Ranger Up

Ranger Up is an American apparel company that is owned and operated by military veterans. Their T-shirt designs typically involve themes from the armed forces, mixed martial arts, and historical figures.[1]

History

The company was founded in 2006 by Nick Palmisciano, a former US Army infantry officer. While working on his MBA at Duke University, Palmisciano began making T-shirts for ROTC students and selling them to military personnel as a way to stay connected to the community. Since then the brand has become a Top 1,000 internet vendor[2] and has utilized its success to run programs for other veteran entrepreneurs.[3]

According to its founder, Ranger Up believes strongly in empowering other veterans to share their skills and talent with the private sector.[4] They launched their line of premium Ranger Up Jeans in 2013 with the help of notable celebrity veterans like Brian Stann. According to the website Internet Retailer, one of the big reasons for Ranger Up’s growth has been its ability to take advantage of social media. An article from January 7, 2014 stated that “Ranger Up’s Facebook posts and YouTube videos not only make people laugh, they also inspire them to pass the content on to friends,”[5] making it second on the list of Internet Retailer’s Social Media 500—a list of companies that best use social media outlets to promote their business.

In 2014, the company started a "vetreprenuer" program that entailed hiring veterans for one year, and then backing their start-up venture for another six months.[6] “We have an opportunity to take somebody, teach them everything we know and set them up for success,” Palmisciano said in an interview with Fox News. “They can go through all the challenges that we went through, but with a little support and go out there and be successful.”

In 2016, the company was worth $20 million.[7]

The Rhino Den

Ranger Up started a website called The Rhino Den as a place for the staff to share stories about their military experience. It has covered topics such as the United States federal government shutdown of 2013 and how it affected military families to United States military veteran suicides.[8][9]

Range 15

In 2015, Ranger Up collaborated with another Veteran run apparel company, Article 15 Clothing, to produce the feature length indie film, Range 15. The movie cost $1.8 million to make, with $1.1 million raised via crowdfunding on Indiegogo. Range 15 premiered at the GI Film Festival in Washington, D.C., where it took the GI Choice Film Award. It later opened to the public at more than 350 theaters nationwide.[10]

References
  1. Caron, Nick. "MMA Interview with Ranger Up Apparel CEO Nick Palmisciano, and T-Shirt Giveaway!". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  2. Bacon, Lance. "Army vet's Ranger Up invades Top 1,000 Internet vendors". Army Times. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  3. Serie, Jonathan. "Ranger Up: Helping veterans become entrepreneurs". Fox News. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  4. Caron, Nick. "MMA Interview with Ranger Up Apparel CEO Nick Palmisciano, and T-Shirt Giveaway!". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  5. Zaroban, Stephanie. "How RangerUp.com drives big sales from Facebook". internet RETAILER. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  6. Serrie, Jonathan (2015-03-20). "Entrepreneurial military veterans pay it forward". Fox News. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  7. Bova, Dan (2016-06-15). "How This Army Veteran Turned His Hobby Into a $20 Million Business". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  8. "'I have PTSD ... So what?' Army veteran's essay resonates". NBC News. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  9. Cooper, Elise. "Suicide in the Armed Forces: Not a Disgrace". American Thinker. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  10. Lilley, Kevin (2017-08-07). "Vet-made zombie-comedy 'Range 15' debuts in more than 350 theaters". Army Times. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
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