Joe Paprocki, founder and creative director of Paprocki&Co., began his career under the hood of a Chevy. As a certified auto mechanic, he learned a thing or two about how parts must work together, about elbow grease, about the fact that there must be jobs that are easier on the knuckles.

       After graduating from FSU with a BFA in visual communications, Joe moved to Atlanta, took a job in advertising and quickly garnered national recognition from CA and The One Show. Recruited by Fallon in Minneapolis, he continued his tenure in the awards annuals for brands like Purina, Nikon, and Lee Jeans. A Florida native, Joe found himself longing to thaw. Back in Atlanta, he worked as creative director for Ogilvy & Mather on American Express, Sheraton and Kodak. After fighting the big agency layers, he once again found himself wondering if there was a job easier on the knuckles.

       In 1997, he co-founded a small, creative shop that spent 7 years at the top of the Atlanta market by putting its clients like CNN, Mizuno, Honda, and The Weather Channel at the top of theirs. With shelves sagging from the weight of regional and national awards, Joe realized there was still a better, more efficient way to run a successful agency and do great work. Thus was born Paprocki&Co.