In 2011, Jeff Steitz was traveling the world with the Semester at Sea program through his school, Claremont McKenna College. Less than a year later, he and a few buddies would have begun a travel-inspired business marketing textiles from around the world in a unique and appealing way, all based out of their dorm room.
Fabrics are a universal product—anywhere people travel in the world, they’ll find cloth being produced and sold in a limitless variety of patterns. Serengetee’s signature product, the pocket tee, is a basic t-shirt sporting an attached pocket made of fabric from another country. Customers can choose from over fifty designs, a selection which is constantly being added to as Serengetee reaches more corners of the world.
“It’s amazing how far you can go in only a year from literally nothing to having a full-fledged brand and business,” Serengetee co-founder Ryan Westberg observes.
Besides supporting vendors, each Serengetee pocket is associated with a specific grassroots organization, to which every purchase gives back a portion.
Ryan says that the business was truly a “product of social networks” in the way they had to depend on individual connections— “our friends and their friends”—to succeed. Their innovative spirit matches that of the international businesses they support, who often struggle to make a profit and progress in their ventures.
“What makes us feel great about the future is that the more products we sell, the bigger the impact will be on our partner causes. These win-win situations are the true benefits of a social venture,” says Jeff Steitz.
The process of founding Serengetee has proved to be rewarding, as the business generates a profit margin between 60 and 80%, with 13% going toward charitable causes. As their products are scattered all over the world, Serengetee’s five sales executives are appropriately spread all over the U.S., with representatives across college campuses working to promote the brand and get their fellow students to “travel more.”
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Shop their site: https://www.serengetee.com/
