Michael Fisk and Devon Lind are the co-founders of a startup company here called Photoboxx that bills itself as a social media hashtag printer. The idea behind the business is to generate free, instant images for attendees at large-scale business, social, or entertainment events through the rental of photo printers.

The printers are sturdy metal boxes mounted on a four foot-high stand that house the software and printer

The idea appears to be taking off, says Fisk.

Coca-Cola signed a six-month lease last month with Photoboxx for one of its units, Fisk says. 

“It’s going to be used for their Copa Coca-Cola youth soccer program at tournaments around the U.S.,” he says. “Their ad agency in Chicago reached out to us. They liked our idea, and now they have a Photoboxx.” 

Deschutes Brewery, based in both Bend, Ore., and Portland, also just signed a one-year lease with Photoboxx, Fisk says. In barely 12 months the company’s client roster includes CenturyLink, the Seattle Seahawks, Color Me Rad, Hoopfest, and Bloomsday.

The cost to lease a Photoboxx machine, which uses proprietary software, is $4,000 for a nonrefundable down payment and $1,000 per month thereafter. For one-time events, Photoboxx charges $1,200 for a half day and $1,800 for a full day, Fisk says.

For the moment, neither Fisk nor Lind said they’ve been able to process all that has happened to the business.

“I haven’t had much time to think about how I feel,” Fisk says.

Photoboxx works using the social media networks Instagram and Twitter. Lind created software that can recognize the specific hashtag created by an event’s organizer. A person attending an event can take photos and post them on social media sites. The computer software reads the hashtag set up by the event’s organizers and automatically generates a hard copy of their photos for their personal use, Fisk says.

A hashtag is a digital label used on some social networks that makes it easier for users to find messages or photos with a specific theme.

Fisk is 29, and Lind is 23. They share barely 500 square feet of office space at the Innovation Center at McKinstry Station at 850 E. Spokane Falls Blvd., just south of the Gonzaga University campus. They are Photoboxx’s only full-time employees. Fisk and Lind have the help of seven part-time employees who assist in marketing and sales. Vampd LLC serves as Photoboxx’s parent company and owns and operates the business, Fisk says.

Fisk, a Yakima, Wash., native, operated his own photography business there before moving to Spokane in September 2011. He says he lacks formal training in photography. “I am an avid reader. I’m always reading photography, business, and leadership books just trying to learn all I can,” he says.

He says he and his wife moved their family here mostly to help start True Hope Church with Pastor Ryan Oletzke. True Hope now has two congregations in Spokane—one on the North Side and the other on the South Hill, Fisk says. The True Hope Church at North Spokane holds its congregations at the Service Station at 9315 N. Nevada. That’s where Fisk and Lind met.

Lind earned his undergraduate degree at Whitworth University, where he played wide receiver on the Pirates football team for four years. A native of Othello, Wash., Lind says it was when he and Fisk were setting up True Hope’s website that their “heads clicked,” about the idea of Photoboxx.

“The software wasn’t stable, but I knew what he was trying to do,” Lind said. “I re-wrote it and we went from there.”

Fisk had previously operated a single-camera photo booth in Yakima as part of his business, however, the idea proved to be challenging at bigger events because long lines of people formed when they wanted to take pictures with their friends.

Fisk had some background in coding, and with the use of a wall-hanging garbage bag dispenser, printer, and laptop, devised the first version of Photoboxx in 2012.

“I wanted to put a twist on the photo booth concept and leverage the cameras that everyone already had in their hands,” Fisk says.

Fisk lacked the technical expertise to overcome the hiccups he frequently experienced in trying to properly operate the software. Then Fisk met Lind about a year later. Additionally, Joel Huibregste was brought on to help with product development. With all the parts in place, the three entered Photoboxx in the Inland Northwest Business Plan Competition’s Open Division last year, Fisk says. The event is held annually at Whitworth University

“Out of 130 startups, we took first place and collected a $10,000 prize,” Fisk says. “That solidified Photoboxx as a viable product and a unique service that just made sense with social media soaring. But the print industry is still huge, people still like it—and Photoboxx has effectively merged the two.”

Photoboxx is continuing to market itself locally and regionally, Fiske says. With a small staff and resources they are limited in their marketing efforts. However, they are optimistic that working with Coca-Cola and Deschutes Brewery will lead to more national attention.

“It’s still very early for us,” Fisk says. “But we continue to get a lot of positive feedback and feel like we are on the right path.”