01:21:17 · Jordi Hays, Max Siegelman, John Coogan, Keller Cliffton
[01:21:17] S2: Yeah. [01:21:17] S5: And so I did another 300 run and that's when it started to get interesting. [01:21:22] S2: Yeah. You're on the show you're on the show obviously because in in part because we've had horses have been a big part of our show. [01:21:30] S5: Almost took their... The first thing I saw when I walked in was a harness racing picture in in the room. [01:21:36] S1: Yeah. And then [01:21:36] S5: in the bathroom, there's another one. Yeah. I've never have I ever seen this anywhere I walk in [01:21:40] S3: that's in my house. We love [01:21:42] S2: horses. Yeah. We... You know, I... John doesn't have any daughters, but I but I say, you know, if your daughter's not a horse girl by five, you failed Yeah. As a father. [01:21:51] S5: Or or you're lucky. [01:21:52] S1: Yeah. Or or you're lucky. Also my sons are way too big to be jockeys even. So I think they'll... [01:21:57] S5: So drivers in harness racing? [01:21:59] S1: They can... [01:21:59] S5: Like my dad's my size. [01:22:01] S1: Okay. [01:22:01] S5: So you can be bigger. I think jockey and like thoroughbreds got to be Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. A little bit smaller. Yeah. Very [01:22:08] S2: cool. What... So you grew up going to a bunch of races and stuff?
01:22:08 · Jordi Hays, Max Siegelman
[01:22:08] S2: cool. What... So you grew up going to a bunch of races and stuff? [01:22:11] S5: You think I did a lot of that. I like... Yeah. I think people think I ride a horse every day. Like I grew up forty minutes outside Manhattan. Yeah. Yeah. Most of my friend's parents like were lawyers or doctors or worked in the city. My dad trained race horses, so like a little So bit I had more access to it, but probably didn't take advantage of it much as I could have. Yeah. And then I think once this started, I started to like realize it and appreciate it a bit more. And so Yeah. I probably spent more time with horses in the last five years than I did in my previous... [01:22:38] S2: Totally. That's how it works sometimes. When when did you actually go full time on the business? Three [01:22:43] S5: years ago. [01:22:43] S2: Three years ago? [01:22:44] S5: Yeah. [01:22:44] S2: And what was there like a certain like dollar amount that [01:22:47] S5: you... It's a good question. [01:22:48] S2: I was like... Because it if you have other income and you're trying to build a brand, there's some incentive to just keep doing the other things so you can buy more and more inventory. [01:22:57] S5: Yeah. I had I had it pretty good because I reported directly to the CMO of Out Front Media. Was amazing and let... And like knew what I was doing. Yeah. And it was like for fun on the side, but like we were doing drops on like a Friday like by myself and then my my wife now is creative director. So we had first started dating and we were doing good money on a Friday.
01:22:57 · Max Siegelman, Keller Cliffton, Jordi Hays, Praveer Melwani, John Coogan
[01:22:57] S5: Yeah. I had I had it pretty good because I reported directly to the CMO of Out Front Media. Was amazing and let... And like knew what I was doing. Yeah. And it was like for fun on the side, but like we were doing drops on like a Friday like by myself and then my my wife now is creative director. So we had first started dating and we were doing good money on a Friday. [01:23:19] S3: And I was like, [01:23:20] S5: two Fridays, I'm making but I kept I kept reinvesting it for like three weeks. [01:23:25] S2: He's like, hey, can you help me out with this thing? And you're like, watch your watch your town. [01:23:29] S5: I mean, yeah. So now she runs the show. She's the boss and so... And she's the the real creative talent behind it. [01:23:37] S4: Like... Boss ever. Oh, [01:23:39] S1: no. Yeah. [01:23:40] S4: Got it. Got it. Yeah. [01:23:41] S1: Yeah. She [01:23:42] S5: was like a second mom to me. She was great. But yeah, I think we got to a point. Honestly, the biggest... Everyone was like, you gotta go full time. You gotta go full time. Honestly, Gary Vaynerchuk was the one who pushed me [01:23:53] S1: to be like [01:23:53] S2: Let's go. [01:23:53] S5: Dude, now's the time. Wow. And I know he was on recently. Yeah. So... But but yeah, I think there was a lot of moments. I was like, alright, let's do it. And then I think it took it to a whole another level when we started doing this full time. [01:24:04] S2: Totally. [01:24:04] S5: But we were a team of three when we started this year. We're a team of six now. [01:24:07] S1: Wow.
01:24:07 · John Coogan, Max Siegelman, Praveer Melwani
[01:24:07] S1: Wow. [01:24:08] S5: So it feels like I already need it and so already not enough people. Yeah. Yeah. Totally. But it's been like a whirlwind of something that was never expected and a quick fashion education and business education. [01:24:18] S1: I I just wanna know about the, like, the distribution mix over time. [01:24:22] S5: Yep. [01:24:23] S1: Just building the brand. What what what you stayed away from? What you leaned into in terms of... [01:24:28] S5: Yeah. I think now, like, was a 100% DTC through our own website when we first started. Yeah. We were given opportunities to be in some bigger retailers and I wanted to protect the brand Yeah. And wanted to be really in control of everything and anything. [01:24:44] S1: Yeah. [01:24:44] S5: I still am probably in too much control and maybe hold us back from a bit of growth. But like with understanding, you go through phases of business and some things make sense at certain points. [01:24:53] S1: Yep. [01:24:54] S5: So I think like at first, a 100% DTC. Yeah. We did a pop up probably too soon in 2022. My wife and I built the whole thing out in Williamsburg. [01:25:02] S1: Okay. So did you... You did a short term rental on a physical [01:25:06] S5: It was [01:25:06] S1: like couple 100 [01:25:08] S5: pandemic. Gimme empty space. Wasn't being used. We outfitted out with literally things I was finding in my parents' garage in the trash. [01:25:15] S1: The furniture and stuff. [01:25:16] S5: It was the best fucking thing of all time. Can I curse on that show? Yeah. [01:25:19] S4: It was
01:25:19 · Praveer Melwani, Max Siegelman, John Coogan, Jordi Hays
[01:25:19] S4: It was [01:25:19] S5: the best thing of all time. And then like fast forward to where we are now, the pop up model is unbelievable for us. Okay. And so we open next week for five weeks in Soho in New York. Yes. A pop up in... That will be amazing for us. We use the space as an event space outside of retail hours for dinners and other stuff. What [01:25:41] S1: is your opinion on line culture in New York? Lines outside this... Waiting for? Is that... Yeah. Yeah. But but is that a sign of success? Is it a requirement for or is it something actually you want to avoid and it's a sign that, okay, you didn't quite match demand with supply? What's thinking? [01:26:01] S5: It's a it's a mix of both. Okay. I think one is like does the size of the store fit? Yeah. The other thought on that same thought is like what's the experience for the customer? Like if the experience for the customer is I'm a packed store and it's miserable [01:26:12] S1: Yeah. [01:26:12] S5: Get me out. [01:26:13] S1: Yeah. [01:26:13] S5: You don't want that. Yeah. And so there's a there's a balance. Yeah. Like is a line amazing? Yes. Yeah. If we have a line, like, I will bring out coffee. I will bring out stuff to like people waiting because I them I'm not a line person. [01:26:24] S2: Yeah.
01:26:24 · Jordi Hays, Max Siegelman, John Coogan
[01:26:24] S2: Yeah. [01:26:25] S5: But like, there is a bit of like, let's keep a line. It looks good. Sure. But it's also the balance of you don't know on the business side is like, I wish I could have more sales people in here helping you guys out and I want this experience to be just as good for you as it is for you and the next person. [01:26:38] S1: Yeah. [01:26:38] S5: And so it's it's a balance but line culture is... [01:26:40] S1: What's the coolest thing that you're putting into the decoration to the design of the... [01:26:46] S2: You got a truck in there? [01:26:47] S5: Through a truck? [01:26:48] S2: Yeah.... [01:26:50] S5: We're putting a sulky in this one which will be our first time putting a sulky in the back in in a store. [01:26:54] S1: Will it be for sale if someone comes in and they demand to buy? [01:26:57] S5: I always say there's a price for everything. [01:26:59] S1: Thank you. So I am 100% agree. [01:27:03] S5: We have this trophy Yeah. That we put in all of our pop ups. Yeah. And my mom we in Chicago was our first pop up this summer that we did for the first time. Was a trophy on the table. Yeah. And someone comes in they're like how much for the trophy? It's like, oh, I can't sell it like... [01:27:15] S2: Family area. Yeah. [01:27:16] S5: It's my... It's one of my dad's trophies. My mom like in the back is like, we got more. I'm like, I'm like, dude, let me at least get the price before we say it's over. Yeah. Yeah. There... I mean, there's there's things that I've sold in the store that aren't actual things that we make and sell. So like