In April, five scalable ventures with a lasting impact on society will compete in the 2021 Global Impact Award for the chance to win up to $50,000. In celebration of their achievements and anticipation of their April presentations will be featuring a Q&A series with the finalists on our blog over the next month. Today’s blog is all about Pareto.
Pareto is a direct-to-consumer, women’s apparel brand founded on the principle that women wear 20% of their clothes, 80% of the time. Pareto seeks to make the best version of the clothing you actually wear. One-piece at a time, they are building a wardrobe of timeless essentials. Perfect fit. Purposeful details. Pure traceability. They are committed to addressing sustainability fully, focusing on both how clothing is made and on the quantity of clothing made. They are here to show the world that great wardrobes and great brands can be built from fewer, more purposeful pieces. The venture was founded by Jessica Landzberg (BSBA ’17) and Olivia Bordson (BSBA ’15).
Pareto was featured in an October 2020 Startup Spotlight. That is a great companion piece to this spotlight.
Industry: Retail
Number of Employees: 2
Total Funding (as of February 2021): We have made the deliberate decision to self-fund our business. Raising funds from outside investors often comes with rapid growth targets, leading to a “growth at all cost” mindset. We believe self-funding Pareto is the best way to truly build a brand that encourages our community to live the fewer, more purposeful lifestyle. Our business model is designed to support this funding strategy. That said, we operate in a very capital-intensive industry. As a result, grant programs like the Global Impact Award are very exciting opportunities for us, both from a capital and mentorship perspective.
What problem are you solving?
After spending years working in-house for retail brands and serving a broad range of apparel clients as consultants with McKinsey, we started to feel disenchanted by the retail industry. 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. 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.
How do you solve this problem?
At Pareto, we make the best version of the clothing you actually wear. We obsess over identifying the pieces that make up the core 20% of your closet and then, one piece at a time, perfect every detail of each piece. There are three pillars that guide our product development process: Perfect Fit, Purposeful Details, and Pure Traceability. One-piece at a time, we’re building a wardrobe of timeless essentials.
How does this come to life for each piece we launch? Let’s use our 2nd Wardrobe Addition, Your Crewneck Sweater, as an example. For fit, we designed each component to make it comfortable and flattering, features that customers usually need to choose between. Say goodbye to baggy, bulky sleeves and unflattering cinched bands. In addition, we tested the sweater on 30+ women of all sizes to perfect every dimension. For details, we designed a sweater made from our 100% organic cotton french terry to allow for durability, year-round layering, and easy care. Sweaters are meant to be worn day after day without worrying about pilling or dry cleaning. For traceability, we know every hand that touches your sweater, from the organic cotton farm in Texas to the yarn spinner in North Carolina to the fabric knitter in Massachusetts to the fabric dyer in Pennsylvania, and finally to the garment seamstress in Illinois. Knowing every hand that touches each piece is how we make the best, most environmental, and most ethical decisions at every stage of our supply chain. It also allows us to work with amazing, multi-generation family businesses.
About the founding team:
Pareto is currently a two-woman show, co-owned and operated by Jessica and Olivia. Jessica and Olivia’s paths crossed many times before coming together to build Pareto. Both graduated from the Olin Business School where they pursued many entrepreneurial activities such as launching the campus candy store, Bear-y Sweet Shoppe, and participating in the Skandalaris summer internship program. After graduating from Wash U, both Jessica and Olivia spent time working in-house at brands and then as consultants with McKinsey, serving retail and apparel clients. It was during their time at McKinsey that Jessica and Olivia really connected over a deep love for observing, reflecting, and questioning the world of retail. The rest is history!
What is your favorite part about being an entrepreneur?
Being an entrepreneur means you are your own boss. Being your own boss means you can move so quickly! We love being able to move from idea generation to decision to action without having to gain approval from a bunch of extra stakeholders. Every decision isn’t a success, but our small, agile team grants us the opportunity to learn quickly, iterate quickly, and win more
What is the most challenging part about being an entrepreneur?
At the early-stage of starting your own business, there are so many things you can spend time on, yet resources (e.g., time, money) are extremely limited. We are still learning how to ruthlessly prioritize our time so that we maximize the value we are generating for the business every day.
What is your #1 tip for building a strong team?
Find people that are eager to get their hands dirty. Working for a start-up often means that resources are limited. As a result, everyone needs to be willing to contribute across the business. Hard skills can be taught but passion around an idea and doing whatever it takes to make it happen is a hard thing to learn.
What is your must-read book?
We love Let My People Go Surfing by Patagonia’s founder, Yvon Chouinard. The book tells the story of Yvon’s journey - the ups and downs - to build one of the most respected responsible companies in the world. Patagonia continues to be a huge inspiration for us.
What is your favorite entrepreneurial news source?
We love How I Built This with Guy Raz on NPR. During each episode, Guy interviews a successful entrepreneur about their journey. We love hearing about their early wins (and failures), lessons learned, funny mistakes, etc. Many of the episodes are about companies that we personally interact with which makes it extra fun!
Website: https://shoppareto.com/
Instagram: @shop_pareto