The post-Hamilton Perkins Collection Startup Manufactured Travel Bags Using Recycled Plastic Bottles Vinyl Billboard Show 050
first published on mitchellchadrow.com
0:00you’re listening to the listen up show
0:01dart of entrepreneur podcast I’m
0:03Mitchell Chad row your host today on
0:05show bureau 5-0 we’re interviewing
0:08Hamilton Thorton you can make anything
0:11happen and it starts with you let’s get
0:20started we sign up to my email list for
0:23the latest special offers exclusive for
0:26our listen up show startup entrepreneur
0:28podcast audience at Mitchell Chad Road
0:30comm slash sign up I have been providing
0:33business advice resources in hell to
0:36entrepreneurs for over 20 years and I’m
0:38looking forward to helping all of you
0:40sign up for my email list again at
0:43Mitchell Chad Road comm slash sign up I
0:46will provide you with full transcript
0:48for each interview my ebook 30 tools to
0:51start up the startup checklist and many
0:53other education and training materials
0:57all back at Mitchell Chad Road comm
0:59slash sign up now enjoy the show
1:03Hamilton Perkins is the founder and
1:05president of Hamilton Perkins collection
1:07an e-commerce retailer offering designer
1:10travel bags at an affordable price while
1:13holding the highest standards of social
1:15and environmental performance
1:16accountability and transparency what are
1:19we going to learn today how Hamilton
1:21came up with his idea what problem he
1:24was solving and testing the product
1:26concept we were going to talk a little
1:32manufacturing to distribution
1:34the Hamilton Perkins collection has been
1:36featured in Forbes Fast Company the
1:40Washington Post and Money Magazine and
1:43now on the listen up show Hamilton it is
1:47so great to have you on the show today
1:49how are you thank you so much Mitchell
1:52I’m really well it’s Saturday I’m in the
1:55showroom today I’m looking at a bunch of
1:57boxes getting ready to get palletized to
2:00send to our factory and we just got a
2:02shipment of new shirts in and I’m seeing
2:05that those are you know in the process
2:07of being merchandised
2:08so it’s things are happening so we’re
2:10good we appreciate this up
2:12as well oh we’re really excited you know
2:15when I when I read your bio and I saw
2:17some of the things that you were doing I
2:19knew that the audience was going to be
2:21in awe with how you’ve been able to sort
2:26of take the company step by step to the
2:29next level you know prior to starting
2:32Hamilton Perkins collection you were
2:34actually the winner of the 2016 Virginia
2:38velocity tour business pitch competition
2:41and it was actually hosted by the
2:43governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia
2:46so what was that like yeah so it was
2:49such a rewarding experience we started
2:53with a Kickstarter campaign last summer
2:55we had a $10,000 goal we hit that goal
2:59in about a week so we had a six-month
3:02lead time where all of our customers had
3:05pre-ordered and they were waiting for
3:06the product I formally I came from
3:10finance I had you know kind of just
3:14recently got my MBA and I ended up kind
3:17of taking the leap and going full-time
3:18shortly after our crowdfunding campaign
3:21closed last summer from there we ended
3:25up having you know a lot of time on our
3:27hands because we didn’t have a product
3:29and we’re in the retail industry it was
3:32taking a long time to make it for the
3:33very first time so you know we went out
3:36on the business plan competition circuit
3:38and you know fortunately we were able to
3:41compete at the Virginia velocity tour
3:43which was a one-day event it was a pitch
3:47competition for the state of Virginia so
3:49there were companies that came from
3:51physically all over the state investors
3:54from all over the state service
3:56providers from all over the state and we
3:57all kind of came together you know for
4:00like this this one day of you know
4:02showing what’s happening around the
4:05ecosystem the entrepreneurial spirit was
4:08you know alive and well and that there
4:10were some remarks from the governor and
4:13from there the pitch competition
4:15happened later that night so you know it
4:18was about like three minutes of a pitch
4:20and maybe like another three minutes of
4:22and you know I can remember there was
4:25about maybe ten seconds left on the clap
4:27for us and you know I kind of like ended
4:30it a little bit earlier because I felt
4:31like I would have a better chance really
4:33like reacting to questions so Q&A was
4:36going to be a more strong suit for me
4:38but after that you know the judges went
4:42back and made a decision and it was
4:44quiet for a second and you know I’m kind
4:46of in the crowd of mingling and you know
4:48networking and you know someone asked
4:51the question is Hamilton Perkins still
4:53here and I’m you know I’m like yes I’m
4:55still here that’s great
4:57dude they called me up on the stage and
4:58you know they presented me with the
5:00award and you know there was lots of
5:02interviews and you know it was a great
5:04experience because from there we were
5:06able to get a $25,000 grant that gave us
5:09the runway that we needed to really like
5:11sustain through the holidays
5:13we finished the year off with a trunk
5:15show at Bloomingdale’s in New York we
5:18hosted three trunk shows at
5:19Bloomingdale’s to date and importantly
5:21we came back to Virginia and shipped out
5:23all the pre-orders in time to hit that
5:26six-month deadline and then we turn our
5:28webstore on in early 2017 and that
5:32pretty much brings us almost to where we
5:33are today we’re really just kind of
5:35building our production ramp you know
5:37going from making a couple hundred bags
5:39in a year to now making a couple
5:40thousand bags few thousand bags in a
5:42year and you know kind of continuances
5:44to ramp that to produce tens of
5:46thousands of bag in the year so you know
5:48we’re just thankful that you know
5:50there’s been a great reaction to what we
5:51were doing and you know for all the all
5:53the help that we’ve received along the
5:55way know that that’s awesome our
5:56start-up around for all your hosting
5:58needs head on over to Mitchell Chad Road
6:01comm slash hosting Mitchell Chad Road
6:04comm flash hosting for all your web
6:06hosting need who do you use to host this
6:08website people want to know how did you
6:10actually gain get into the
6:12Bloomingdale’s store yeah that was know
6:15pretty amazing that the we prior to the
6:18Brazilian velocity tour I had been in
6:20New York and a customer had essentially
6:24introduced me to like a good friend from
6:27college and
6:29you know said hey you need to talk to my
6:30friend you know he’s got some experience
6:32in department stores and you know really
6:34big-box retail is by his thing he’s
6:36really well connected and you know we
6:39hit it off and you know we actually met
6:41up a couple times you know kind of
6:42before then down here in Virginia and
6:45you know next thing I knew I had this
6:47meeting with Bloomingdale’s and I’m kind
6:49of going around and I’m you know showing
6:51off the product and you know I kind of
6:54came back to Virginia to focus on the
6:56Virginia velocity tour and that was the
6:58very next week and I won the grant and
6:59you know I thought about it a little bit
7:01a little bit on the way home from the
7:04drive the drive home you know Virginia
7:06velocity tour was in Richmond it’s about
7:07an hour and a half two hours away so on
7:09the drive home back I’m like you know I
7:12think everything went well with the
7:13meeting that I had with Bloomingdale’s
7:15maybe it’s you know I think the concern
7:17would be you know who can sell this
7:19product in store you know like how can
7:21they dedicate shelf space and resources
7:23to it and I’m like why don’t I just come
7:26in and do it you know so that was my
7:27pitch I’ve come in on the holidays and
7:30I’ll uh I’ll sell the product and uh you
7:34know it really turned into a whirlwind I
7:37actually was married in December as well
7:40so oh wow so so it really has been a
7:44real whirlwind I mean you know you’re
7:46you’re you have like this this can-do
7:48attitude very positive very
7:50down-to-earth very inspirational not
7:54only your own personal story but other
7:57people out in the audience yeah without
8:00a doubt and you know so my wife actually
8:03worked the show with me and you know
8:05this was like literally like the week
8:07after our wedding so you know I couldn’t
8:10do it without her support and you know
8:12just really being there as a partner for
8:14me kind of an you know in life and in
8:17business so it uh it all worked out how
8:21have you been able to balance it all
8:22because here you’re you’re doing these
8:24competitions you’re getting into
8:25Bloomingdale’s you’re doing a
8:28crowdfunding campaign you’re trying to
8:30build up a business here you’re just
8:32getting married and sort of balancing at
8:35all how do you do it and you’re a young
8:37fella yeah I think communication is
8:40probably the way to go and
8:42you know one one relationships point of
8:45view but you know we try to really hear
8:48each other out and you know kind of map
8:51what we want from a long term
8:52perspective to kind of the short term
8:55perspective you know one thing that I’ve
8:58always kind of known in my career and
9:00experience is that everything won’t
9:03always be the way it is today then this
9:06kind of goes back to you know my days of
9:08working full-time at Bank of America and
9:10you know earning my MBA every other
9:14weekend of it William and Mary you know
9:17and just kind of having this a really
9:19grueling schedule and then you know kind
9:22of cultivating you know this idea for
9:24accessories on the side you know I knew
9:27it wouldn’t be that way all the time and
9:29then you know from there kind of it went
9:32to working full-time and then like
9:35nights and weekends you know kind of
9:36like cultivating this accessories
9:38project on the side you know I knew it
9:40wouldn’t always be that that way and
9:41then you know finally it’s like okay
9:43well making a full-time leap into really
9:44you know running the venture full-time
9:47and not having a full time job other
9:49than the actual venture in the early
9:52days of that very very challenging
9:54difficult but again won’t always be that
9:57way and going forward if you know there
9:59will be like another challenge but
10:01that’s the way that I think that we’ve
10:03been able to you know kind of maintain
10:04and like manifest like what we want it
10:06to happen it’s kind of just through
10:08knowing that you know putting in you put
10:11you put in work and then you get out an
10:13outcome I hear from you this tremendous
10:17work ethic and you’re a young man and a
10:21lot of a lot of younger college students
10:24who are wanting to start a business or
10:27just in the process of sort of starting
10:29up or wanting to sort of take it to the
10:31next level who do you attribute or how
10:34did you get this this dis maturity and
10:37this work ethic that I that I hear
10:39coming through loud and clear I think it
10:43comes from my mother so I was raised you
10:45know basically in a single-parent
10:46household my mom was my best friend she
10:50ended up passing away at when I was 18 I
10:53actually found
10:55that 17 kind of went on in college I
10:58mean worked my way through with you know
10:59scholarships and grants eventually you
11:03know kind of you know state in the
11:04retail world stayed and you know kind of
11:07you know always been entrepreneurial I
11:09mean even back in middle school I was I
11:10was selling Locker decoration art so I
11:13would have cut up a magazine take all
11:17the posters of the celebrities out and
11:18then I’d sell those to classmates and
11:20classmates would have you know they
11:22dress their lockers up because they were
11:23all playing and you know I had a small
11:26you know kind of little franchise that I
11:27was running in middle school so I think
11:30if I look you know back to what I’m
11:31supposed to be doing you know I think I
11:33wanted to get a bird’s-eye view of the
11:36economy I worked really hard and Finance
11:39learned a ton you know got a chance to
11:42you know work with really you know
11:44bright and smart mind that wouldn’t
11:46Marion MBA program you know we did to
11:48global emergence we went to Hong Kong
11:51Shanghai Madrid Athens for global
11:56immersions where we worked with business
11:58owners and consulting and you know I
12:00think combining all the just different
12:02experiences of you know basically shaped
12:04my outlook but I mean definitely those
12:06are the three kind of pillars I think
12:08for how I get to you know kind of come
12:11to work every day and you know have the
12:12results that we did I think it starts
12:15like you said I mean it’s having that
12:16work ethic I think patience is also
12:19something you know that have been really
12:21really helpful for for me and keeping me
12:23kind of ground and then just like
12:24generally just being grateful and just
12:26having the gratitude of just knowing
12:28that you know it doesn’t have to be this
12:30way like you know things could be a lot
12:31worse there’s lots of challenges that
12:34you know I could potentially be facing
12:35just flip the blink of an eye okay you
12:37know I don’t have to be so fortunate to
12:39have like access to the Internet so I
12:40think those three days pretty much keep
12:42me ground you really have an awesome
12:43awesome head on your shoulders have you
12:46always been this resourceful this
12:48creative determined yeah you know I
12:50think so I had an eBay store really
12:53early on I mean it was a sizeable store
12:55I was selling sneakers and really what
12:59they call quick strikes or limited
13:01edition shoes I mean I was
13:03doing this really like in the early days
13:05I mean now it’s become like mainstream
13:07and a lot of streetwear culture has
13:10really almost become pop I mean it is
13:13pop culture now you know with like the
13:15key like press outlets for actually
13:18being publicly traded on Hong Kong stock
13:21exchange and you know just seeing so
13:24many celebrities like really you know
13:25showing it love but I think you know
13:27back then it was just like consumer
13:29insight you know when you stand on your
13:30feet 12 hours a day we’re working in
13:32retail you get to talk to a lot of
13:34people and you learn you see the
13:36patterns and I think that’s what I got
13:38good at is kind of pattern recognition
13:41you know why why certain releases in a
13:44store create a line you know why do
13:47certain things stay on the shelf and
13:49nothing you know it’s nothing says the
13:51brand can seem to do about actually
13:52selling it so combining that with you
13:56know the direction of the internet and
13:58the direction of communication you know
14:00see back in the days it was like
14:02everybody wanted to have the same logo
14:04because that meant they were cool or
14:05they were in the club and today it’s
14:07like well with social media you have far
14:09more friends there’s much more attention
14:11looks like coming your way so what you
14:15purchase or what you buy says something
14:17about you and that’s what kind of panels
14:19the Perkins collection is all about is
14:21you know we want to advance the idea of
14:23the sustainable basic so you know bags
14:26made from recycled plastic that that was
14:29already a big problem
14:30you know there’s I think that I just saw
14:32stat about close to nine billion tons of
14:35plastic have been created by humans and
14:38you know that’s you know several times
14:40the size of the weight of the Empire
14:43State Building and then we’re going to
14:45we’re going to definitely get into the
14:47materials that actually go into your
14:49product which i think is absolutely
14:51fascinating but you know we actually did
14:53an entire podcast show not only on
14:56crowdfunding but crowdsourcing and I see
14:59here that you’re doing a campaign and so
15:02why Kickstarter yeah so we chose
15:05Kickstarter to do our crowdfunding
15:07campaign because it had built in viral
15:09tea and as a startup you know the
15:11nothing better than finding an audience
15:13for your product you know it’s not
15:15really about like getting this one press
15:17feature or getting this one influencer
15:19to mention you anymore it’s almost like
15:21if you can just find a group of like
15:22really enthusiastic backers or early
15:26adopters excuse me you can actually
15:28succeed so we knew Kickstarter with the
15:31world’s largest platform for that we
15:33knew that we were on our on our end we
15:36were creating our own community and we
15:38we would be rewarded by Kickstarter by
15:40bringing them to a community that was
15:42already engaged Kickstarter is really
15:44great for helping fund an idea fund and
15:47create a project and especially if you
15:49already have leads or you already have
15:51you know community and that’s what we
15:53did I mean I started on my cell phone a
15:56text message everyone that has ever text
15:58messaged me I found all of my emails
16:00from Gmail and extracted those and
16:02emailed everyone that had ever emailed
16:04me and I developed my first customer
16:06list out of that it was a simple pitch I
16:08said hi I’m working on a project I would
16:11love it would mean the world to me if I
16:13could just add you to the notification
16:15list when we launched and from there I
16:17ran you know a simple email sequence
16:20that really introduces the product and
16:22introduces why this product and you know
16:25how the product can be purchased and you
16:28know what crowdfunding is all about so I
16:29ran well I’ll tell you what listen up
16:32trusted friends out there in the listen
16:33up show audience because there’s a lot
16:37of value bombs in what Hamilton just
16:39said and Hamilton you might just want to
16:41take them in a little bit in terms of
16:43how your you and your company actually
16:45reached out to me which I thought was
16:47over-the-top creative it certainly got
16:50my attention
16:51and you’re here on this podcast being
16:54interviewed by me and so I think that
16:56that would be very instructive and very
16:58helpful to people out there in terms of
17:01how they can sort of you know get into
17:03to two interviews like this
17:05and sort of you know leverage their own
17:08products and services and solutions with
17:10with others yeah you know it all goes
17:13back to like Hanahan combat you know
17:15one-on-one relationships are still alive
17:18you know it’s like 2017 but 1917 you
17:23know like I
17:24my grandmother was born in 1919 and she
17:26tells me a lot about how things were
17:28back in you know the 30s the 40s and you
17:31know this when she was a kid and I think
17:33that a lot of that is still true you
17:35know if it’s fancy because of the
17:37technology but the idea of personal
17:39touch is still there so you know I work
17:42closely with Daniel on our team he’s a
17:44remote employee right now he’s actually
17:46coming to Virginia from California next
17:49week he’s a student at UC Berkeley still
17:52and Daniel was actually in your
17:54marketing department he was actually the
17:56the person that I actually got the email
17:58from exactly and you know Daniel is
18:01really a personal guy I mean really
18:03bright you know young man I mean we’re
18:05fortunate to have him on our on our team
18:07and you know we felt like it would be
18:10good if we just reach out directly you
18:12know I think to your point you know you
18:14can automate and you create BOTS or you
18:17can you know kind of I mean there’s lots
18:18of growth hacks right like everybody’s
18:20looking for the growth hack they want to
18:22hack the email culture they want to hack
18:24the social media culture but you know I
18:26think if you just sit down and you know
18:28you communicate and you take time to
18:30really build a relationship you know you
18:32go a long way and you know it’s really
18:35it’s never really steered us wrong to
18:37this point so you know we’re big
18:38believers of it yeah you know we’ve
18:42we’ve begun to talk about about this
18:45we’ve touched on it but I want to really
18:48kind of delve a lot deeper into my next
18:52set of questions and again we refer to
18:55this as our startup round and so really
18:59we want to really know about the bag
19:02making process and your successful
19:06experience in creating an
19:07environmentally sustainable product and
19:10supply chain yeah absolutely so you know
19:14Hamilton Perkins collection we make
19:16uniquely design
19:17eco-friendly travel bags they’re
19:20handcrafted by Haitian artisans they’re
19:22made from recycled plastic and upcycle
19:24billboards these bags are typically we
19:28go for a trendy sophisticated direction
19:32but you know we try to offer these bold
19:33pops of color and
19:35out of the bags making it a
19:36one-of-a-kind art design and you know
19:39the process really kind of starts in the
19:41developing world starts in Haiti you
19:43know we when we got started we wanted to
19:46make a bag that we could be proud of and
19:48that was hard to find the department
19:50stores it was hard to find online at the
19:52time and we figured that we were going
19:55to be experts in retail or experts in
19:58recycling overnight so we ended up
20:00partnering with experts and we partnered
20:03with organizations that were doing
20:06already doing the work so we partnered
20:08with an organization called thread
20:10international you know they have been
20:12working in Haiti for several years
20:13already and what they’ve been able to
20:15help enable us to do is you know we can
20:18assist with basically individuals on the
20:21ground in Haiti they collect bottles so
20:24this is just a painted picture this is
20:26the first mile of the supply chain would
20:29be where I recently I just got back from
20:30Haiti last month where you know I was
20:33able to kind of walk the first model of
20:35supply chain starts at a landfill so
20:37individuals collect bottles they bring
20:40the bottles to collection centers
20:42collection center owners will take those
20:45bottles take cash on the spot to
20:48individual collectors so they take the
20:49plastic to recycling centers that are
20:51also Haitian owned and operated and from
20:53there it’s all turned into a plastic
20:55flake the plastic is then also you know
20:59exported to the States from here that’s
21:02where we can melt it extruded turn it
21:04into a fiber in the States and then the
21:07fiber is either blended or it’s 100
21:09percent polyester and that woven final
21:13fabric is what a design brand like ours
21:15can take and then we will apply our own
21:17personal touch with the upcycle
21:19billboard so I and my team we’ll go out
21:23and we’ll source a client billboard so
21:26you can picture a freeway billboard you
21:29can picture a you know a vinyl from a
21:32poster or festival we will take those
21:34vinyls and then we use that as a line in
21:37a accent color for our bags and you know
21:40basically what you get is this bag
21:41that’s made from recycled plastic and a
21:45cycle billboards and you know it’s just
21:47been kind of
21:48really interesting like evolution so
21:51right now in our showroom that we’ve got
21:53about 2,000 pounds of vinyls sitting
21:55here and they’re getting ready to get
21:57shipped down to Haiti so that we can cut
21:59and sew the bags we’ll be ready for
22:03holidays and you know we sell direct to
22:06customers on our website well I’ll tell
22:08you what when I got that email from
22:10Daniel and I started looking into how
22:14you actually manufacture the product and
22:17I showed because I was it was July 4th
22:21weekend and I was sitting around the
22:23pool and you know being at a barbecue
22:25and I not only showed my older daughter
22:27who’s 17 and my mother you know this
22:30particular product and I told them how
22:32it was actually made they not only
22:35thought that the product was was
22:36aesthetically pleasing and they liked
22:38the versatility of all the pockets and
22:41how it was designed and the space of it
22:45but they were just totally amazed at
22:47what actually was actually making the
22:51product itself so I really thought it
22:53was really neat yeah now we appreciate
22:57it and you know that’s been really a
22:58value proposition I mean the bag is a
23:00cool unique bag no two bags are ever the
23:04same you do get that element of surprise
23:06and you know it’s a very engaging
23:08process to kind of use our bags or carry
23:11our bags it’s a great conversation piece
23:13and looks good and you know at the end
23:15of the day it provides dignified income
23:17opportunities and you know that was what
23:19we really wanted to do was we wanted to
23:21empower travelers while supporting you
23:24know these income opportunities you know
23:26we we talked about made in the USA and
23:29one of the things that I really liked
23:32about your product was not only are you
23:35working outside the US as you mentioned
23:38you just recently went to Haiti and and
23:40they’re helping you with with the
23:42process but you also do some of the
23:45manufacturing right here in the United
23:47States so talk to us a little bit about
23:50that yeah we also expanded into apparel
23:53so now we have shirts that are still
23:55made from the same Kamkar I’m sorry are
23:57made from jersey knit which is a you
24:00know really soft
24:01fiber shirt so you know our shirts are
24:04you know like I say they’re 50% plastic
24:07they’re 50% cotton but they’re 100%
24:10comfortable the shirts are made in the
24:13US and we’ve been really working in you
24:16know just like smaller groups smaller
24:18factories to get things done and you
24:21know eventually what we do want to do is
24:22eventually grab you know how more I
24:26guess you know like suppliers from Haiti
24:29because you know we know that they’re
24:32one of the poorest countries in the
24:33Western Hemisphere right and pure with
24:36my background and kind of just finance
24:38and just being in you know retail it’s
24:41always been like the places where
24:42there’s a bigger problem the biggest
24:44problems that’s where I found the
24:46biggest upside so you know in having the
24:49focus like that kind of really creates
24:51sort of momentum and you know this
24:53there’s so much momentum just from going
24:56down on the ground I mean we were we
24:58were there for about four days you know
25:00we were able to go to about I think we
25:03went to about about a dozen different
25:05artisan and factories our factories from
25:10fashion sector artisanal sector and in
25:13agriculture sector and I mean I mean
25:15it’s just amazing like some of the
25:17collaborations that we’re working on now
25:18just coming from that trip and you know
25:21we know that at the end they will still
25:23be able to you know create jobs here in
25:25the US because you know we’re still
25:27headquartered here and you know will
25:29still run our sales our marketing and
25:31you know eventually we’d love to have
25:32our own sample making kind of operations
25:34so you know that all those things kind
25:37of combine you know make the whole ship
25:38you know steer correctly you know when
25:42you’re a start-up and you have a new
25:43product and or solution it is so
25:46important to test the idea so that
25:49you’re not spinning your wheels spending
25:52a lot of money on something that may or
25:54may not necessarily sell in the market
25:57so talk to us a little bit about how you
25:59were actually able to test these various
26:02ideas for the product yeah I mean the
26:06biggest way that we were able to do that
26:08was offline we started with our own like
26:11offline crowdfunding campaign so before
26:13we ever got this kickstarter you know we
26:15actually tested in the market with you
26:18know real customers and you know real
26:20people that we asked to you know take a
26:22look at what we were doing when he shows
26:25them sketches we showed them samples and
26:27we asked them to pay us you know if they
26:29wanted to you know be patient we could
26:32get the bag to them on a pre-order basis
26:34it would still take us you know about
26:36six months to do so if we could get past
26:38that then we thought it made sense to go
26:40online so you know 30 days crowdfunding
26:44you know we came up with about 30,000
26:46and crowd revenue crowdfunding revenues
26:48you know and that was with a Priora
26:50basis and that was really allowing us to
26:53test the market and know that when we
26:55have the inventory when we have the
26:58distribution you know that is a scalable
27:01idea that is a that is a an operation
27:04that is viable
27:06so finding you know kind of inexpensive
27:10ways to test your idea is key I mean we
27:12were able to tap excuse me a local grant
27:15for funding our very first you know
27:19offline crowdfunding adventure I guess
27:24you will call it and you know that also
27:26trickles into our online crowdfunding
27:29venture so you know fun finding a
27:33minimum lovable product you know I think
27:36you hear a Minimum Viable Product a lot
27:38but a lot of the designers I work with
27:40they throw around the minimum lovable
27:42product and I like it very creative and
27:45you get that going and from there you
27:47you know that’s where you can you can
27:49always go back and refine and you know
27:50you can make things you know how you
27:52really want them to be you know Hamilton
27:54in this next round we call it our fast
27:57pitch it’s a lot of fun it’s very fast
27:59we quick questions straight answers and
28:02it allows the audience to know a little
28:05bit more about you not just the business
28:08person but someone in family in life can
28:11you tell us a person that you look up to
28:13the most that is a success to you yeah I
28:16think you know it probably would be my
28:18mother
28:19you know just knowing how she you know
28:21like her background and you know she she
28:23also was a banker and I mean she had
28:25lots of creative projects on the side
28:27and just knowing how hard she worked
28:29just to give me an opportunity
28:31you know she worked to kind of put me
28:33through you know schools and you know
28:36she never specially never missed any my
28:37sporting events you know she always made
28:39me you know know that you know I was
28:42good enough you know I could do anything
28:44and you know she really sold a lot of
28:47confidence in me that I feel like you
28:50know that that’s something that I still
28:51look up to today because as I look
28:54around I noticed that lots of you know
28:57society and the way things are set up it
29:00doesn’t necessarily like reinforce that
29:02you know it’s pretty pretty much comes
29:05across as like opposite you know you
29:07need more education you need more
29:09training you need more help you know you
29:12don’t have enough skill to get you know
29:15the things that you want to accomplish
29:16so I think that you know that really
29:19being you know kind of embedded in like
29:21how I was raised early on it just makes
29:24me grateful today well you know what was
29:26mom’s first name Marsha
29:27wow that’s that’s great and you know
29:30today being our show zero-five-zero our
29:33show 50 I usually don’t interject my own
29:36personal success hero it was really my
29:39dad and I actually lost my dad when I
29:41was 27 and so the fact that you were 17
29:4318 you know my heart kind of goes out to
29:46you but it you’re really doing a
29:49wonderful legacy for your mom
29:51and I know that the audience sort of
29:54sees a whole different dimension of you
29:56in addition to just you being the
29:58business the business guy so and you
30:00mentioned your grandmother as well what
30:02was her first name so my grandmother her
30:04name is Elizabeth and sorry for your
30:07loss as well and thank you for the kind
30:09words my grandmother is still alive and
30:12kicking she’s you know easily the most
30:15stylish person that I know you know more
30:18hats than I’ve ever seen you know bags
30:21hat outfits you know just kind of you
30:24know really really just like a you know
30:26just one of the greatest people I know
30:28well I’ll tell you this and again the
30:30only reason why I am
30:31this is because I’m I’m thankful to my
30:33audience as well and especially you know
30:35being that it’s my 50th show and this
30:38was not set up ahead of time my my other
30:40hero was grandmother’s whose both names
30:42happen to be Elizabeth but they never
30:44actually went by Elizabeth
30:46so my nanny was Bessie and my Bubbe was
30:49Libby and so I have to Elizabeth’s also
30:52that I look up to and the fact that your
30:54grandmother is also Elizabeth is is
30:57quite coincidental on this show fifty so
30:59anyway thank you for allowing me to kind
31:01of jump in and mention that as well and
31:04I appreciate that to Hamilton and funny
31:07enough she rarely went by Elizabeth so
31:10she would all like you know with her
31:12brothers and sisters she would go by
31:14Kish so how do you like how do you like
31:17that you know it kind of gives me goose
31:19bumps because you know to loosen up show
31:21the startup entrepreneur podcast is not
31:24just about business trusted friends out
31:26there it’s about business family and
31:28life and if you only focus on one and to
31:31neglect the other two or to neglect the
31:34other one then are you really living a
31:36balanced existence any way that that’s
31:38why that’s the focus fastpitch Mitchell
31:40Chad Road comm slash books for books
31:44audiobooks guest recommendations and the
31:47books that I read to start off each day
31:50sponsors are fast pitch my book club
31:54recommendations that I get Mitchell Chad
31:56Road comm slash books to see more of my
31:59recommendations and recommendations of
32:01our guests just go to Mitchell Chad Road
32:03comm slash books it’s your number one
32:06resource for book reviews and
32:08recommendations can you recommend a book
32:10something that inspires something that
32:13motivates something that you always go
32:15back to and that you’ve enjoyed yeah you
32:17know I think from a book perspective I
32:20just recently read shoot oh that that’s
32:23Phil knight’s book and that’s you know
32:27very industry I guess specifics but you
32:30know as far as a book that I always go
32:32back to that has everything that I ever
32:33need is the Bible I don’t know I mean
32:36that’s oh that’s that’s that’s great
32:37that that’s terrific you know everything
32:40that we talked about all of the
32:41different links and the different things
32:43that were
32:44discussing is going to be found back at
32:47the show notes which can easily be
32:49obtained by going to Mitchel Chad Road
32:52comm blasts show 0-5 euro and you’ll be
32:56able to get all of these links to all
32:58the books and yes I’m going to have I’ll
33:00definitely have a link back to the Bible
33:02because that’s great that that tells us
33:03a lot about you Hamilton and we really
33:06appreciate that as well my pleasure
33:09yeah absolutely what what contributes
33:12most to your success
33:13I think it’s gratitude you know I I just
33:15know that you know I’m really fortunate
33:17you know I’m really lucky to be able to
33:20work hard you know is that’s that’s half
33:23of it you know the other half is you
33:25know working but you know having the
33:28internet you know I wouldn’t be here if
33:30it wasn’t for you know I could easily be
33:33somewhere where I wouldn’t have access
33:35to the internet or I could have been
33:36born in a different time without the
33:37technology or without having the rights
33:41that I have like I mean there’s just so
33:43many different you know reasons to be
33:45thankful to be grateful so that’s the
33:48number one thing and then I always
33:50followed up I think patience you know
33:52just knowing that this doesn’t have to
33:54happen overnight you know nothing is
33:57built overnight it may appear that way
33:59but it doesn’t have to happen that way
34:00and you know just just knowing that you
34:04know work ethic you know hard work will
34:06pay off how about an app whether it be a
34:11Productivity or in Business and Finance
34:13but just an app that you use like all
34:17the time and you’ve come to really rely
34:19on as a really good tool and resource I
34:22think I’m really in love with slack
34:25I love the communication I love being
34:30able to search you know easily for files
34:32and not get buried in my emails so I’m
34:36really I’m loving the slack app great
34:39best business advice that you’ve ever
34:42received best business advice I ever
34:46received was you know to to care you
34:49know care for the customer you know have
34:52one-on-one relationship you know if
34:56you’re a small company
34:57you want to you don’t want to look like
35:00a small company but once you become a
35:02big a big company you still want to
35:04think like a small company so I think
35:07that the best advice has just been to
35:08know that you know time is really the
35:10key that we have you know we’re not in a
35:13Wall Street environment where we have
35:15you know quarterly earnings to report
35:17and you know we don’t have you know kind
35:20of that those sorts of pressures so it’s
35:23on us to really play to our strengths as
35:26a start-up and you know that’s a good
35:28advice that you know I’ve gotten is just
35:30you know always kind of double down and
35:32things you can do well in this next
35:35round we call it our wrap-up round so
35:38how are people going to stay in touch
35:40with Hamilton Perkins yeah so you can
35:43check us out where it’s in Wilton
35:44Perkins comm and Mitchell I’ve provided
35:47a discount code for your audience
35:49it’s listen up so if you answer listen
35:52up at checkout you’ll get $10 off your
35:54first order and let us know if you have
35:56any questions or if you have any
35:58concerns we’d love to hear from you
36:01that’s a great you know you know I’m
36:03usually not taken off-guard like that
36:05that that’s a very nice gesture on your
36:08part and I know that there’s going to be
36:11a lot of people not only checking out
36:13the website but but certainly using that
36:16code as well because you know the the
36:18bags are really really nice like I said
36:20I already got great compliments from two
36:23ladies already in my life my older
36:25daughter and my mother so that’s
36:27terrific Hamilton thank you so much and
36:30can you leave us with three main
36:32takeaways yeah I think you know
36:34recruiting your talent you know
36:36investing in your people you know
36:38whoever is on your team you know make
36:40sure that they’re your plan of their
36:42strengths you know build build build for
36:46their success you know I think in our in
36:49our case you know I think growth is
36:52always something that’s my job in the
36:53company is to really focus on you know
36:57continuing to expand our awareness and
37:00to get more people to know what we do
37:02because without that there there will be
37:04no you know there will be no supporting
37:06of dignified income opportunities there
37:08will be no
37:09you know recycling tens of thousands of
37:11plastic bottles in the first half of the
37:12year like we won’t be able to do any of
37:14those things and then you know I think
37:16finally just always look to to optimize
37:18you know I think you can always go back
37:20and you know you can you can look at
37:22profit margins and you can do all the
37:24technical things but I think speed is
37:26that’s what the takeaways get it getting
37:29your product or service heard or seen or
37:31used getting it into the market place
37:34what’s up what’s next well for us right
37:37now we’re we’re looking at it like I
37:40said I’ve got all these parts that are
37:42sitting in the showroom I’ve got half my
37:44parts in the factory half of them here
37:46in the showroom so the next thing is
37:48producing the making the product being
37:53prepared for holiday this year you know
37:57December Oh Black Friday going into
38:00December and then you know next year
38:03kind of doing it again but you know
38:05really really going up a steep ramp you
38:08know we really want to increase our
38:09production we found that when we just
38:12produce the product that we make
38:14you know things things go really well
38:16for us the demand you know certainly
38:18because everything is limited-edition
38:20you know it is kind of outstrips the
38:22supply so that that’s the next thing for
38:25us you know we just got in new shirts
38:28so you know we also have shirts on the
38:30website if you check those out and you
38:33know we’re here we’re here to help so if
38:36we can be of a resource or if we can be
38:38of any assistance I’ll wrap up round
38:40mitchell chad row comm slash photo for
38:44all your graphic design needs you’ll
38:47find at the Hamilton perkins comm
38:48importing leave us with your philosophy
38:50and business family in life I think my
38:53philosophy has just been you know just
38:56know that you’re key you’re not coming
38:58back you know like that that’s really
39:01how I live you know you can’t come back
39:03to that day you can’t come back to that
39:05week you just make the best decision
39:07that you can for the time that you have
39:09and you know I think just trusting
39:12yourself you know trust that you have
39:14everything that you need you know you
39:16know the vision that you have for your
39:18family or for
39:19business um you know lead with that know
39:21that you know you can you can make
39:23anything happen
39:24and it starts with you Hamilton Perkins
39:27this has been awesome you I’ve been
39:29literally smiling the entire interview
39:31if you could actually see me you know
39:33not only are you a terrific inspiration
39:36and motivation for other young
39:38entrepreneurs out there not only do you
39:41have a really terrific head on your
39:43shoulders but I know that we’re going to
39:45be saying some really really big things
39:47and we’re just looking forward to
39:49hearing the next chapter in the story
39:51and so we’re certainly going to keep in
39:53touch with you and we just want to thank
39:55you very much again know thank you so
39:58much for the opportunity Mitchell and
40:00you know we really we appreciate you for
40:02taking the time out to talk to us today
40:03absolutely you take care now be good
40:05thank you take care in closing let me
40:08have for my listeners help first please
40:10subscribe to my email list at Mitchell
40:12Chad Road comm slash sign up you will
40:15get all the full interview transcripts
40:17my ebook 30 tools to start off where I
40:20talk about these free resources in show
40:23zero zero stick you’ll get the startup
40:25checklist education and training
40:26materials and other resources just by
40:29signing up at Mitchell Chad Road calm
40:31slash sign up
40:33[Music]
40:41[Music]
40:45back at Mitchell Chadwick RV / sign up
40:48help me boost the rankings of the listen
40:50up show this startup entrepreneur
40:52podcast by providing a well written
40:54review in iTunes
40:56Mitchell chadrow comm / iTunes it helps
40:59other people find the show if you
41:01actually need instructions on how to do
41:03this you can find that back at Mitchell
41:05Chad Road comm sign up thank you so much
41:08for subscribing to my email list and
41:10providing a written review on iTunes
41:13until next time
The post-Hamilton Perkins Collection uses recycled plastic bottles to manufacture travel bag canvas and recycled vinyl billboard material for the duffle bag lining was republished on startupssmarter.com
