Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jermelle F. Pitts. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jermelle F. , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

I created Greatwood Underwear to bring unity among men and provide a product that makes them feel confident and comfortable every day. My goal was to be part of my customers’ daily lives. The journey began with a simple idea: I wanted to specialize in male undergarments. However, I knew nothing about the design or manufacturing process.

I was so thirsty to make it happen, I did a deep dive into research, learning as much as I could while simultaneously managing the business aspects, such as registering the company, securing trademarks, building a website, purchasing domains, and developing logos, graphics, and branding. Once I had those foundational elements in place, I began meeting with local manufacturers. It was important to me—and to the brand’s identity —to work with local L.A. talent.

While meeting with manufacturers, I also started fabric sourcing, learning about different materials and garment cuts. After gaining the necessary knowledge, I began designing. Once the designs were finalized, I moved into the sampling process, which I used to create my website and marketing materials.

That was my process—but above all, passion drove me. I didn’t start Greatwood Underwear because it seemed easy or because I was copying someone else. I was 100% passionate about creating something meaningful, and I believe that passion is the most important part of starting any business.

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

I’ve been an entrepreneur for as long as I can remember. I started back in 2011 or 2012 with two hair salons, which gave me my first experience in business ownership. From there, I transitioned into product development. After moving to Los Angeles, I began working as a wardrobe stylist alongside my brother, Udi. Eventually, my focus shifted to launching Greatwood Underwear, which I now manage full-time.

Greatwood is my passion baby, and I’ve invested a lot of time, effort, and resources into branding and growing the company. I’ve built everything independently, including personally financing the brand.

One of the things that sets Greatwood apart is the unique fabric we use in the crotch area of our underwear. It’s an orange modal fabric, a color inspired by my personal favorite. This fabric not only stands out visually but also absorbs moisture, keeping our customers fresh throughout the day. Anyone who wears Greatwood Underwear recognizes this signature detail, and it’s become a defining feature of the brand.

What I’m most proud of is the audience we’ve built. I genuinely love our consumers, and it’s rewarding to see their enthusiasm for the brand. Watching Greatwood grow while creating a sense of brotherhood among men through fashion has been incredibly fulfilling. This was my vision when I started the brand, and seeing it come to life has been a dream come true.

Another thing I’m hella proud of is how I built this brand entirely from scratch. I used my own money, without handouts. I don’t come from a famous family, I’m not a reality star. I don’t act or sing. I’m really just a business man living out his dream. Everything Greatwood has achieved is the result of my hard work and sacrifices. Seeing the brand succeed solely through my efforts is something I deeply adore.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A huge lesson that I had to learn is that you cannot employ people that you consider your friend or your family all the time sometimes it works out most of the time it does not. When I first started out, I wanted to give people around me an opportunity Because no one ever gave me an opportunity. However, I started to realize that the people that were around me wasn’t taking my business as serious as I was taking my business and a lot of that had to do with our personal relationship so if my employee is related to me, then they feel that they don’t have to do what I tell them to do or do what’s asked of them or did they can show up late or they can tell me what they’re not gonna do and that just didn’t work for me, so I had to learn that there are certain people that I could not have around me if I wanted to scale my business point blank and period. Also, I had to unlearn feeling sorry for people. This is a business. I’m running a business not a fraternity so I can’t let your feelings or how you feel on a certain day affect how I run my business and how I created livelihood not only for myself, but for over a staff of 45 people. Another thing that I had to unlearn is allowing people to give me their opinions about my business. This is my business. This is my vision. No one‘s gonna ever see it like me so I stopped taking advice from people who don’t have a business B. don’t understand my vision And C. Don’t know what it takes to keep a business from going under. I think it’s so easy for people to provide an opinion and to critique things when they’re not the one that’s doing it and they’re not the one that’s financing it and they’re not the ones that’s responsiblefor making sure that other people are provided a livelihood.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

With Greatwood Underwear, I don’t have any business partners or co-founders. I handle everything 100% on my own as the sole owner of the brand. However, I’ve had a co-founder in the past when I owned the hair salon I mentioned earlier. My co-founder was also my romantic partner at the time, and we shared ownership equally, 50-50. Looking back, it was one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made.

I learned a lot about business from that partnership, things fell apart once I decided to end the romantic relationship. The business side of things went to hell because that person was bitter and using the company as away to control me, we had to dissolve the business and there were like 3 law suits that were just expensive and time consuming. That experience changed how I approach partnerships now.

I’ve since made it a personal rule that if I ever work with a business partner or co-founder again, I must own majority of the company—no exceptions. The trauma of losing control and watching a business fail due to personal conflicts taught me the importance of protecting my vision and my stake in any project I create.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.greatwoodunderwear.com
• Instagram: @greatwoodunderwear
• Twitter: @greadwoodu
• Other: TikTok: @greatwoodunderwear