More and more, people are able to go from concept to product to company. I recently spoke at the same event as Manuel Rappard, owner and creator of RPMWEST, who launched a successfully launched a kickstarter-campaign raising over $100K. It is amazing hearing stories like his, as the fashion industry continues to evolve. 7 Days Theory was tipped-off to another denim company looking to follow in RPMWEST’s footsteps. Check out the interview with the founder Mike Avdeev as he describes the mission for his company Ori-Jeans.
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Please describe your position at your company/organization/trade
I’m a founder of OriJeans. I came up with this idea in November, 2012 so it’s taken about a year to turn the dream into reality, or at least a very-soon-to-be-reality! Currently I plan to launch the Kickstarter campaign in early November.
How long have you known you wanted to do what you are currently working on?
Well, about a year ago I was at school, the University of Finance and Administration in Prague, and I was shooting the bull with my good friend Renat Isch over a coffee. We got on the topic of quality clothing, and one thing led to another and we came up with the crazy idea to start a company to produce made-to-order jeans from the best material around – selvedge denim! And we want folks to design their own jeans on a new Internet platform that we’re calling our “web constructor.” To get the project off the ground we are launching a Kickstarter campaign, and right now this is our main pursuit.
Our project is very innovative because it weaves together fashion and technology in a totally new way. We decided to get our seed funding through Kickstarter, which seems like the perfect vehicle for this kind of idea. Kickstarter enables us to test the concept and see if we really have the traction we need to expand. I personally think that crowdfunding is the best model for start-ups like OriJeans, it allows us to connect with like-minded people who are crazy (in a good way) about the same things I’m crazy about.
Why are you passionate about what you do?
I’m just crazy about denim. Selvedge denim. Raw selvedge denim. It’s hard to describe how this material ages – it’s like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. I’m currently wearing a pair of our made-to-order raw selvedge denim jeans – I’ve had them on non-stop for almost 5 months – and they have this really cool sheen and texture to them. I get lots of comments about the jeans and I end up telling everyone what selvedge denim is. Not too many folks know about selvedge denim yet but we’re working to change that and really make this a fashion trend.
Authenticity. I the kind of person who appreciate the quality of well-made handcrafted goods from timeless materials. Besides raw selvedge denim, there’s another material that improves with age: leather. Both are authentic. Handcrafted leather goods using traditional patterns is my next idea!
How did you overcome your own doubts and the doubts of other people?
I still new at this so I cannot say all doubts have been overcome! As soon as you overcome them…and then get some new idea…then you have new doubts all over again. However I see doubts as essentially a good thing, they cause you to think things through again and again, and then either change your idea or update your thinking, which then makes the doubt evaporate.
What were some bumps you hit to get where you’re at now?
Oh our path looks like a boot camp obstacle course! We hit lots of bumps but we got over them. Mostly the legal stuff made us worry (forms of company organization, tax liabilities, contracts, etc.). In retrospect the bumps don’t look so big, but when we were trying to figure out stuff we had no experience or background in, it looked kind of grim for a while.
What is a way you got your name out there?
Blogs tied to the fashion industry in general, and the denim industry specifically. We figure that’s our core audience and they know about selvedge denim and because selvedge is the real thing we can count on this community to support us and get the word out.
I have an amazing mentor, Carlos Gutierrez, who I met at university. He’s American and I was a student in his Business Management course in Prague. I really liked the course and his engaging style of teaching, and we ended up going out for a beer to discuss my OriJeans idea. He was a little skeptical at first…but I eventually got him on board! We got on like a house on fire, and he’s really helped me with planning and forecasting, especially sales forecasting. Also my friend and business partner, Renat Isch, has been a great help with new ideas and always a fresh way of looking at things.
Is there anything that almost stopped you from doing this?
Well, let me say that when you try to start something new, many folks are quite conservative and afraid – and that bad energy can cramp your style. But I’ve always believed in my idea so I keep pushing forward. Sometimes things don’t happen in the right order, but if you’re lucky and smart and have a good mentor and a great friend then eventually everything gets sorted out!
Is there anyone in your profession that you admire and/or model yourself after?
I am really enamored with the Gustin Company in San Francisco.
Gustin had a phenomenally successful Kickstarter campaign in January of this year. It’s a great example of how a fashion start-up dedicated to quality jeans can be crowdfunded. We love their business model and have learned a lot from them. We see Gustin a “proof of concept” for what we want to do, and we see their success as evidence of how much opportunity is out there for fashion start-ups like OriJeans.
How do you continue to perfect your craft?
We plan to expand our jeans offering in terms of fabrics, cuts and accessories – giving our customers more options to personalize their jeans. It’s cool how the Internet allows small companies like ours to connect with customers we never would have a chance or reaching before.
What’s some advice you can share for anyone who wants to pursuit what you are doing?
The fashion industry – combined with the Internet – make the world of small business a universe that is rapidly expanding. There’s plenty of room for new ideas…new companies…new trends, I really feel like we’re at the beginning of a brave new world!
How do you envision the future of your product/services?
In this business there is always room for innovation – my vision of the future is towards mass customization, giving customers more and more control over the personalization of what they buy. I consider OriJeans to be on the “bleeding edge” of these trends and I simply can’t wait for the Kickstarter campaign to succeed!
How much of your business is driven by online buyers/clients?
OriJeans will be a 100% online business. OriJeans’ website isn’t optimized yet – that will happen with the Kickstarter funding.
Where can people go to find out more about your awesome products/services?
I encourage everyone visit our website and learn more about us. And also to become a backer when our Kickstarter campaign launches in early November. Our website is http://ori-jeans.com
What is one thing you did wrong in the past that you can share with people?
We ended up starting the company in the wrong way and it cost us some time and money to get it fixed. Then we got some great professional advice (paying for it, of course). What can I share with people? Well, when you get frustrated or confused or lost or just don’t know what to do next, you’ve got to realize that not everything can be solved by Googling. Sometimes you have to pay a real live professional for the best advice – especially on tax and legal stuff – so when the time comes don’t be afraid to pick the phone and actually call a human being and meet them (and pay for it)!
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