As a young boy, Darryl remembered waking up at the crack of dawn and going with his father to his flower warehouse. Darryl would curiously watch all the vendors loading up product before heading out to the streets to sell what they could. As Darryl got older, he spent more time in his father’s warehouse, learning all about the flower business; how flowers were purchased, shipped, packaged, and prepared for sale. It wasn’t until his second year as a chemical engineering student at a prominent university, that he happened to stumble across a commencement ceremony taking place on campus.

To Darryl’s amazement, a group of women were standing in front of the commencement venue successfully retailing rose bouquets at an extravagant price. This gave Darryl an idea. He envisioned a superior service, with nicer product, at a more reasonable price. The next day Darryl called the Special Events Office and convinced the commencement coordinator to allow him to try selling his father’s bouquets at the upcoming commencement. The following spring Darryl arrived at his schools commencement ceremony and began retailing his fathers bouquets to the happy parents and guests.

20 years later, The Commencement Group is the largest commencement floral and apparel retailer in North America, working with over 700 universities and colleges, and thousands of high schools each year.