Specs
Who CEO David Campbell
What Marketing experience developer
Where Charlotte, N.C.
When the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007 and resultant financial woes sent the country hurtling into recession, Boxman Studios CEO David Campbell, a real estate developer, had to quickly construct a new career for himself. He was awed by images of homes created out of shipping containers that he saw online—and recognized the enormous potential of the idea. He mulled a business creating temporary jails and dorm rooms out of the metal boxes, but with the growing popularity of pop-up shops and experiential marketing, he ultimately decided to take the concept in a different direction. His 40 employees have now built pop-up experiences for brands like Samsung, Nike and Hyundai, allowing their imaginations to run free as they create spaces like a multi-story PlayMaker’s Club game-day hangout and an out-of-home abode at a Google TED talk. “We play with Legos, just life-sized,” Campbell said.