Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michael Lynch. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Michael, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
‘Imperfects’ started as a simple life mantra between two friends. The whole idea was that my best pal and I could find some sort of confidence and strength by leading with our imperfections. It was nothing more than a reminder to be self-aware and confident in who you are because your strengths are really a product of your differences. My friend Jack and I would refer to it as The Human Experience – being broken, being inherently imperfect – and he eventually drew a logo for our mantra. It grew from being a mantra into an identity. At some point, it started to show up on our crafts because it was such a radical logo and the best part was that people immediately understood what it meant. From there, it became apparent that if I could build something for the world with my imperfections, it would look like a group of products all focused around self-expression – naturally, I began manufacturing my 3 favorite things; Surfboards, Skateboards, Clothing.
Michael, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Michael Lynch, I am an artist turned entrepreneur, a father, a husband, a brother, a son and a student of life. I was born in Southern California and have only left intermittently to travel the world and go to college. I grew up in Encinitas surfing, skating, playing football, running track and generally finding creative things to do. My skills in sport took me across the country to Villanova University where I met a few my lifelong friends, found myself and met my wife. After graduating from Villanova with a BA in Economics and Big East Honors in Track and Field, I came home, started surfing every day and began building my own Creative Agency with specific interest in managing brands in the Outdoor and Global Fashion Industries. I spent 10 years successfully scaling brands and building brand identities; 4 years ago, I set my sights on building my own brand, Imperfects.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I’ve had to pivot quite a bit in my time. I don’t really acknowledge one pivot as more important than another because I believe we are simply the sum of all of our parts and our journey is continuously being shaped by decisions. In other words, I don’t think we ever really ‘arrive’ – we just have to keep going and pivoting is a massive part of the equation. It really does come down to perspective; for example, I have had so many events unfold in my career that could have been and/ or would have been completely crushing had I allowed them to but my will to keep going was greater. On the perspective of pivoting, in general, I can sum it up to one simple line: the only failure in life is giving up, pivoting is a beautifully natural part of the life equation and in so many way a perfectly imperfect way of gaining new perspective.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
I was lucky enough to be insulated by friends and family at the beginning of committing to Imperfects. The initial capital poured into Imperfects was via my other business, Creative Priority, I was able to have the agency incubate Imperfects in its earliest moments (about 2 years time). When I decided to commit to Imperf full time, my founding team and I formed a SEED equity raise plan and successfully brought on a bucket of capital which propelled us into the competitive space that we sit in today: somewhere between Core Surf, DIY Surf, Core Skate, DIY Skate, Global Fashion and Outdoor Retail.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.imperfects.com
- Instagram: @imperfects
Image Credits
All image credits would be Titus Haug