Hi Friends! Remember last week when I asked you to hit the like button to see if we could break into the top 50 on Substack’s leaderboard? Well guess what - we crushed it!
Think we can hit numero uno this week? You know what to do 😉.
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MadHappy 😄
Besides describing how I feel after taking my Finance final, Madhappy is a lifestyle brand centered around optimism - and a shining example of a new wave of brands focused on capturing Gen Z moral consumption.
Founded in 2017 by four Los Angeles twenty-somethings, Madhappy was born out of “creative frustration”. The founders had left the fashion industry for over a year but realized they needed a creative outlet that only fashion could give them.
Since then Madhappy has raised over $1.8 million in a round led LVMH Luxury Ventures and has opened stores in LA and SoHo.
Looks like there’s more to be happy than mad about.
Oak + Fort ➕
If I had to choose a brand to embody the aesthetic of Vancouver BC, that brand would be Oak + Fort. Grey and cool, loves espresso filled beverages, and politely says “sorrey” when you bump into them.
Unsurprisingly Oak + Fort was founded in Vancouver as an e-commerce company in 2010, then a retail store in the historic Gas Town district in 2011. Since then they have expanded to cities in both Canada and the US, including San Francisco and NYC.
Some of my favorite pieces include this northwest-approved flannel as well as this trench coat.
Clare Paint 🎨
You know you’re getting older when a direct-to-consumer paint company piques your interest. Clare Paint is looking to disrupt the $155 billion consumer paint market with Millenial friendly colors such as “Blue Ivy” and “Money Moves”.
Founded in 2017 by Nicole Gibbins, Clare Paint is designed to “eliminate pain points of an uninspired and outdated industry” through algorithms and questionnaires aimed at helping you pick the perfect shade for your next home.
Priced at $59 a bucket, Clare is quite reasonable when it comes to paint. Now if only the housing market in SF would follow suit.
News I’m Following 👀
🧳 Away’s CEO Steph Korey steps down amidst employee backlash. If you haven’t read the Verge piece on Away’s apparently toxic work culture you should - it strikes home on how the “always-be-hustlin” work culture is destructive and unhealthy.
Coined “Hustle Porn” by people who enjoy provocative labels, overly aggressive workaholic cultures are now seemingly the norm in start-up hotbeds like Silicon Valley, LA, and NYC.
I know many of us (including myself) dream of working at a fast-paced, headed for the moon start-up. But don’t forget about the other important things in your life on your pursuit of greatness.
💙 Blue is the color of 2020. Last week Pantone announced Classic Blue as the color of next year - citing worldly sentiments for “a dependable and stable foundation” in a time where “nothing is absolutely certain from one moment to the next”.
This might sound like a load of marketing mumbo-jumbo, but I think Pantone is on to something. I know I’ve felt uncomfortable with the way many things have played out politically and societally this year.
🏨 Rent the Runway partnered with W Hotels to supply fashionable travelers with outfits on the go. Starting this week, W guests will be able to pay $69 pick four outfits from Rent the Runway’s curated selection to wear during their stay.
This marks another move towards catering to changing hotel clients’ interests: Equinox is betting big with its debut hotel that health and fitness are a growing need for business travelers, while Westin pioneered the branded resting experience with the Heavenly Bed (which you can of course buy).
Brand Study: Off-White ☢️
While older brands tend to have illustrious histories, I wanted to make sure I didn’t forget to cover new brands that are doing big things. This week’s brand feature was founded in 2012 - which still blows my mind given how prevalent of a brand it is. One of my favorite songs from a couple of years ago is even named after it (which is of course when you know you’ve made it).
Off-White was founded by Virgil Abloh - who’s a pretty interesting dude. Let’s talk about him for a second.
Virgil grew up in Rockford, Illinois. His mother was a seamstress and his father ran a painting business. He went to the University of Wisconsin and graduated with a civil engineering degree, then went to the Illinois Institue of Technology and got a master’s in architecture. While getting his master’s, he designed t-shirts on the side and got a small gig at a screen printing shop in Chicago called Custom Kings. It was here that he met another Chicagoan at the time - Kanye West.
Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images
At the time Kanye West was working on Late Registration and another passion - his personal fashion. One of his managers introduced Abloh as a possible designer for Kanye’s creative team. They hit it off immediately and Kanye signed Abloh to be his private creative director.
Abloh spent the next several years helping Kanye build his personal style. They crashed Paris Fashion Week in 2009 and took the infamous squad photo featured in South Park. At the time they were ridiculed, but as Kanye’s fanbase continued to grow brands began paying attention - and Alboh was there to collaborate with them the entire way.
After helping Kanye collaborate with big names like Fendi, Louis Vuitton, and Nike, Abloh was ready to start his own fashion house. In 2011 he founded his first brand: Pyrex Vision. He saw some traction in the underground streetwear scene - but in the end, it wound up being more of an art project than an apparel brand.
The following year he set out to do something different. It was his vision to create a traditional Italian fashion house focused on streetwear. He moved to Milan and six months later Off-White was born.
What works well for Off-White?
First Mover Advantage: Off-White was the first streetwear focused Italian fashion house. While other houses were designing intimidating ready-to-wear gowns, Abloh started with t-shirts.
Positioning: Off-White is a luxury brand - most pieces start in the hundreds and an outfit will easily climb to thousands.
Relevancy: One of the perks of the 21st century is access to new media and consumption platforms from the beginning; Off-White used Instagram as its lookbook and has over 9.1 million followers.
Aesthetic: Off-White is a product of architecture, rap, and skateboarding culture. What an amazing combination.
Since 2013, Off-White has grown to over 49 retail locations and done collaborations with Nike, Levi, Jimmy Choo, IKEA, Rimowa, and Évian. This past August, the owner of Farfetch purchased Off-White for over $675 million.
Abloh has also continued his ascension to fashion preeminence - in 2018 he was named creative director of Louis Vitton’s men’s ready-to-wear clothing line, making him the first African American to take the helm of a major French fashion house.
Jobs 💼
Dolls Kill - Lifecycle & Retention Manager, Business Intelligence Analyst (SF)
Taft - Strategy Manager (SLC)
Internships 🎓
Patagonia - MBA Customer Insights Intern (LA)
Shareables 😏
😂 When Twitter account managers have too much time on their hands. Hilarious.
🚚 Elon Musk tries to break something else with his Cyber Truck. Careful, bro.
💊 Psychedelics are all the rage in Silicon Valley. Here’s a start-up creating a new one.
🐔 Wouldn’t you love it if your entire house smelled like fried chicken? KFC’s got you.
🤝 I promised my mom I’d include useful stuff too: 15 rules for negotiating a job offer.
🎥 Stuck in the death spiral of picking which movie to watch? Look no further.
📱 Craigslist (finally) has an app. Welcome to 2019, Craig.
🤷 Sick of asking your friends to pick your dating app pics? There’s an app for that now.
🐶 Considering adopting a furry friend? Here are the top pet names of 2019.
🔎 Google just published it’s 2019 most searched keywords. *clears browser history*
Hey! I’m Sean, a first-year MBA at the University of Michigan. Know of a new brand I should feature? Hollar at me! I’d also love your feedback - feel free to shoot me a note at seansky@umich.edu.
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