Schutz said. "It has to become a business." Her son has added subtle advertising that pops up only after a user sends a card. He also founded an online flower delivery service, Proflowers.com, which allows customers to order direct from the grower for delivery by Federal Express. He said the cost savings to consumers is about 40 percent. Although the family does not typically disclose sales figures, Jared Schutz estimated that Proflowers did $1 million in sales in February. The Web site's success also has boosted sales by 20 percent a year for the publishing company, he said. Today, the company has about 140 employees, including artists, designers and Web site specialists. Jared Schutz is looking to add businesses to the site, but the Schutzes firmly believe the cards should remain free. "Our mission is helping people around the world communicate their deepest feelings," Schutz said. "We're going to keep it free."