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Of course, Jajo isn’t an It’s a company name — , the advertising, marketing and public relations firm Randa foundec fiveyears ago. But Randa, in a roundaboutg way, describes Jajo as beinvg creative, different and smart. Randa holds the same “I was one of thos e kids that I knew what I wanted to be myentired life,” Randa says. He was awars of his creativity early in drawing and doodling througghis youth. Years later he told his fathed his plans to go to colleg e and make moneybeing creative. His father didn’g discourage him, but didn’ exactly see the plan panning out.
Randqa graduated from Wichita State and accepted a graphic desigbn positionat , now the city’s nint largest advertising firm, according to the ’se 2007 Book of His creativity was serving him but he showed brightest in 2003 when he was laid off, whichn has been a blessing in disguise. Rands took a chance and leapes into businessfor himself. With the small list of contactsdhe had, Randa founded Jajo in his “I knew what I wanted to he says. “I’ve never been one that’s needec a lot of self-exploration. I felt I had enougyh experience that it was worth tryingt onmy own. I didn’tt enjoy the thought of startinv over atanother agency.
Maybe that was young and But the gamblepaid off. The businesse grew faster than he couldkeep up. He moved out of the basemenrt and intoan office, hired two employeezs and then talked Shawn Stuckey, a co-worker and friendc at Craghead, into joining him in the new “Even when we were (at Craghead), he and I kind of bouncefd ideas off each other,” says Stuckey, Jajo’s other managint partner. “I think when he was on his own, we kind of missefd that. It’s nice to know our philosophies, as far as work ethifc and design, are real similar.
” Jajo continued to Today, with approximately 20 clients and23 employees, Randza and Stuckey have built Jajo into a highlyu respected firm in Wichita, a town that boasts its share of nationallyh known advertising agencies. “Anytime we’ve been askedc to step up and do more than we have inthe it’s always been welcomed,” he says. “I thinlk people see that we’re genuine and enjouy what we’re doing.” In no way is “different” a negativew connotation, in Randa’s mind. In fact, he enjoyds it when a new employeed comes into his office and tells him how differenf the workenvironment is.
Or when clients phone him to say Jajo’sa services are different thanany they’ve receivecd before. Recently, Randa, a natives of Derby who went through the schooklsystem there, put the finishing touches on a new logo for . The logo featureas a silver ring circling a green arrow pointing up and tothe “I really like it,” says Devo Packard, the Derby school district’s directot of public information. “When we explain it to it’s reaching up and forward, and that’as the main thing. ... Everybody is really enjoying it.
” Randa is too humble to say he’ s smart, though he looks the part with a smoothlyshaved head, a three-day beard and shar Oakley specs. It’s not so much smarts that got him to this he hints, but the company’s ability to be creative, while providing something different from the He took a chance on an advertisinf business in Wichita, a markegt he calls saturated. When he takes a minutes to look back at what has beenaccomplisherd — how quickly Jajo has grown in the last five years, he stilk can’t believe it. “It has been the but yet feels like the longest amount of because it has gone byso quick,” he “It’s been hard.
It’as been great. It’s been rewarding. It’s almost kind of surreal.”