Title: Tees and Tats www.teesandtats.com
Industry: Men’s Fashion
Type of company: Limited edition, tattoo apparel
Year founded: August 2007
Location: New York City
Number of employees: 8

1. What is the start-up story behind your business venture?

I just graduated from Boston University, where I majored in Film business.  I made several films, including a feature length documentary titled One Per Cent, featuring Russel Simmons.  The film won the Audience award at the 2006 Vail Film Festival. When I graduated from college I knew that I wanted to go to business school (Harvard, Stanford), but I wasn’t so sure that top tier business schools would except me based on my film past. So I set out to start a company, which would test me on all facets of the business world, and at the same time would give me a first hand business knowledge.  I have always dressed a little different than my friends, always had a different aesthetic but one that people could relate to and appreciate.  I approached my best friend and first cousin Ben Parker (He goes to University of Maryland) to help me with my business idea.  Ben and I have always been fascinated with the art world, especially tattoos.  The intricacy, confidence, creativity and dedication that a tattoo artist must possess always inspired me. One of our favorite tattoo artists that we followed was Marco Serio, originally from Portugal and now residing in New York City at the Invisible tattoo and art studio on Orchard st.  I contacted him and pitched him my idea for a limited edition t-shirt line.  I wanted it to be different than any other tattoo apparel line.  I wanted the artwork to be at the forefront of the t-shirt.  I wanted the piece of artwork to look and drape around the body like a tattoo, so I told Marco to design all the t-shirts as if he was giving a full back piece tattoo to a customer.  So all of the designs are primarily on the back of the shirt, mimicking the back piece tattoo.

2. What is your definition of success and has your company achieved it?

There are many different levels of success that I want to reach.  In my mind I have achieved the first level.  I have created a company from an idea and I have put it into action, selling my limited edition t-shirts all around the world.  I have learned the fashion business first hand, from the creative aspect of designing the tees (colors, shadows etc), to the manufacturing the tees (In Turkey), to the promoting and selling the tees (fashion shows, sponsored events).  Every aspect of the business I was involved with.

3. To what do you attribute your company’s recent achievements?

I attribute all of the companies achievements to hard work and perseverance.  Never giving up.  I spent months of my time sending emails to hundreds of stores, where maybe two of them responded, with a “send over your material again.”  And always be pleasant–people always say “nice guys finish last” but many amazing things have happened to me and my company from random encounters where I was just being pleasant and friendly.

Good employees and my partners have been so important in the success of the company.  They are all dedicated to furthering the brand.  A word of advice– if you ever have a problem with an employee or partner, tell them immediately, do not let it fester in side.  If you let the problem sit, it will only get worse and worse.

5. What three pieces of advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs?

1.  If you have an idea, that you want to make a business out of.  Think of all the different angles- what could and will go wrong?  what financing do I want and what do I need to get this off the ground?
2.  Always enlist the help of people who have more experience than you.  Listen to these people, they will be glad to show you the way.
3.  And go for it with everything you have.  There are so many people out there who have amazing ideas, and I would say 99 percent of them never act on it.  Act on your ideas, and if they fail—start again.

6. What have been some of your failures, and what have you learned from them?

I have experienced many failures and I am positive I will encounter many more.  Some failures you can’t expect and there is no way to prepare for them and others are just simply your fault.  One of the failures I couldn’t prepare for was when, my manufacturing company in South Korea–woke me up at 4 am to tell me they will be a month late with my order.  They were supposed to get delivered to me on June 15, my launch event was all scheduled for July 1,  If they where a month late I wouldn’t have the product at the time of the launch.  I quickly decided to scrap the last 4 months of work with this factory and set out to find a new factory that pull out a miracle– I had no other option.  I found a factory in Turkey from one of the people I was nice to, and it all worked out.  Got product the day before the event.  One of my main failures was that I enlisted the help of a PR firm, a month before they could actually help me.  I thought they would help me promote my launch event, before I got the actual product.  I learned that this particular PR firm was inept in getting the word out, if they didn’t have product.  I thought pictures were enough and I was greatly mistaken.  So the lesson that you should learn from this– don’t always listen to what people tell you.

7. Describe/outline your typical day?

I wake up at 7:30– work out- go to the office, and contact magazines, stores, sales reps– Meet with stores, fulfill website orders.  Then usually four nights a week there is some type of event that I go to- to network and promote my tees.

8. Where did your organizations funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it?

I made money from my past film ventures and I used that money to start the company.

9. What stops you from throwing in the towel and giving up during those frustrating days of running your business?

I hate failure and I won’t let that happen.  Its all about getting in that mindset that whatever happens I will not let myself fail.

10. Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?

All the entrepreneur’s I know, are very passionate about what they do and have an incredible work ethic.  Your companies success lies on your shoulders.  If you don’t have passion about your company and if you don’t work extremely hard for it, than who will?

11. Who has influenced you most and been your greatest inspiration?

I have been greatly influenced by my dad–who is a true entrepreneur and my older brother, who is at Harvard Business School.

12. What book has inspired you the most?

The Da Vinci Method by Garret LoPorto

13. How do you go about marketing your business? What has been your most successful form of marketing?

I think the best way to market your business– is to get free publicity.  Blogs/online mags/ giving product away to people that can help you. (stylists, photographers)– a lot of networking.  I met Zukhits, the CEO of fatboyhits music.  I gave him tees and he wore them in his album cover shoot.

14. In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.

Busy

15. Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?

www.tadcast.com — it is a start up company, but it will change the world– believe me.

16. How do you achieve balance in your life? Or do you?

I definitely work more than I should.  I am the ceo of www.joinmycrew.com and I am starting another music related website.  I just feel that at my age, 23, I have the ability and the time to work 18 hours a day.  I am not married and I don’t need to provide for a family yet, so I will try my best and make one if not all of my companies great success stories.  Running your own business and doing what you love to do everyday– how can it get better than that?

17. Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 years? 10 years?

I see Tees and Tats or a version of it, owned by a larger company.  I see myself running one of my businesses full time, while investing and participating in many other ventures.

18. What’s your exit strategy?

I want to really build a brand over the next few years and then sell it to a larger company that can bring my vision to the mainstream– Barneys, Lord and Taylor etc.. while holding onto a small percentage, so that I can experience the huge upside
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19. If we could introduce you to anyone, who would it be and why? (you never know who we know!)

I would love to meet sales reps all over the world, that can help me get my product in  different countries. But if I had to pick a person I would say Elon Musk– he is so bad ass– the true entrepreneur (He is the founder of Paypal, SpaceX and other awesome companies.)