PromoKitchen’s Recipe For Success: Mentoring The Future Of Branded Merch

Like most newcomers to the branded merchandise industry, Carson Roncketto had no idea what she was getting into.

After a three-year stint as chief learning officer at a national nonprofit, the University of Arkansas graduate joined distributor Superdeluxe as COO. Although the C-suite was familiar to her, promo was a foreign land. The intricacies, jargon, structure, major players, relationships – Roncketto didn’t know what she didn’t know.

Superdeluxe CEO Steve McBee, who encouraged her to come to the company, sent Roncketto to commonsku’s skucamp and The PPAI Expo for exposure to the industry. Her interest piqued, Roncketto aimed to find where like-minded business owners hung out outside of trade shows and conferences.

The answer: PromoKitchen.

Registering for the nonprofit’s mentorship program, she was paired with Robert Fiveash, co-founder and co-president of Brand Fuel, PPAI 100’s No. 29 distributor, and a founding chef of PromoKitchen. The duo discussed everything from understanding finances to managing employee issues to having a business partner.

As our industry truly develops in its complexity, people are hungrier than ever for support and connection.”

Carson Roncketto

Immediate Past Chair, PromoKitchen’s Mentorship Committee

“Robert was so disarming from the beginning,” says Roncketto, now a partner at Superdeluxe. “He didn’t make me feel like a mentee. He made me feel like a fellow colleague in the industry and made it clear that he felt like he had something to learn from me, too, which created a lot of comfort and trust for me.”

It has been eight years since their dialogue began. Fiveash is still involved with PromoKitchen, and his mentee just so happens to have transformed the program she attributes to her success.

Donning The Apron

Heading into January 2011, a group of young promo pros – representing a cross section of suppliers, distributors and service providers – exchanged emails about the need for an independent voice in the industry that was willing to talk about controversial topics.

Maybe the folks who comprise that voice could also share ideas, projects, mistakes and anything else that was important to some of the smaller firms driving the industry. So, at an ASI event in Dallas, the cadre gathered in a conference room and discussed how to institutionalize such an entity. And, of course, that organization came to be known as… The Future Group.

Eh, not for long. The name quickly changed to PromoKitchen – the idea being that a kitchen is where people gather, collaborate, experiment and create something better together.

“It was intentionally un-corporate, which helped it stand out in a fairly traditional industry,” says PPAI Board Chair Danny Rosin, CAS, co-founder and co-president of Brand Fuel. “It sounded cool, had a unique brand vibe, had an available URL and there were lots of fun metaphors we could riff off of,” adds Mark Graham, co-founder and president of commonsku.

• Rosin, Graham and Bobby Lehew, chief content officer at commonsku, are among the founding chefs of PromoKitchen. You can find the list here.
• Of that group, Jonathan Irvin, Michael Legel and Charley Johnson were instrumental in gathering the right people to flesh out the original crew, Fiveash says.  
• SanMar, Gemline, Hit Promotional Products and PPAI are credited with being the four founding supporters of PromoKitchen.

As the rapid name change symbolizes, the all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit is rooted in learning. PromoKitchen’s goal is to advance the industry through educational discussions (in the form of blogs, podcasts and videos) covering myriad subjects. Fiveash takes pride in the organization refusing to stray from sensitive issues like referral fees for suppliers and the #MeToo Movement.

I’m certain that I’ve learned more than I’ve taught in my various mentorship experiences.”

Robert Fiveash

Founding Chef, PromoKitchen

The other pillar of PromoKitchen is mentorship. From the organization’s inception, industry novices sought guidance and support from their more experienced peers. “People getting into the industry thought putting a logo on a pen was easy,” Fiveash says. “They didn’t understand how complicated it is to get an order from beginning to end.”

Season To Taste

Roncketto, immediate past chair of PromoKitchen’s Mentorship Committee, has overseen the evolution of the program – from its origin of chefs researching registrants and playing matchmaker to becoming a Facebook group to transitioning to various software platforms.

“Carson came onto the scene and said there’s a way to modernize and upgrade what we’re doing to make it scalable and more impactful to more people in an easier way,” Fiveash says. “Carson and her crew have been instrumental in taking the mentorship program to the next level.”

PromoKitchen now hosts its mentorship program on a software platform called Together, which puts the pairing power into the hands of the mentee. Here’s how it works:

• Mentors create their own profile.
• Once mentees register, they can access those profiles through the mentor directory.
• To refine the search, the platform also has algorithmic features that make suggested matches based on what’s in each person’s profile.
• For example, if you’re a green account executive at a mom-and-pop distributorship and want to pair with a seasoned sales vet at one of the largest distributors in the industry, the algorithm can offer possible mentors for you to contact.

And yes, the onus is on the mentees to make the connection with their desired mentor. How long that relationship lasts is entirely up to the participants. PromoKitchen recommends a minimum of three months, but some pairings go for six months and others last for years.

• During the PromoKitchen Mixer at The PPAI Expo 2026, the organization honored its more than 20 “super mentors” – those who’ve had more than 10 mentees.

“I’m certain that I’ve learned more than I’ve taught in my various mentorship experiences,” Fiveash says. “Just because you’ve been around for a while doesn’t mean you’re doing it right or that you don’t need a new perspective. There’s a lot I can learn about how things are done today.”

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“The mentors get just as much out of it,” Fiveash adds. “It helps us stay grounded and see what’s out there, like new pieces of software that I might never come across if I don’t speak with someone in the industry of a different vintage.”

What makes PromoKitchen unique is that it’s the only organization currently on Together that takes an industry-wide approach to mentorship. The registrants aren’t just working for different companies – they’re often competitors.

“Mentorship is how we’re going to protect the future of our industry,” says Jay Busselle, chair of PromoKitchen, founder of FLEXpoint Branding Solutions and co-founder of the Branded Merch Network.

“It elevates us from just a feel-good initiative to a serious strategic responsibility. A lot of us are starting to cross the 50-year-old threshold and there’s this feeling of knowledge not being transferred. The mentorship platform addresses that openly and says, ‘Knowledge transfer prevents reinvention and burnout.’ It ignites the OGs and makes us feel needed and relevant.”

The Spiciest Ingredient

The story of PromoKitchen can’t be told without shouting the name of Tee Hamilton, a founding chef and beloved member of the promo industry who passed away in 2020 after a lengthy battle with cancer. She was only 54.

A designer, illustrator and creative consultant, Hamilton worked for various companies and regional organizations in the industry for well over a decade. “Her creativity, flavor and spice were all over PromoKitchen from the early days,” Busselle says.

“A lot of conversations we have often end up in a sales or marketing context. Creativity is sometimes lost in that conversation. Tee had this amazing ability to bring it back to the forefront not just through graphics but through this alternative lens of why do we all have to fit in? Why be normal? Normal is what you are. Quit conforming and just push forward.” 

During the PromoKitchen Mixer last month, the organization relaunched the Tee Hamilton Creator’s Award – a $2,500 scholarship specifically geared toward the next generation of creators and innovators in the industry.

The application design, rubric and marketing are being handled by an 18-member volunteer task force led by Brenda Speirs, CEO of Buzztag, and championed by Amanda Delaney, MAS, regional sales manager at Logomark, PPAI 100’s No. 12 supplier.

“I truly couldn’t have done this without Amanda,” Speirs says. “Her leadership, thoughtfulness, persistence and deep care for doing this right were instrumental in getting this across the finish line. This work reflects what’s possible when smart, committed people show up fully and stay the course. Honored to have partnered with her on bringing this to life and to see Tee Hamilton’s legacy carried forward in such a meaningful way.”

This work reflects what’s possible when smart, committed people show up fully and stay the course.”

Brenda Speirs

Board Member, PromoKitchen

The Tee Hamilton Memorial Scholarship honors its namesake’s life and creative legacy, celebrating her commitment to mentorship, originality and community within the promo industry. This scholarship supports individuals seeking to grow their creative skills, industry knowledge or career path. 

• Award funds may be used for education, event attendance, software, creative tools, training programs or other professional development opportunities.
• Apply here. Deadline is March 31.

Setting The Table

As the scholarship illustrates, PromoKitchen nourishes the industry by giving back.

After all, nobody involved, including the mentors, is getting paid for their time and effort. They do it simply for the love and preservation of the community.

“We want to keep really talented people in this industry,” Busselle says. “This community and mentorship specifically help people navigate through print, promo and apparel – there’s a merging of those three lanes now more than ever – without feeling alone. PromoKitchen is about creating space for voices to feel supported, grow and contribute.

“Eventually, they all want to give back.”

Mentorship is how we’re going to protect the future of our industry.”

Jay Busselle

Chair, PromoKitchen

Over the past 15 years, there have been an estimated 1,000 mentor/mentee pairings through PromoKitchen’s program. (Busselle emphasizes that the milestone happened under the watch of PromoKitchen’s Immediate Past Chair Ashley Colautti, vice president of sales at Spector, PPAI 100’s No. 18 supplier.)

And that doesn’t include all the unofficial pairings outside of the program that have emerged as relationships developed through social media and networking events.

“As our industry truly develops in its complexity, people are hungrier than ever for support and connection,” Roncketto says. “Our biggest area of opportunity is making sure people know PromoKitchen’s mentorship program exists. We have to make sure people know this is a free resource that we make available to our industry. We have an unbelievable list of mentors. You’d be blown away by the variety and caliber of people who want to give back for no other reason than giving back is good.”

While industry veterans share context, perspective, pattern recognition and wisdom, Busselle says these emerging professionals bring curiosity and a fresh set of eyes. “They remind us why we started PromoKitchen – we were questioning everything and pushing,” he says.

“There’s this fun mutual respect that blends. It helps support some of the education programs out there because it evolved so naturally. It’s not this forced situation. There’s no top-down model. Our mentorship program is a true bridge builder.”

It’s a dynamic that ensures the next generation of leaders feels supported, heard and empowered to innovate.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without that connection to Robert early on,” Roncketto says.