Nearly 67 percent of teenagers who participated in a Junior Achievement Worldwide survey released Nov. 6 wanted to start their own businesses, according to information on the organization's Web site. Two students studying at AU - Dan Lachman and Kim Mesches - have turned dreams of owning their own businesses into a reality.
Sharp Shirter
Lachman is the entrepreneur behind Sharp Shirter, a three-year-old company that specializes in the production of graphic T-shirts. Lachman, a Wesleyan University junior from Bethesda, said he is studying at AU through the Washington Semester program.
"Wesleyan doesn't really offer business courses," Lachman said. "So I'm taking marketing and finance [classes] here."
Lachman first conceived of Sharp Shirter while he was in high school. He came up with the first T-shirt designs himself when he started the company and then turned to Craigslist to put in a request for graphic T-shirt designers. That decision was a mistake, he said.
"I've seen some of the worst designs in the world," Lachman said.
Lachman said he now has 12 freelance designers from all over the world working for him and sells to more than 50 stores nationwide.
"The biggest order I've ever gotten is from Defunker.com," he said. "They're the guys who own CollegeHumor.com."
Lachman said he found his designers by going through submissions to online T-shirt contests and getting into business arrangements with the people who created the designs he liked.
He said the designer he prefers the most is a young man from Thailand. The two of them work together on a weekly basis.
"I'll e-mail him an idea - like a Google image I like and the T-shirt style I want for it - and he'll make it happen," Lachman said.
Lachman has the designs printed on American Apparel T-shirts in Maryland. He sells them both directly through his Web site - sharpshirter.com - or indirectly through other Web sites and shops. Urban Outfitters is set to start selling his products in a few months, he said.
Lachman said he has big plans for Sharp Shirter's future. He recently expanded his merchandise to include laptop skins - vinyl stickers people can place on the outside screen of laptop computers. He said he is currently in talks with Hot Topic, Delia's, Yellow Rat Bastard and Follett, the bookstore supplier for AU's Campus Store and approximately 700 other college bookstores to sell his products.
Lachman, who spends three to four hours a day working on his business, said he is saving up to attend an exclusive Las Vegas trade show this summer.
"I want to be doing this full time," he said. "And it's getting to the point where I'll be doing this full time when I graduate."
Most merchandise on SharpShirter.com sells for between $20 and $25. Lachman said he is offering a discount for AU students who contact him directly at sharpshirter@gmail.com.
Kimbo Gear
Mesches, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he inadvertently started his business, Kimbo Gear, during his junior year of high school.
"I had this nasty pair of black DVS skater shoes," he said. "The sole was falling off and they were caked with dirt. I repaired the sole, changed the shoelaces and painted them. When I went to school the next day, everyone was asking me where I got them from."
Mesches receives orders through his Web site - madebykimbo.com - and a group on Facebook. Customers ask him to customize all types of shoewear - from athletics sneakers to high heels.
Mesches said buyers interested in Kimbo Gear should send him a list of things they want on their shoes along with the shoes they want customized so he can personalize the final product. He takes into account the requested color scheme or theme, if the buyer lists one, before adding his own spin on them.
Mesches said he uses permanent marker to customize white shoes and paint to customize dark shoes. Most of his orders are to customize white Nike Air Force 1's.
Mesches said he has big plans for his business.
"I've gotten busier since I've gotten to AU," he said. "I plan to expand in the near future - start doing T-shirts, hats and hoodies."
Mesches gets inspiration from sneaker Web sites like SneakerFreaker.com. He said he looks forward to working on his business full-time.
"If I have my way, I'll be at the level of Marc Ecko by my late twenties," Mesches said.
