BIZ Online NGLCC

Two years ago, Dawn Ackerman and George Pieper didn't even know each other. Today they're business partners, having merged two successful office supply companies to create OutSmart Office Solutions.

Despite living in different cities—Ackerman is from Los Angeles and Pieper lives in Seattle—the two entrepreneurs turned a chance meeting at a 2006 conference sponsored by the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) for LGBT-certified businesses into a business development opportunity.

At the time, Ackerman was the founder and CEO of EcoToner and Pieper the owner and CEO of Corporate Surplus, both office supply companies, and they were hoping to leverage their certification to increase business and open new doors. What a door they opened.

"We began talking about what we both wanted to do with our companies and what we could do together," says Ackerman. "After a while, it just seemed like a great idea to merge our companies because they could make a bigger splash nationally. It really helped that we both came at business with the same philosophy about doing good in our community."

Launched in the fall of 2007, OutSmart's main markets are the LGBT business and nonprofit communities, offering quality office products for reasonable prices. The new company will also donate a percentage of its profits to LGBT charities annually.

"This merger is another example of how becoming an LGBT-certified business can create new opportunities," says Justin Nelson, president and co-founder of the NGLCC. "It's just not that they met each other at an NGLCC conference, but it's that they knew from being certified that they were dealing with another reputable and worthy company and business owner."

OutSmart's new corporate structure lists Pieper, who remains in Seattle, as CEO, and Ackerman serves as the new company's president. The company's headquarters will be in Seattle, although much of its sales infrastructure will be Web-based.