The Thread Union: Kinkos for Clothes

For our thesis, working in a team of 3 students, we spent the semester investigating ways to support small scale fashion designers in their quest to get their collections made and to market. During our research we found that New York City is still the hub of the fashion world, serving as the headquarters to more than 800 fashion-based businesses, twice that of Paris, despite more than 95% of apparel manufacturing moving offshore in the last 40 years.

As a result of that offshore movement, more and more of the more than 22,000 fashion designers in the United States are having difficulty having their clothes made at a reasonable cost. Most offshore manufacturing firms have large minimum requirements, or have questionable quality when it comes to small orders. We saw a New York City based ethical production line as a foil to these large market forces.

Billed as “Kinkos for Clothes,” The Thread Union utilizes technology from large offshore manufacturing plants, such as digital patterns and laser cutting, as well as mass-customization technology, to make the manufacture of 1-1000 pieces affordable and accessible to designers.

The Thread Union provides tools to create, make, edit, produce, manage and sell collections that are eco-efficient, meaningful and authentic. Our online collaboration tools, Collection Capture digitization process, prototyping and sample-making services, and ability to support one-of-a-kind pieces build the backbone to a successful fashion-based business.

The digitization technology breaks the traditional apparel sales model by allowing consumers (both individual and retail) to order only the garments they want from an online showroom, from as little as one piece at a time, up to 1000 pieces. This print-on-demand model is a unique take on apparel manufacturing and helps to minimize the great environmental impact of clothes-making. We save designers money by preventing inventory glut, and save resources by customizing each garment with regard to size.

In addition, we offer a number of community-building components, enabling open-source collaboration between designers. We see the Thread Union serving as a bridge to the future of fashion, where consumers are actually involved in design process.

Pro-forma Profit and Loss statements were used to evaluate potential business models, with the final iteration projecting $6.5 Million in net income over 5 years.

This project was selected to be presented during the inaugural CCA MBA in Design Strategy Venture Show in May 2010.

Full project report available upon request.

Date: Spring 2010
Class: Venture Studio
Contributed to: Secondary Research, Financial Analysis, Ideation, Project Management, Competitive Analysis, Writing

Working in a team of 3 students, we spent the semester investigating, analyzing, and envisioning the future of Socially Responsible Investing and Sustainable Investment Vehicles.

Through our research we found that first and foremost, the term “Socially Responsible Investing” (SRI) lacks clarity, and the definition varies widely depending on who you ask. As the socially responsible and sustainable movements have progressed, the SRI landscape has become more and more cluttered and difficult to navigate.

There is a lack of transparency in the SRI system, stemming from the very definition of what constitutes of Socially Responsible Investment. Historically, SRI investing is an offshoot of values-based investing, and has at its core an issue-base screening system. This means that investors can select investments which filter (in or out) companies that produce alcohol or tobacco, perform testing on animals, have human rights violations, produce toxins, or a multitude of other issues.

Mutual Funds and ETFs are among the most popular vehicles for SRI, as they tend to minimize the exposure and risk of the investor. However, there is a downside – in order to minimize the investment risks, the funds are often composed of huge Fortune 500 companies, selected for being the best in their industry, even if the industry itself may be objectionable. In addition, the algorithms and scorecards used by large investment firms to rate the companies in their funds are often kept secret.

Ultimately, we defined Socially Responsible Investing as “Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and ETFs that have been screened in some way to reflect the values of the individual or institution investing in them” but even that is a very vague definition.

We see SRI as a trend that will continue into the future, but without some effort to inject real transparency into the industry, it will continue to be confusing and subject to cries of “greenwashing.”

Our recommendation included adjusting the nomenclature used when describing the industry and the investments from SRI to ESG, standing for Environmental, Social and Governance; the creation of a self-regulating industry council; a glossary of common definitions; and a call for the disclosure of ratings and rationale behind selections for inclusion into SRI funds.

Moving forward, we envision a system of defined and published classification, certification and oversight criteria for ESG investing

Full project report available upon request.

Date: Spring 2010
Class: Capital and Markets
Contributed to: Secondary Research, Writing, Analysis, Concept Development, Ideation

Retooling the YMCA of Silicon Valley

Working in a research group of 6 students, we looked at how a district of disparate YMCA branches could retool to better serve their varied constituencies, and more fully embrace new national YMCA programs and objectives relating to Youth Development, Healthy LIving, and Social Responsibility. Faced with big challenges, such a misunderstood brand, loss of income due to the recession, and a perception of low-quality facilities and programs, how can the YMCA of Silicon Valley take advantage of their situation and right the ship?

Each person in the group examined a different offering area of the YMCA, including food/nutrition programs, fitness programs, and youth development initiatives and compared them to a wide range of traditional and non-traditional competitors.

For example, in the fitness category, competitive analysis rated the facilities, hours, availability of outdoors and kid-friendly activities of the YMCA against the JCC, the Parks & Rec department of Palo Alto, and Equinox Gym.

Each of these analysis groups were charted using a tool called a strategy canvas, and then aggregated to get a general picture of how the YMCA of Silicon Valley stood up against its competition. We also used a SWOT analysis and an ERRC grid to evaluate the organization.

After the research phase, each individual created their own strategy for the YMCA of Silicon Valley. My strategy envisions the YMCA of Silicon Valley as a center of excellence on Youth Development. After all, Youth are our future, and now is the time to invest in them. Bring back the community center; expand on teen leadership development through a youth advisory board, mock trial, model UN, and create volunteer groups around causes kids are interested in.

A short implementation plan was created to accompany the strategy, focusing on a core menu of offerings, removal and transformation of gym facilities into youth development centers, and soliciting and incorporating feedback as the programs evolve.

This project was purely speculative, and included no contact with the YMCA of Silicon Valley by the team.

Full project report available upon request.

Date: Spring 2010
Class: Strategic Management
Contributed to: Secondary Research, Writing, Analysis,  Competitive Analysis, Concept Development, Ideation

IDEO 2.0 to 3.0, the Innovators Dilemma:

Working in a team of 6 students, we examined the classic innovators dilemma: IDEO, the design consultancy is considered a leader among firms, but as new companies and new competition flourish, how does IDEO adapt to stay ahead?

Some of the newest offerings from IDEO are business design and innovation consulting. Our objective was to evaluate these offerings and determine a strategy for IDEO.

First, we identified what IDEO considers important, from their core competencies of product development, design strategy, and innovation consulting; to their business objectives including return on investment and market share; and their values like collaboration, building to think, and having a positive impact with their work.

Using these qualities as a guide, we then charted them against their competition, design consultancies like Frog and Fuse Project, and new-found competitors: traditional business consulting firms like McKinsey. When we charted the analysis, we were very surprised to see that based on our criteria, there was very little difference between design consultancies, business consultancies, and IDEO.

In order for IDEO to stay ahead, it was clear that their new differentiators – business design and innovation consulting – needed to be developed further, through alignment within the company, and the building of resources to support the business design efforts. To do so we proposed the IDEO gym, co-working for business innovation.

The IDEO Gym would allow IDEO to attract entrepreneurs and coach them, building both a talent resource and the business design expertise needed to keep IDEO ahead. By starting small and allowing space to prototype, the space and program can shift and adapt to meet IDEO’s needs.

This project was purely speculative, and included no contact with IDEO by the team.

Full project report available upon request.

Date: Spring 2010
Class: Strategic Management
Contributed to: Secondary Research, Writing, Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Concept Development, Ideation, Project Management

Rethinking Disaster Housing: Interim Community:
In a group of 3 students, acting as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) we developed a new approach to disaster housing – one that goes beyond simply providing shelter and gets the community involved in cleanup and recovery.

The inspiration for the project comes in the form of a quote from the FEMA National Disaster Housing Strategy (January 2009) – “Even if interim housing assistance is well planned, delivered rapidly, and tailored to meet the needs of disaster victims and communities, it will not provide the same level of stability and security that comes with long-term housing.”

It was this challenge that propelled us to think beyond providing shelter and to instead provide a sense of community that accelerated recovery and helped people to get back to their normal lives.

Current solutions – such as the trailers given to Katrina victims – are unacceptable. They are unsustainable, poisonous for long-term use, and have no longevity.

The housing portion of the plan created reusable, stackable shelters out of abandoned steel shipping containers and recycled and recyclable materials. Additional community modules were conceived, forming the basis for a village layout. These include a water supply tank, generator shed, community center, tool library, community kitchen, laundry facilities and a mobile medical van among others.

In lieu of rent for the mobile shelters, a Jobs Corps was created. In order to facilitate clean up and recovery, all able-bodied men and women older than 18 in each household must assist in the cleanup and rebuilding for at least 40 hours per month. Some private sector jobs such as police and fire department work can would meet this requirement. In addition, full time employment through the Job Corps would be available.

Lastly, we described a number of temporary and permanent policy changes that would need to be implemented for the project to take off, including such measures as allowing for rainfall collection and use of greywater systems.

All shelters would be returned, cleaned, and stored once recovery was complete.

This project was purely speculative, and included no contact with the Federal Emergency Management Agency by the team.

Full project report available upon request.

Date: Spring 2009
Class: Sustainability Studio
Contributed to: Secondary Research, Writing, Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Concept Development, Ideation