Founder Focus | Mac Bishop, Wool & Prince
Welcome to our very first article in our new Founder Focus series. Our goal is to chat with the amazing minds we have built relationships with over the last decade, and share their insights with you. We hope you glean some valuable information from our friends who have built amazing companies.
This issue features an interview with Mac Bishop, founder of Wool&Prince, client of Scott Davidson, here at White Summers!
When it comes to business, it’s obvious that his team and culture are of extremely high importance. That, paralleled with his strong sense of integrity, has enabled Mac to create a brand that can be described as nothing less than honest and sophisticated. Take a peek at our recent interview to see what I mean!
SAMANTHA:
Tell us a little bit about your company!
MAC:
Wool&Prince started a little over seven years ago now—the idea was to bring merino wool and the functional benefits of the merino wool fiber to everyday wear. I saw that a lot of outdoors people really loved merino wool. There were brands like Smart Wool and Icebreaker that were gaining momentum, but you couldn't wear their items into the office or on the weekends without looking like you were going camping, hiking, or mountaineering.
The merino wool market was dominated by technical apparel. We started with a button-down shirt launched on Kickstarter. I was 24 at the time, so I didn’t really know what I was doing. The campaign went viral—we sold three thousand shirts in ten days. All of the sudden, I had to figure out how to assemble and put together a business. Since then, we've grown the line and the team—while making every mistake in the book.
SAMANTHA:
You mentioned making all the mistakes in the book. I just read an article. I forget what company it was, but they basically listed out the top ten mistakes they made as a business. Really good article. Can you pinpoint a few of your mistakes that you think could be learning points for other people who might consider starting a business?
MAC:
Sure, you should send me that article!
[Here’s that article — https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-10-biggest-mistakes-brewdogs-ceo-james-watt/]
I was probably a little too conservative in the beginning and not as aggressive as I needed to be. I didn't realize the power of having the first movers’ advantage. Now, the men's merino space is a lot more crowded. If I would have been more experienced, I probably would have raised money, hired experienced team members, and grown the business that way.
When you raise money, you're giving up equity in the business, but you're learning a lot faster. Now we're at the point where we have enough cash flow to invest in new ideas. We’re pretty satisfied with the rate at which we're learning and expanding. But that's always something that I'm thinking about — do we have enough capital to finance where we want to go with the business?
SAMANTHA:
What kind of advice do you have for early-stage entrepreneurs—for somebody who has an idea and wants to jump in?
MAC:
With shows like Shark Tank, everyone wants to be an entrepreneur and you hear about all these fancy startups raising a bunch of money and everybody getting rich. More so than ever before, I hear people talking about business ideas they have, which is great, but then they struggle to get anything started.
It’s fun to talk about an idea, but it's really hard to actually turn that idea into a to-do list. My advice is to just start doing things and get over the fear of doing the wrong thing. The book Lean Startup talks all about the MVP which stands for the minimum viable product. The objective is to basically find product market fit in the fastest, cheapest way possible. Instead of putting a ton of effort and money into your first product and then launching it, just get something out there, test it in the marketplace, it doesn't have to be perfect. Regardless of whether you put a ton of money and time into it or not, you learn the most from the first customers.
SAMANTHA:
You mentioned some advice you have for early-stage entrepreneurs is to just get started, get your product into the market. How would you say—you specifically—integrated into the community of your industry to be able to get those things going? How do you even figure out how to get your product into the market or the resources that you need to be able to do that?
MAC:
I had a little bit of help from my family, they’re in the clothing business. Our first vendor contact was through a family connection and our second was through a trade organization. Getting involved with trade groups in your industry can be beneficial.
And then in terms of networking and being involved in the community, just be curious. Which, I think, comes naturally for a lot of entrepreneurs. Just be curious about what people are doing in the space that you're working in. Get curious about any sort of consumer startup in Portland. I love meeting with people and just hearing how they're growing their business and what they're looking for and what they're doing. Just asking people to grab a coffee, or tea in my case.
SAMANTHA:
How did you/your company adapt to the climate of 2020 with all the COVID issues and the national movements? A lot happened in 2020, and businesses had to adapt quite quickly to manage.
MAC:
We've definitely, as a team, embraced the change in our business from the effects of the pandemic. Some parts of our business went up, some parts of our business went down, in ways that we never would have forecast. We had to adapt really quickly to those indicators. The big decisions that sway the momentum or the direction of the business are always a team conversation. We check in with, really, everybody on the team and weigh what we’re doing to get through it together.
We were lucky, with COVID, that some of our product lines started doing better and we were able to weather it. The first month was obviously scary because no one was buying anything.
With the Black Lives Matter movement and just more awareness around systemic racism and racial equity, we got together as a team and discussed the topic more. One of our team members led the conversation with required reading beforehand. As a result, we have an annual inclusivity and diversity workshop.
SAMANTHA:
What would you say has been your greatest professional accomplishment?
MAC:
Greatest professional accomplishment… I think, hiring a great team is right there. The culture that we've built at Wool&Prince is something that I'm really proud of. It takes a lot of effort but everyone on the team respects each other.
SAMANTHA:
How large is your team?
MAC:
We have seven people.
SAMANTHA:
Wow, seven people, running the whole show!
MAC:
Everything, yeah. Well, we outsource some things.
SAMANTHA:
Tell me a little bit about your culture. How did you establish that culture? What does it look like and feel like?
MAC:
Pre-COVID looked a little different, but basically, we have an annual company overnight retreat. We would rent a place in the gorge, go on a hike—that was a really fun annual get together.
Now, our meeting cadence is set up pretty nice—a monthly meeting as a whole team where we run through our progress as an organization. We individually share our wins and challenges from that month and discuss them as a team, that's been really beneficial. I also have a monthly check in with each member on the team. So, if there's anything they want to bring up privately they have the space for that.
Another part of our culture, too, is that, we encourage people to own their career and own their future at Wool&Prince. I'm constantly asking people, what do you want to be doing next? Where do you want to go? I don't expect somebody to come and work for Wool&Prince and do the same exact thing for 20 years straight. Once someone feels really comfortable in an area, they may want to continue working in that area, and that's fine. Some people will want to move on to other things, to try other things. We want to accommodate both those personalities
And then with COVID, since we're not in the office as much, we do an all-hands team check in every Tuesday and Thursday.
SAMANTHA:
What would you say differentiates your company and your product from the competitors?
MAC:
We have a streamlined design aesthetic. I guess it depends on what brand we're talking about. With Wool&Prince, none of our products have logos. We keep things simple, from a color palette standpoint—they are timeless. The quality of the sewing and the materials we use are top notch. All of our materials are custom made for us—so you can't find the same t-shirt material at another apparel company, which is pretty rare these days.
From a brand perspective, we really encourage people to consume thoughtfully. I think there are a lot of brands out there constantly putting stuff on markdown and toying with the consumer mind. Like pricing something at $200 because they know they’re going to put it on sale for $125, instead of originally pricing it at $125.
At Wool&Prince we don't do scarcity marketing. You'll rarely see — “last chance” or “get this before it's gone” copy. I think we have an honest relationship with our customers instead of trying to catch them when they're in a weak moment and want something to show up at their door.
SAMANTHA:
I appreciate that you're not into that fast fashion mindset. You said that your products are timeless and you keep the marketing alongside that very honest to the product and the brand.
I did some research on you and your company before this and definitely noticed a big of focus on minimalism. How do you think with where we're at today between COVID and the state of the economy, how minimalism can actually be very beneficial?
MAC:
We buy things that we expect will make us happy. Theres nothing wrong with that, but it’s easy to get caught up in in the mentality of, “I need this because it's the new cool thing” or “my friend has it” or “that's going to show people that I'm successful.”
At Wool&Prince, we are all about making a quality product and pitching the idea of “less is more,” the less stuff you have, the more free-space you will have to think and enjoy life. There's obviously a threshold there, right? For someone who is barely making ends meet, minimalism is not even an option. Minimalism is generally a privilege of the wealthy.
SAMANTHA:
What are you most excited about for the future of your business?
MAC:
I’m excited about growing our brands and seeing where they can go. We're always experimenting and making new products. We have a lot of exciting product developments for 2021.
Bringing our warehouse to Portland is something that we're really excited about.
I think, again, growing a team is something I'm excited about. We're planning on hiring a couple of people in 2021.
Then there's always opportunities to launch other brands.
SAMANTHA:
Wrapping up, what are some book recommendations you have for early-stage entrepreneurs? I know you mentioned Lean Startup.
MAC:
I've kind of stopped reading business books because I didn't want my life to be entirely consumed by business. I think you can learn a lot about people through fiction books as well. Reading anything benefits entrepreneurs. One of the other business books that I read, a long time ago, was Blue Ocean Strategy. And that was all about creating your market instead of going into a competitive market—go to where there's not a lot of competition.
SAMANTHA:
What’s the best non business book you’ve read recently?
MAC:
I'm a huge Laura Hillenbrand fan. Her books, Unbroken and Seabiscuit. Those are my favorite.
SAMANTHA:
Seabiscuit, like the horse?
MAC:
The horse racing book. I loved that book.
Yeah, I knew nothing about horse racing before reading that, but it was awesome. Some more recent books… I'm reading American Dirt right now and recently finished American Marriage and the Immoralists.
SAMANTHA:
What do you think inspires you the most to keep driving your business forward?
MAC:
I just like building things. I've always liked building things—just having a project to work on. I like working. It's a big experiment, and I’m constantly tinkering and learning new things.
SAMANTHA:
I think you've done a great job. Scott, wears your shirts here in the office and I think they look wonderful. I'm like, “Hey, looking sharp Scott!”
Thank you so much for your time. I really liked picking at your brain and seeing what’s going on behind the scenes a little bit.
MAC:
Thank you! It's great to meet you.
Original Post:
By Samantha Gee
White Summers