We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Vu Radley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Vu, thanks for joining us today. One of our favorite things to brainstorm about with friends who’ve built something entrepreneurial is what they would do differently if they were to start over today. Surely, there are things you’ve learned that would allow you to do it over faster, more efficiently. We’d love to hear how you would go about setting things up if you were starting over today, knowing everything that you already know.

When we started MADE MOBB in late 2012, we really didn’t have any idea what we were doing (we still kind of don’t but that’s being part of continually being a student of your craft right lol.) Starting a business with no knowledge was crazy tough but that’s really what shaped us into the company and people we are today. The L’s really forced us to understand that everything isn’t pretty all the time. Things will go wrong and it’s on you to figure out the solution and then prepare for the next thing that goes wrong. Getting there fast wasn’t in the plans for us. It really was trying to figure out how to get into the game and stay in the game long term and we’re continually working on that daily. Overall I wouldn’t change any of it though. Sounds cliche but even the bad times were learning experiences and at least makes for a good story lol. The knowledge we gained from it all is the greatest gift and now that’s being passed on to the next generation of creatives within our circle and city. No one taught us how this game works in the beginning but now we can be the ones to change that by passing along the knowledge and that’s a good feeling. The older I get and the longer I’ve been in the business, the more I am just thankful that I get to do this everyday.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Vu and am Co-Owner and Creative Director of MADE MOBB. The short version is that MADE MOBB makes clothes. The longer version to is that we make clothes that showcase our love for streetwear as well as the love for our city. We collaborate with other local creatives and work towards the idea of our brand and space being a hub to connect with people in the city no matter what they do.

I grew up in a lower income household so being creative and having an imagination was a must. I always loved the arts and grew up focusing a lot of time in it but never really felt that it could be something that I could make into a career. In high school I remember printing on thrifted shirts with some old acrylic paint, a razor blade and some wax paper. Some real DIY makeshift stuff. The shirts we make now are much better than those by the way. After high school I didn’t really have a plan. After working dead in retail jobs for a while I went and took a few drawing and art history classes at UMKC and from then on it was over. I was hooked again. Those studio art classes pushed me further into my love for typography and design and that’s when I set the goal to focus on that as a career path. MADE MOBB started soon after I graduated from UMKC in 2012 mainly as a passion project. Every dollar we made from selling shirts went right back into the production for the next collection drop. We sold out of our cars and from our houses for about 3-4 years just making barely enough to continue. Then we quit our jobs around year 4 to focus on it 100% and that’s definitely one of the biggest risk I ever took. Leaving something consistent and taking a big pay cut to focus on my passion felt like putting all my money on double zero at the roulette table. It felt crazy at the time but here we are. We’re coming up on year 10 in February and that still feels crazy to say out loud. I’m just happy to be able to do this everyday and will continue to be for as long as the universe allows it.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Yeah definitely. I have The Complete Calvin and Hobbes box set and there are nothing but gems in there. Just a reminder to keep a child like mind for me. Shout out Bill Watterson.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Find a team of people who share the same passion. Call me crazy but I would choose passion over experience any day. Make sure you know everyones strengths and put them in a place for success for themselves and the business. Continue to be a student of the craft by teaching your team as well as learning from your team. Most importantly have beer on Fridays with the gang.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mademobb.com
• Instagram: @vu.radley @mademobb
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mademobb/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vuradley
• Twitter: @mademobb

Image Credits
Gabe Cross, Kelby Reck and Cole Davis