WashU alums Jessica Landzberg (BSBA ’17) and Olivia Bordson (BSBA ’15) recently launched Pareto, a women’s apparel brand designed to change our relationship with clothing. Read from Jessica and Olivia the motivation behind their venture and tips for other entrepreneurs.

Tell us your startup story. What led you to create Pareto?

We found that women wear 20% of their closets, 80% of the time, yet the retail industry is centered on more - more product, more often. And for what? The emphasis on more creates a lose, lose, lose situation. For brands. For consumers. And for the environment. For brands, this focus on more leads to overly-complex, costly business models that rely on constant “newness.” For consumers, this focus on more leads to closets filled with clothing that is rarely worn. For the environment, this focus on more makes it challenging to truly address sustainability in the apparel industry. Sustainability is so much more than just how clothing is made, it is also the quantity of clothing made. At the end of the day, every new piece of clothing consumes resources. Endless consumption leads to vast social and environmental impact. 

At Pareto, we’re on a mission to change our relationship with clothing. One piece at a time, we’re building a wardrobe of timeless essentials. Perfect fit. Purposeful details. Pure traceability. We’re here to show the world that great wardrobes and great brands can be built from fewer, more purposeful pieces.

What do the next 3-6 months look like for Pareto?

2020 was a big year for Pareto – we founded the company in June, launched our 1st Wardrobe Addition, Your T-Shirt Dress, in late August, and launched our 2nd Wardrobe Addition, Your Crewneck Sweater, in late November. Early sales and community response has completely exceeded our projections – Pareto is really resonating with our customer base. Over the next 6 months, our focus is on purposefully launching the next three wardrobe additions, which entails extensive customer research, product design, supply chain sourcing (we know every hand that touches the clothing we make), and production. In parallel, we are working to formalize and scale our operations across functions, including increased marketing efforts, customer experience enhancements, and inventory management.

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned as an entrepreneur?

Try not to get discouraged by people questioning your approach. It may mean you are on to something bigger than even you expect. For example, we heard from countless fabric knitters, “Trust me, you would never want to visit the facility that dyes the fabric. It is a waste of your time.” While it is important to listen to feedback, sometimes criticism is a way of protecting the status quo. Trust us, knowing every hand that touches your clothing is important.

What do you love about being an entrepreneur?

One of the most rewarding aspects of being an entrepreneur is that everything we work on has tangible output. From designing our pieces to establishing our supply chain, to developing our website - we directly see the output of our labor. It is “test & learn” to its truest extent. In addition, it goes without saying, as founders of an apparel brand, nothing makes us happier than seeing our community loving and wearing the pieces we create!

What advice do you have for someone interested in entrepreneurship?

If you have an idea that is keeping you up at night, don’t let cost be the barrier. Invest the time in understanding the startup costs -- you may be surprised how far you can get with limited financial resources (and being scrappy along the way). With Pareto, we have made the deliberate decision to bootstrap the business to avoid the constant need to chase short-term growth to satisfy investors. We believe this is the only way to truly build a brand that encourages our community to buy less. 

What activities were you involved in during your time at WashU?

Both of our WashU experiences played big roles in the launch of Pareto. Jessica’s involvement in StEP, co-founding the Bear-y Sweet Shoppe, uncovered her love to build things. Her Retail Management and Luxury Goods courses with Professor Sneider also fostered her retail obsession. 
Olivia’s internship with a St. Louis start-up through the Skandalaris Internship Program (SKIP) taught her many valuable skills and lessons about what to do (and not do) in the early stages of building a new venture.

Pareto website; Pareto Instagram

*This article was updated in March 2021.