Finally, the days of collar angst -- pop or not? -- may be behind us. An alternative to the polo is sweeping across campuses, thanks to nine budding entrepreneurs at the University of Michigan.
Despite their full-time student statuses, these college seniors/business partners found a way to launch a T-shirt company that will celebrate its first anniversary this October. The Real Retro sells jerseys that display the names and "teams" of famous historical and literary figures, such as Isaac Newton (#9.8 for team Trinity), Romeo (Montagues' #13) and Abraham Lincoln (#16 of Illinois).
"All of the founders are huge sports fans," co-founder and designer Evan Steinberg said. "So we grew up wearing sports apparel, since athletes are celebrated quite a bit in our society. Why not honor historical and literary figures in the same way? It's really not that foreign a concept."
But it is a popular one.
When Andrew Lloyd presented the brainchild to his housemates last fall, "everyone jumped right on top of it," Steinberg said. "We all threw in some cash, and we got some donations from our parents. Everyone we talked to was really interested."
Steinberg, the only founder with a background in business, had begun his own greeting card company in high school. When he heard Lloyd's idea, however, he switched from a paper canvas to a cloth one and immediately got to work designing the first 10 jerseys The Real Retro produced and the beginning of "history's starting lineup."
"They're a combination of style, education and humor," Steinberg said. "The Romeo and Juliet jerseys have a badge with an overlapping star and cross, to symbolize star-crossed lovers. Napoleon's number looks like it's 55, but it's actually his height: 5'5''. The subtlety increases the appeal of the shirts."
But a good idea doesn't always equate to success. The co-founders had to overcome a number of obstacles, including learning to juggle their full-time student statuses with full-time jobs and dodging the occasional debacle.
"There were a few kinks to work out in the beginning," Steinberg said. "Like our first orders showing up on our doorstep with wild colors that were totally unintended."
Surprisingly, one problem that never arose was the founders' need to separate their professional and personal lives. The nine seniors have been living together for the past two years and appreciate the convenience of sharing a house."Whereas the average business meets nine to five, we can have a meeting at midnight on a Tuesday to talk about the next jersey design or a creative marketing angle," Steinberg said. "Obviously it's good for communication."
Not to mention business. In spite of initial setbacks, The Real Retro grew quickly. The company relied on word of mouth, mass emails, and, naturally, the facebook to spread the news of their endeavor.
"During the NCAA tournament last spring, we ran a simple facebook ad that just read, 'Illinois player assassinated, future uncertain, click for more details,'" Steinberg said. "Of course, it was a huge concern to everyone who didn't realize we were talking about Abraham Lincoln. The facebook guys said it was the most hits one of their ads had ever gotten."
It wasn't long before the press caught wind of the business.
"Ann Arbor News wrote the first story," founder and content developer Jared Press said. "After that, the company business expanded, and professors started asking me about business."
While founders were getting attention in the papers, some of the jerseys were making their own public appearances. The Amelia Earhart design was spotted on ESPN last month, and two Michigan comedians recently sported the jerseys during a show.
In light of the company's triumphs and its upcoming anniversary, The Real Retro's online store soon will offer a total of 20 different jerseys, double the size of its initial selection.
Steinberg pointed out that one secret to the business's success may be the "interesting mix of people."
"It's certainly a nice balance because not everyone wants to work on the business side," Steinberg pointed out. "I do all the product design myself. We also have a content development team. Then someone has to handle the books and taxes ... we're actually a little over our heads on that one."
Steinberg also noted that since many members of the group have different fields of interest, such as psychology, economics, medicine and English, there have been some "fierce arguments" over which famous figure to honor with the next jersey.
"There's a sincere interest in the characters we're making jerseys for," Press said.
This may explain the company's mottos: "Who Are Your Heroes?" and "Live to Learn."
"This is a lot more than a T-shirt company," Steinberg said. "We want to expand from our Web store to small boutiques and some national retail chains, but that's not the end goal. We're really trying to push the educational side of what we're doing."
The Real Retro includes brief biographies of the shirts' subjects in the recipient's package. Extended bios and quizzes are posted online for each of the celebrated characters.
"Eventually we'd love to partner up with some schools," Steinberg said. "The whole point behind this is that we want to see kids get fired up about learning."
Obviously, the current members of the company have a clear vision of what they wish to achieve with the company. What's not quite as clear is who's going to make these wishes a reality.
"A number of us want to pursue graduate school next year," Steinberg said. "So not everyone will continue to work."
Press is one of the founders who does plan to stay with The Real Retro after he graduates. He'll relocate with the company to Washington, D.C. next year.
"I want to put all that I can into this, see what we can make of this if we work with all our time and effort," Press said. "It can take off in so many directions, as long as we keep the energy up."
That seems to be the least of their concerns.
"Planning's already begun for many future jerseys," Steinberg said. "I wouldn't be surprised if T.J. were to make an appearance in 2006."
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