We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Megan Kum a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Megan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
The idea for Romparound was seeded many years ago by two things. 1) A school uniform & love for a shortcut 2) Inspiration from my dad, who was an entrepreneur. My experience as a family caregiver in 2020 was the final inspiration to start Romparound.
In high school, I had to wear a bland khaki and white uniform to school every day. I hated wearing it because it stifled my self-expression, creativity, and style. Its only redeeming quality served as a shortcut to my pre-morning routine because I didn’t need to think about what to wear and could get an extra ten minutes of sleep.
Once I became an adult, I had the freedom to wear whatever I wanted, but as the day in and day out of adulting began to sink in, I longed for the ease of my childhood uniform. Roll out of bed, slap a shirt and skirt on, and be out the door, versus rummaging through the closet, trying on ten outfits, and wasting an hour before finding the “right one.” But nothing in my closet was that easy.
Fast forward to when I abruptly moved home at the beginning of the pandemic to help care for my dad, who had been diagnosed with stage IV cancer. I had become a family caregiver overnight, a term I wouldn’t identify with until much later. I had to be ready for anything any time of the day, from springing into action in the middle of the night to running from work to doctor’s appointments to working full-time, to catching up on lost sleep whenever I could, and everything in between.
To achieve balance, I wanted to wear a functional outfit that looked somewhat put together and made me look and feel good about myself. I found functional options, but they were boring and lacked color and fun. That’s when I had my aha moment. I realized that what I was grabbing for every day was a colorful printed jumpsuit that was easy to throw on, comfy enough to sleep in, easy to dress up and down, and allowed me to confidently venture out into the world for a variety of occasions. When I say I started living in this thing 24/7, I am NOT kidding. I knew then that I had to share this jumpsuit concept with the world. And I finally had found my new & improved life uniform.
Unfortunately, my dad passed away at the end of 2020. Still, I was able to take my experience as a caregiver, sadness from grief, and my role model entrepreneurial dad as motivation & inspiration to create Romparound.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am originally from Los Angeles, CA and have an MBA and background in marketing. I’ve worked in marketing for 15 years starting in the e-commerce space, but have spent most of my career working in CPG for big company’s like Frito-Lay. In marketing, I fell in love learning about what makes people tick. Learning about people’s challenges and finding solutions for them and bringing them joy. I knew from a young age I wanted to start something of my own and as I matured as a marketer I knew it would consist of building a brand. While I am not a fashion expert, I’ve always loved wearing stylish clothing and putting outfits together. Creating Romparound, I was able to combine those two passions. At Romparound, we know life can be crazy. It can also be messy, unpredictable, and chaotic. That’s why we like a good shortcut. Life can come at you fast and every minute and every second counts. That’s why we wanted to bring pieces of clothing and accessories to the world that can cut out the thinking and the need for multiple outfits without sacrificing style and fun. Our signature jumpsuit can go from sleep (yes, sleep) to day, to night, to work to, the beach and everywhere in between. Think of it as a life uniform with zero uniformity.
We believe in Versatility, Ease & Styz (style) and ensure our products deliver against these characteristics:
Versatile: Our jumpsuits are great for all the things. Here are a few: sleeping, lounging, running errands, going out, beaching, breastfeeding, pregnanting, caregiving – the list goes on and on.
Ease: no thinking needed – just grab & go! No buttons, zippers, or ties to slow you down. And our jumpsuits are one size fits most. With adjustable straps and POCKETS!
Styz (style): Hugs & doesn’t hug in all the right places. Created in beautiful bold patterns & flattering solids. Dress it up or down with accessories & layers
What sets us apart? We’re caring AF. While Romparound is all about playful shortcuts, at the end of the day, we CARE a lot – especially about family caregivers. The experience of being a family caregiver is integral to our origins and that’s why we know how hard of a role it is. It can be tireless, messy, stressful, and often thankless but at the end of the day always out of love. That’s why we are committed as a brand to connecting with, driving awareness to and direct impact on the family caregiving community. We currently donate 5% of sales to organizations that help family caregivers.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Hands down, it was my time as a caregiver. As a caregiver you have to juggle so many emotional, physical and logistical pieces and can’t ever let any of them drop.
Emotionally, I was coming to terms with the mortality of my dad. Someone who I only knew to be strong. Then watching him deteriorate physically and emotionally day by day. At the time I didn’t have the emotional capacity to process that because I was doing everything to keep him alive. Which led to the operational stress of care. Not only were we inundated with doctors appointments, but in order to get my dad the proper care, I had to navigate the broken and convoluted healthcare system. We were getting 2nd opinions outside his network, trying to find clinical trials and also making sure he got basic care. All which made my head spin. On top of the caregiving piece, I was also working a full-time job, freelancing and really struggling to navigate my future career. Lastly, we were in the first year of a global pandemic. At the time, I didn’t recognize my perseverance and resilience, but I don’t think there is any other point where I displayed it as strongly. While I had moments, I kept myself composed, navigating minute-by-minute stressful situations all while putting others first.
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
At Romparound, we manufacture our own jumpsuits. While I had a marketing background I had no idea how the apparel industry worked. Initially we were supplying from a wholesaler. I knew to deliver the quality and brand experience I wanted, manufacturing ourselves had to be the end goal. I didn’t like the idea that we didn’t have control over the supply, what patterns we got, what the quality we got our when inventory would be available. To say I stumbled my way around is an understatement. I started on Google – which didn’t provide a lot of information as I quickly learned the apparel industry is a bit antiquated and a bit of a black box. I visited a few places I found off the internet, but I also wandered around the LA garmet district (which is not such a great area) asking peopl for information and recommendations. That’s how I found my first manufacturer. My second manufacturer I found by going on a manufacturing tour which I found through a tradeshow. My first manufacturer was a disaster. While they talked a big game, they didn’t give me the time of day once I signed with them. Several steps had to be repeated because of their error and nothing was on time. While I got my garments out – it was a really challenging process. My second manufacturer has been a lot better but there is still opportunity to improve. A few things I learned through the process was 1) Don’t ever pay the full price upfront. I made that mistake with my first manufacturer. I knew better, but was bullied into doing it because it was a small run. It gave me no leverage when things were going wrong. 2) Take pictures of everything – don’t assume they are taking inventory for you and keeping track of your things. My first manufacturer lost some of my fabric which was costly to replenish. 3) Don’t be scared to ask them to redo things, if it’s not up to your expectations or quality they make sure to ask for what you want.
Overall I still have a lot to learn in this space but am still 100% happy with the decision to manufacture ourselves.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.goromparound.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goromparound/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/romparound/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@romparound
Image Credits
Jade Sharp