How to Start a Profitable Clothing Brand with Purpose
A Shopify Masters interview with Michelle K. Hanabusa, founder of the streetwear-inspired clothing brand Uprisers, which tells stories of immigrant communities. She says it began with a grassroots project that photographed over 500 people in one T-shirt, and that the brand started five years ago in 2019. She describes campaigns like Hate Is a Virus, which she calls passion projects and not the money maker, an annual family drive with nonprofits, a collaboration with Panda Express, and being invited to Complex Con, where she created a Family Market to bring Asian-owned brands. She explains why the brand is stepping away from social media, how she thinks about values-aligned partnerships, and a planned story-capture tour across US cities. Sponsor: Shopify, which produces the show and is named in the description with a free trial offer. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, the origin story, the campaigns and community sections, the partnerships section and the closing, and may not cover every point in the roughly 28 minute video. Business claims are the guest's own and not independently checked.
Executive Summary (TL;DR)
A Shopify Masters interview with Michelle K. Hanabusa, founder of the streetwear-inspired clothing brand Uprisers, which tells stories of immigrant communities. She says it began with a grassroots project that photographed over 500 people in one T-shirt, and that the brand started five years ago in 2019. She describes campaigns like Hate Is a Virus, which she calls passion projects and not the money maker, an annual family drive with nonprofits, a collaboration with Panda Express, and being invited to Complex Con, where she created a Family Market to bring Asian-owned brands. She explains why the brand is stepping away from social media, how she thinks about values-aligned partnerships, and a planned story-capture tour across US cities. Sponsor: Shopify, which produces the show and is named in the description with a free trial offer. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, the origin story, the campaigns and community sections, the partnerships section and the closing, and may not cover every point in the roughly 28 minute video. Business claims are the guest's own and not independently checked.