U.S. and
Canada
Pasternack Blog
Pasternack has a milestone anniversary this year! Fifty years later, Pasternack products are as relevant and renowned as ever, and there’s no slowing down. To celebrate this momentous occasion, we recently had the opportunity take a trip down memory lane and learn the history of the brand from Murray Pasternack, the founder of Pasternack. Read on to learn where our oldest brand began.
Q: When in 1972 did you officially start the company?
A: January 9, 1972
Q: When did you officially incorporate the business?
A: In January 1972, I started as Murray Pasternack dba PASTERNACK ENTERPRISES. Then on October 2, 1973, I filed for incorporation as “PASTERNACK ENTERPRISES” a California corporation. 13 years later, on December 10, 1986, I filed to dissolve the corporation & again ran Pasternack as my sole proprietorship, until selling the company to my son, Larry.
Q: There are stories that Pasternack started from humble beginnings? Can you elaborate?
A: I started first in a very small, spare 120 sq.ft. bedroom, and in 1973, moved into a new house with a 3-car garage, and that was the world HQ of Pasternack. I started the business with $600 of my own money and a $10,000 bank loan, using my home at collateral. I paid the loan off early & never put in any new cash & never had any investors.
Q: What gave you the idea/desire to start Pasternack?
A: I always had the desire to have my own business. Pasternack was the third company I started. The first was “Electro-Physics Corporation Of America” (EPCOA) incorporated in New York in 1962. The second was a sole proprietorship dba “Southwest Microwave Company” in 1970.
Q: What career were you in prior to starting Pasternack?
A: I was an RF Engineer & spent 10 years working designing receiver sub-assemblies such as IF Amplifiers, Mixer-Preamplifiers & Limiters.
Q: How many employees (if any) did you have in the early days?
A: During1972 it was just me. Starting sometime in 1973, I had 3 employees working in my garage. By the time my son Larry took over in the early 90’s we had about 20 employees. In fact, I believe a few of the first employees from that time still work at Pasternack!
Q: How did you start promoting the business?
A: I sent out a short form catalog that was four pages in early 1972 to a mailing list of about 200 engineers & technicians.
Q: At the time you started, who were your largest customers?
A: Many of well-known defense contractors located in Southern California were my “best” early customers.
Q: Who was your target customer?
A: Soon after starting, I was selling to a broad market including radio & TV stations, defense contractors & universities. I continued to build my mailing list of engineers & technicians that used RF products.
Q: Was the company successful from the beginning or did it take time to take off?
A: Growth was slow in the beginning, but the business was cash flow positive every year I owned it, I continued to spend a significant amount of sales income on building up inventory & mailing catalogs.
Q: When was the Pasternack catalog invented and how did you originally distribute it?
A: The catalog was from day one. I mailed catalogs to every engineer & technician I could find about four times a year. I spent a large part of my day adding names to our mailing list. That list grew to over 100,000 names by the time I sold the company. I had two priorities: mailing catalogs & building inventory. There were times that I didn’t take a salary, but I did spend on those two key expenses.
Q: What products did you offer originally that helped kick-start the brand, and how did you decide or pick the products to sell and how did you source them? Was there a specific product strategy?
A: The early products included IF Amplifiers, Successive Detection Log Amplifiers & PE3067 Cable Assemblies. As customers called asking about products, I would make or buy them & add them to my catalog. I was good at finding items my customers wanted. I always bought extra & added them to my inventory.
Q: Did you ever manufacture your own components, or did you always use outside suppliers?
A: In the early days I purchased parts & made amplifiers & cable assemblies in house. As time went on, I started to get private labeled products from OEMs.
Q: Was your intention/goal at the beginning to grow a profitable business and then sell it, or were there other motivations?
A: My original goal was to earn enough to cover my expenses while going to Law School at night. I soon learned that I could make more as a seller of RF products than as a lawyer. I did both for quite a while & enjoyed both. I always wanted to keep the business long term. I never planned to sell the business, but instead wanted to pass it down.
Q: When did you sell the company to your son, Larry Pasternack?
A: I sold the business on 12/31/1992 & stayed with the company until early in 1995.
