An Eye for Opportunity
While we were living in Dubai, my business partner and I noticed a big discrepancy in the availability of men’s custom clothing in the United States versus internationally. In the US, options for custom suiting started at $1,500 and had an eight-week turnaround, with mandatory trips back to the tailor. It was unapproachable, unreliable, and expensive. We knew there was a massively underserved market in the US.
Virtual Tailor
We started in the most granular way possible: with an old-school tailor. Friends who visited us in Dubai would get measured, and we’d ship their suits back to the States. Then we thought, “What if we created videos demonstrating how someone could measure himself, so people could place orders remotely?” In 2011, web retailers Groupon and Gilt Groupe asked us to do a Black Friday sale; with more than 100 customers coming in and countless inquiries, we knew we had something special. Today we have expanded to seven showrooms and also offer an option that uses your computer’s camera to make a 3D rendering of your body, which we then interpret to get your measurements.
Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
A startup is 2 percent idea and 98 percent execution. It’s not about choosing the right thing or the wrong thing or the right or wrong product category. It comes down to how you choose to go about executing your idea. And you cannot stop if you believe you have a good idea — you have to keep going.
Suited for Success
In August, we were listed as the number nine fastest-growing startup in New York City by Inc. magazine. We’ve had 100 percent growth rate over the past 18 months. We’re about creating pride — making guys proud of the way they look.
Looking Ahead
By the end of the year, we want to dominate the custom suit market in the 10 biggest cities in the United States. In the long term, we want to take that national market-leading position and continue to scale it overseas.