We were lucky to catch up with Paul Benninghove recently and have shared our conversation below.
Paul, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
The story behind our mission has always been two-fold, first and foremost to engage and work with the best creatives around the world who may not always get the opportunities to work with brands because of their locale or situation. We engage designers we find via word of mouth, research into specific regions and various websites where creatives build their portfolios. From our interactions on social we also get requests from illustrators and designers to work with us that we vet and engage when we have a concept we want to pursue.
The second part of our mission is to create a brand that helps others. Having been in the advertising world for 2 decades it’s not about making a ton of money as much as it is donating to causes that deserve it and employing people who are passionate about what they do and want to get involved. We are still in startup mode so it’s alot of learning as we go but we identify a good cause and see what we can do to help.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My personal background starts in the advertising agency world. I’ve been an agency owner, creative director, and interactive designer for over two decades. I’ve built two digital agencies, sold one, worked with several other exciting and successful studios, and built my entire career on digital strategy and creative efforts for brands. I got into apparel design for several brands including national esports teams and the design process was interesting and fun.
Long story short I started HSHB as an outlet for my creative ideas outside of my day-to-day career path and a way to pay it forward for people who we can help. I’m most proud of the learning process in figuring out what it takes to succeed at apparel brand building and how far we’ve come so far.
The important thing to know about HSHB and what we are trying to do is that the brand is all about the human condition. How within all of us we have the potential for good and bad and it’s ok to own that and communicate it via our designs and your own personalities. Through our brand, we strive to strike a balance and give it a voice.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Coming from the creative world of advertising the biggest lesson I had to unlearn going into an apparel startup was that creative ideas and great design don’t mean a product will succeed. Knowing you nailed it from the brand side and that you have a piece that stands out against your competition doesn’t mean anything. If you don’t have a clear understanding of your audience and the advertising path and tools to define where and when you advertise in a space as crowded as apparel, you can quickly get lost in the clutter.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
The initial investment for my business came directly from my bank account. We didn’t finance anything, bring on any investors, or do anything with friends and family. From selling my digital agency I had capital stashed away for my retirement and it was where the initial cash flow came from. I had been thinking about the HSHB brand for years and my girlfriend at the time (now wife) one night talked me into taking the leap and doing it. From that point on, as cash was needed for growth we still utilized that pool to help seed new opportunities.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hshbgear.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hshbclothing/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HSHBClothing/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulbenninghove/
Image Credits
Paul Benninghove – Photographer / Creative Director