Building a Company Worthy of Its Name: A Q&A with Hassan Qureshi, CEO of Signage.com

Hassan Qureshi is CEO of Signage.com, an online custom sign company headquartered in Philadelphia. He was named one of Sign Builder Illustrated's 2026 Top Young Sign Makers for his work at Futura Identities, his family's signage business.

“My ambition is to build a company worthy of the name through the buying experience and the work we deliver.”

Hassan Qureshi, CEO of Signage.com

1. Tell us about yourself and Signage.com: how your experience in sign production and operations led to running a company named for the whole category.

I'm Hassan Qureshi, CEO of Signage.com. My background is in the practical side of the sign business. At Futura Identities, our family signage business, my work has included operations, project planning and customer service. That experience shapes how I approach an order: what the customer wants, what the location requires, and what the team needs to know before a sign can be built.

Signage.com is an online custom sign company headquartered in Philadelphia. We help businesses design and order signs for storefronts, offices, restaurants and other commercial spaces. A custom sign can be a difficult purchase, especially for someone opening a business for the first time. We want to make the options easier to understand and give customers a useful visual starting point before they commit to production.

The name sets a high expectation. Someone arriving at Signage.com should find clear information and knowledgeable help. Owning the domain doesn't establish that trust by itself. My ambition is to build a company worthy of the name through the buying experience and the work we deliver.

2. What did the Top Young Sign Maker recognition change about how you lead?

Being named one of Sign Builder Illustrated's 2026 Top Young Sign Makers meant a great deal to me. The recognition was for my work at Futura Identities, and I share the credit with the people I worked alongside there.

I see it as encouragement to keep developing the things that matter in this trade. Planning, customer service and team education all affect the finished product, even though the customer may only see the sign at the end.

As a leader, I want people to understand why a detail matters and to feel comfortable raising a concern before it becomes expensive to fix. If a measurement is unclear or a design needs another look, that deserves attention. An award is something to be proud of, but it doesn't answer the questions on the next project. We still have to do that work.

3. Custom signs are hard to buy online. What have you done about that, and where does the AI-powered Sign Studio stop and the sign professional begin?

The customer is being asked to approve something that doesn't exist yet. A logo on a laptop doesn't show how dimensional letters might look on a storefront, or whether a particular style suits the building. That gap can make it hard to even start the conversation.

Our AI-powered Sign Studio helps with that early stage. A business owner can upload a logo or describe their business and explore possible sign concepts. It gives them something to respond to when they speak with a sign specialist, rather than having to explain everything from scratch.

The result is a planning visual. It isn't an engineering drawing, permit set, structural or electrical document, fabrication file, or installation plan. A convincing image can still show something that needs to change before it can be built. Experienced professionals have to work through the specifications and the requirements of the location.

Typical production is about 14 to 21 days after design confirmation, depending on the project. That's an estimate for production, not a promise that design, permitting, shipping and installation will all fit inside that window.

4. What advice would you give founders building a company around a bespoke physical product?

Spend time on the decisions your customer has to make before the order. You may understand your product so well that you forget how unfamiliar it is to someone buying it for the first time. Explain the choices and what information you need from them.

Then be clear about what has to be confirmed before production. In signage, that can include dimensions, the mounting surface, power availability, landlord requirements and permits. Establish who is responsible for each item. A customer shouldn't have to guess which parts of the project your quote covers.

I'd also be careful about what a rendering appears to promise. It's useful for discussing a direction, but you still need agreed specifications. The more realistic the image looks, the more important that distinction becomes.

Use automation where it helps, but keep qualified people involved in decisions that affect the physical product. A mistake is much easier to correct in a concept than after materials have been cut.

5. What shifts are you watching in signage and in how businesses buy customized products?

I'm particularly interested in how much of the early buying conversation can happen online. For a custom product, a website has to do more than show a photograph and a price. It needs to help someone understand the options well enough to ask useful questions.

That's where I see a practical role for AI. It can help a buyer explore an idea before they have the vocabulary to describe the sign they want. The opportunity is to make that first conversation more productive while being honest about what still needs professional review.

Consistency across locations is another area worth watching. A business can use the same logo everywhere and still end up with signs that look quite different because of the materials, lighting or building conditions. For businesses adding locations, I'd put more thought into which features should stay consistent and where the design needs to adapt.

The companies that interest me are the ones making those decisions easier to understand, rather than simply adding another tool to the website.

6. What mistakes do business leaders make with their own signs and brand presence?

One is leaving the sign until late in an opening or renovation. By then, the preferred design may run into a landlord restriction, a permit requirement or a site condition that should have been checked earlier.

Another is judging the sign entirely from a close-up image. It needs to be considered at the distance and angle from which people will see it. Letter size, contrast and lighting can matter more than a detail that looks attractive on a screen.

For businesses with several locations, I'd also watch for inconsistent branding after a refresh. It helps to have a plan for the older signs rather than treating each replacement as an isolated purchase.

Finally, compare the scope behind the price. Fabrication, shipping, installation, electrical work and permits aren't automatically included in every quote. Ask what is included, what is excluded and who handles the remaining work before comparing the totals.

7. How do you build authority in a trade industry?

Give people information they can use. If a business owner is trying to choose a sign, explaining materials, visibility or the questions to ask before ordering is more helpful than telling them how good your company is.

Be willing to explain the limits, too. If a visual is only a concept, say so. If something needs a site check or specialist review, make that clear before the customer relies on an assumption. Those conversations are part of doing the job properly.

Industry recognition matters to me because it comes from a field where people understand the work. But a customer still has their own project to judge us on. We have to earn their confidence through clear advice and follow-through.

That's how I think about Signage.com. The name gets attention. What matters is whether the experience gives people a reason to trust it.