We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alex Gimenez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alex below.

Alex, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I think success can hold different value based on who you ask. Success can be monetary or materialized. For me, success is creating something that has purpose and meaning. Success is having confidence in my brand and myself.

I think naturally we want to believe that hard work and unwavering dedication is the root of success, which is a part of it. I also think success is rooted in finding confidence in your craft and trusting your instinct against all odds. It’s easy to doubt yourself as an entrepreneur when things don’t go the way you thought or you don’t become successful overnight. I think a lot of entrepreneurs will tell you that they weren’t successful over night and sometimes they failed many times over and over again. The journey is everything. Success comes in the face of trials and mistakes. Doubting yourself. And continuing to push forward and letting your passion shine through. That’s what truly creates success. We have to believe in ourselves when no one else will. It doesn’t mean that the money and sales aren’t just as important but value in those will fade. You want to put value in something that isn’t monetary or materialized, and into something that ultimately will keep your passion alive.

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

My name is Alex Gimenez, the Founder and Creative Director of ARGO. I came up with ARGO in my college apartment in 2019. After my four years of collegiate soccer was over, I found myself pondering about what was next for me. Creating a clothing brand had always been a dream of mine and suddenly, I had all the time to do just that. I took an entrepreneurship class my senior year and decided I would create a business plan for starting a clothing brand, which was unnamed at the time. The business plan was apart of a semester long project in which truly lit the spark to start ARGO.

With the encouragement of friends and family, I created ARGO sitting at the dinner table with a sketch and a logo in mind. ARGO- Alexander Raul Gimenez Originals. I wanted it to represent originality in a trend-following society. In other words a brand that not only represented me but also a brand that others could relate to. A brand of authenticity.

When I first began, I didn’t have any experience in the industry. I began with a single logo design on a shirt and sold out within the first week. At the time, I didn’t realize I’d expand to create one-of-one designs and telling stories from my lens with clothing. I wanted to create designs that were worth more than sales and money; I want my designs to inspire others to always remember where you came from, to appreciate your native roots, and stay humbled in the highest of success. My Argentine roots, being born in the United States, and life growing up in North Carolina has been a major inspiration for me. I believe your roots are what make you different from others. ARGO truly is a brand stemming from roots.

Having your own business isn’t easy and can truly challenge your “why”. If you’re in it for the money and the fame then failure can come quickly. My passion for the industry has allowed me to define success differently. In entrepreneurship you will fail. Sometimes more than you’d like to admit (I certainly have failed a lot). But success can be defined by more than sales and money. I want to create a brand that has a purpose and meaning that’s impactful. When I hear that someone noticed my brand on the street or appreciated the handwritten note I write to every customer, that’s success. That’s powerful.

I am simply most proud of chasing my dream.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Given I started my brand in college, I didn’t have a lot of capital to put towards the company. Without a mentor I made the easiest mistake to make and didn’t initially reinvest my profit. Once I realized how important this company was to me, I began working to put together the capital I needed to get it off the ground. I didn’t have a luxurious job and went back to my hometown to for a few years. Success doesn’t come overnight and sometimes you have to make those sacrifices. I worked a classic 8-5, which sometimes turned into well over 40 hours a week, and almost always worked on the weekends. I made almost the bare minimum, too. However, I saved nearly every penny I could to start building my business and inventory. I bought my first heat press and began creating my designs in-house. Though it’s been challenging, I’ve never wavered and have built this business entirely on my own and on my own dime.

Quickly, I was able to begin releasing more and more designs, which now looking back felt so amateur. But with the knowledge I have gained from trials and errors, I reinvested everything I made to continue to build the business from the ground up. I don’t think you need a large sum of money to start your business. You need enough to initially launch and a phone to create a point of sales i.e., social media. After that, it’s about reinvesting that money and continuing to build upwards.

Has it been challenging? Absolutely. Have I doubted myself along the way? Absolutely. But I’m self made and independent in this business and I believe the journey is everything. I will profit in this industry and my passion, drive, and creativity will fuel my success.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Since I spend most of time in my car for my day job, I have been listening to audio books more often. I have recently listened to “Third Shift Entrepreneur”, by Todd Connor. He talks about how working a day job to help fuel your dream job is a great and normal thing to do. I definitely related to this book a lot because 3 years into building this business, I am still working an 8-5 day job. He also mentions surrounding yourself with like-minded, ambitious people is very vital. It not only makes you want to be better but also helps fuel your entrepreneurial mindset.

Given that I am self-taught in this industry, I’ve watched every how-to video from the business side of things to the creative side. I like to think I have a degree from YouTube University.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shopargo.us
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/argo.us/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ARGOstreetwear/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ARGOstreetwear
• Other: Email: [email protected]

Image Credits
Irina Briquet (@briquetmemoire) Cristobal Arellano-Camacho (@visualsubject)