A new era
Students create apparel company with philanthropic business model
1:10 p.m., Jan. 22, 2015--Three Delaware students have created Era, a fashion and apparel company with the goal of revolutionizing the way that businesses give back.
University of Delaware student Antonino Piraino, Delaware Technical Community College SEED scholarship program student Eric Mears and Drexel University student Robert Richardson have combined forces to create a business that commits to donating 25 percent of all proceeds to the charity of the consumer’s choice.
People Stories
'Resilience Engineering'
Reviresco June run
“We wanted to do something that would help change the world, or at least play our part in making the world a better place,” Piraino said.
He said that the name Era, besides containing the first letters in the team members’ names, represents the company’s goal of starting “a new era of giving.” They often use the word “chERAtable” to describe their plans.
Richardson and Piraino explained that what sets them apart from many other companies is their plan to assign real-world value to their products. For example, the purchase of one T-shirt provides support to seven women with breast cancer.
“At Era we believe in being as transparent as possible with our customers,” Piraino said. “So we’re assigning individual metrics to some of our products. We want to give as much as we receive.”
Era has strategically aligned itself to donate to three philanthropic organizations: Breast Cancer Charities of America, Pencils of Promise and charity: water.
Richardson said that Era hopes to increase the scope of philanthropic choices in the future, “to give customers more options.”
The group also plans to expand their company to include fashion designers who can help create more products with their “high-end, urban” aesthetic. They hope to produce products like hats, sunglasses and sweaters and to maintain a high standard of ethics in how their products are produced.
Richardson said that he would like to utilize personal entrepreneurship instead of having to search for a job after graduation.
To other students with similar goals, Piraino offers the advice, although it may be “cliché,” to keep trying and not give up.
“The time’s going to pass anyway, so you might as well keep trying even if it seems hard now,” Piraino said. “No matter what, 10 years from now it’ll still be 10 years later. You might as well have something that you’re proud of that you pursued.”
Utilizing Horn Program resources
The Era team was able to purchase their first round of stock using funds from the Hen Hatch Startup Funding Competition presented by the University’s Horn Program in Entrepreneurship.
In addition to participating in the Horn Program’s Fast Forward pitch competition, the teammates are members of the VentureOn program, which provides resources and support to help grow student businesses.
Piraino called the Horn Program a place where the team finds “mentorship,” as well as “a nice, quiet place to work” in its Venture Development Center.
He said that he has learned a good deal about marketing techniques from his time there, as well as how to validate the quality of entrepreneurial ideas.
Those who are interested can learn more about Era by visiting the website or its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.
Article by Sunny Rosen