How an SF Fashion Startup Funded Their 3-D Technology Business

/in /by

Julian Eison, founder & CEO of Eison Triple Thread (ETT), built his successful fashion startup in San Francisco by combining his love of technology and fashion — two of his passions since a young age. At 7 years old, Eison built his first computer. By the time he was in high school, he capitalized on a popular fashion trend using Gucci fabric to make and sell jeans during his lunch breaks. Now, Eison’s menswear line uses technology to offer customized, tailored garments. Here’s how Eison built ETT and leveraged financial bootstrapping and working capital. He grew his online fashion business into a unique retail showroom in downtown San Francisco.

“The concept for Eison Triple Thread was born in 2013 after a previous attempt in building an enterprise software startup failed,” Eison says. “The failure of my first startup was a necessary phase that I had to go through to discover my true strength and passion.”

Eison saw a menswear market that was saturated at the far ends of the spectrum. It was either disposable low-end fashions and high-end designer goods. Eison leveraged both his passion for design and knowledge of engineering for his second startup. Realizing the opportunity for broad-appeal tailored menswear within a mid-wallet price point, ETT was born.

Eison was able to bootstrap his new startup throughout beta product releases while working full time at private equity firm.

“Once I had a product that I knew early customers were generally happy with, I raised a pre-seed round of capital funding to further build out the brand and [the] Style Gallery,” Eison says. “Next, it was simply a matter of putting my money where my mouth was.”

To build ETT, Eison next focused on hiring talent. The platform required a team with the technology skills to build the interface and expertise in fashion and luxury retail. ETT uses 3-D body modeling to map a customer’s exact sizes and dimensions and create a unique digital pattern. Not only does the customer get to virtually try on the clothes, but the 3-D model guides ETT’s tailors in customizing the final garment’s fit. The customer gets a bespoke garment without needing to visit a store or tailor.

It wasn’t long before Eison proved his digital fashion concept was something men wanted and needed. Within two years of launching the service, he was able to open the Style Gallery. It is ETT’s first physical showroom in downtown San Francisco.

“Opening our physical location wasn’t something that was urgent on our end,” Eison says. “We let the opportunity to open a store come to us organically since we were able to deploy directly to our customers online. Like all great companies in Silicon Valley, we were operating out of my garage rent free. To save extra money, we also debated [using] co-work space and even moving to a nearby city to avoid the exorbitant rent in San Francisco. To other entrepreneurs looking into the same retail-to-physical-location dream, I would say stay patient and track the real estate market before making the move.”

This transition from an online-only business to an online business with a physical location has helped ETT understand their customer even better. In their physical location, ETT has gathered intel around their customers’ lifestyle. He understands their preferences and how this translates to the desires for different textiles, utility and function in garments. Through the in-store customer experience, they’ve continued to highlight the quality and authenticity of their brand. Meanwhile they grow beyond what they could have imagined.

Eison’s Forwarding Message to Entrepreneurs

He has simple advice to other entrepreneurs looking to grow from online to a brick-and-mortar location. Pay careful attention to creating an integrated customer experience that provides value and delivers on your brand promise.

Eison recommends:

Identifying your target customers, their needs, their likes and dislikes.

Interacting with them monthly via a number of different channels — not just for sales.

Evaluating their social behaviors and public information to find patterns.

Using that information to build brand experiences.

For example, ETT discovered their demographic enjoys wine but generally is a novice in understanding wine. So they pair wine tastings and textiles for in-person events to add value to their customer experience.

Creating an integrated customer experience, Eison says will be a process that is iterative and constantly changing. “You need to truly understand your customer and have an omni-channel plan in place before making the leap,” Eison says. “It’s one thing to have a great product, but the barriers to entry are low, and the demand for great experiences is high. It’s important to create a valuable experience for your target audience because today’s consumer is unlike any previous generation.”

Strategic Funding provides needed operating funds to small businesses. Strategic Funding has helped hundreds of industries including: restaurants, personal services, construction, medical, manufacturing, agriculture, retail stores, automotive, and food stores.

Trump’s Promise to Repeal Health Care Reform

/in /by

During President-Elect Donald Trump’s campaign, he repeated his plans to “repeal and replace” President Barack Obama’s health care law. Referring to the Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare,” he said at a rally, “it’s one of the single most important reasons why we must win on Nov. 8.” In his first televised interview after the election, the world watched as he departed from his former, rather resolute, campaign promise of free market reforms.

Trump told 60 Minutes that healthcare is the number one thing that he plans to “get done right away.” His campaign website proclaims, “On day one of the Trump Administration, we will ask Congress to immediately deliver a full repeal of Obamacare.”

As President-Elect Trump prepares to take office in January, his party has already announced proposed changes, making health care reform again a reality for Americans.

Proposed Plan Changes

In A Better Way, led by Rep. House Speaker Paul Ryan, Republicans share their vision for health care reform in 2017 and beyond. There’s strong support for repeal of the Employer Mandate, which under “Obamacare,” forces business owners to provide Washington-approved state-mandated benefit packages. Republicans plan to get rid of legislation requiring business owners to purchase “one-size fits all” coverage. It would allow insurance providers to sell across state lines instead, saying this will control costs, increase plan flexibility and coverage options by creating more competition.

Additionally the Association Health Plans (AHPs) is another new cost-control proposal potentially affecting small businesses. An AHP is a pool of small businesses under an umbrella policy. In a proposed strength in numbers union, “improving bargaining power at the negotiating table” is said to lower overhead costs.

Moreover, Trump’s campaign has proposed tax cuts for high-income taxpayers, insurance providers and corporations. To offset these tax cuts, Medicare benefits currently going to “nondisabled, working-age adults” living above the $11,880 poverty threshold will get cut. Also the income tax exclusion that allows workers to deduct insurance premiums from wages will be repealed.

According to Republicans, these reforms will fix the “Obamacare” system. However, there are two ACA provisions Republicans and Trump currently agree on keeping. First, children under the age of 26 will be able to remain on their parents’ plans. Second, individuals will receive coverage regardless of pre-existing conditions.

What Trump health care reform might mean for small business:

  1. Small businesses can say goodbye to the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP). Under ACA provides tax credits to businesses who employ 25 or fewer full-time employees who earn $50,000 or less.
  2. Repeal of the Employer Mandate forcing businesses with 50 or more full-time employees to provide coverage.
  3. New provisions would exclude exemptions for employers with fewer than 50 employees who offer Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) instead of ACA. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports small employer job subsidies attributed to revenue losses of $266 billion in 2016. It may grow to $3.6 trillion by 2026.
  4. High-income earners can expect relief from the Medicare tax enacted under ACA. Since its inception, it raised taxes an additional .9% and 3.8% on payroll taxes, capital gains, investment and dividend income.
  5. Individual insurance providers will compete to sell products across state lines. As a result, Republicans say this will increase the quality and affordability of plans.
  6. Republicans want to offer Association Health Plans to increase negotiating power and lower costs for businesses.

Every proposed change in federal law takes time and negotiation. For now both the President-Elect and Republican-controlled Congress plan to offer a form of “patient-centered” coverage. It would shift responsibility away from employers and onto individuals. Reforms will not happen overnight. But based on the current proposed reforms, small business owners may have more flexibility in the coverage options they chose to offer employees.

Strategic Funding provides needed operating funds to small businesses. Strategic Funding has helped hundreds of industries including: restaurants, personal services, construction, medical, manufacturing, agriculture, retail stores, automotive, and food stores.

How Small Businesses Can Prepare for Proposed Overseas Tariffs

/in /by

As a new presidential term begins, small business owners are paying close attention to promises made on the campaign trail. One item that has businesses owners concerned are the proposed overseas tariffs on items imported from overseas. With so many small business owners contracting their manufacturing outside of the US, this kind of tariff presents some dilemmas. Should they try to find less expensive manufacturing options domestically? Should they wait it out, hoping the tariffs won’t force them to increase their prices too dramatically?

One campaign proposal was a tariff of up to 45 percent on products imported from China. Economists estimate that this move could lead to price increases of ten percent. Without cheaper alternatives, many consumers would likely choose to not buy certain items at all. This could hurt businesses of all sizes. For small business owners, though, it’s important to plan ahead, especially if they’re already manufacturing products overseas. Here are a few things you can do to protect your product-based business.

Don’t Panic

Although international trade agreements are on the president-elect’s radar, it will take time to legislate and impose overseas tariffs.

Experts stress that under current laws, the administration would not be able to target a specific country with tariffs.  Instead, the overseas tariffs will need to target categories of products.  If possible, you may want to extend existing agreements, since any laws passed may apply to new government contracts, allowing existing relationships to be grandfathered in.

Price Competitors

Instead of accepting that an across-the-board price increase may be an inevitable part of your future, begin pricing competing manufacturers. If you’ve worked with the same provider for a considerable period of time, you may be able to strike an agreement that reduces your costs without sacrificing product quality. You may also find that making small changes to the way you manufacture and ship your items can result in a big difference in your annual expenditure.

Go Local

Even if local manufacturing costs slightly more than what you’d pay overseas, there are many benefits to contracting with nearby manufacturers for your products.

  • You save on international shipping to get products from the other side of the globe to your local distribution facilities.
  • You may find moving processes to a nearby warehouse is actually a better business decision than it was several years ago, especially if it means you can take a more hands-on approach to manufacturing.
  • When you support local businesses, you show your community pride. This incentivizes customers and your local government to make sure you succeed.

While there is inevitable uncertainty surrounding new national leadership, small businesses can always benefit from advance preparation. By reviewing your own manufacturing processes and paying close attention to bills as they make their way through the legislature, your business will be ahead of the game, helping you continue to keep your business’s budget in check.

Strategic Funding provides needed operating funds to small businesses. Strategic Funding has helped hundreds of industries including: restaurants, personal services, construction, medical, manufacturing, agriculture, retail stores, automotive, and food stores.

About Us

Products

Contact Us