Anthony Orisses
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Summary
Hey everyone. Stay tuned to the end of the interview where I’ll give you some actionable insights that I learned from my guest. These insights are also in the show notes. As always, thanks for listening.
Now on to my guest for today, Anthony Orisses, CEO and founder of Rare Cut, a lifestyle brand built around pocket squares.
The idea for Rare Cut pocket squares came to Anthony after he witnessed his manager prepare himself to go onstage for an award and speech. Anthony tried to help him with his pocket square and then later noticed in pictures that the pocket square was nowhere to be seen. He realized that here was a problem to be solved: how to keep the pocket square from falling. The result was the Rare Cut pocket square, which has the tag line, "the pocket square that stays up."
After college, Anthony went into medical devices sales. He had no intention of starting a lifestyle brand. But he's clearly embraced the journey. He documented his challenges and successes of starting his company and when he launched in 2020, he quickly raised the funds he needed. Based in his garage in Queens, Anthony recognizes the importance of community, using his company to shine a light on the struggles small businesses have faced through the pandemic. In answer to the lack of a need for pocket squares with so many people staying home, he made and sold a T-shirt, with part of the proceeds going toward a fund to help small businesses. He also developed a campaign to raise money for breast cancer research.
Anthony credits his success with consistency and just showing up. He also acknowledges the sacrifices made by others, in particular a grandfather who emigrated from Greece.
Now, let’s get better together.
Actionable Insights
- Even during the pandemic, Orisses never lost sight of his vision of making and selling pocket squares, something there wasn't a big need for when people were staying home. Without sacrificing that vision, he's also found ways to meet his community where they need him by selling T-shirts and tuning into their challenges and struggles.
- Orisses describes how he works with local artists, entrepreneurs, musicians, and more. He sees these relationships as integral to building his business and generating authenticity and trust.
- Show up consistently. Orisses credits his successful Kickstarter campaign with the three years he spent documenting his journey. Not only did he build fans this way, he's been able to look back and see what progress he's made. He recommends everyone record where they are at at least once a month to document and track their progress. What you learn can also be shared to help others on earlier steps of their journey.
