eMinutes Client Profile: Maren Einvik
Please tell our readers about your business. REWEAR NYC is a socially and environmentally responsible company that makes baby carriers and other baby/mom related products from recycled jeans. Each product is unique and made with love in NYC! REWEAR NYC wants to increase awareness of sustainable fashion. We source the materials from achievable program charities, helping their cause. Every step from design to shipping is done by local hands in our community. Not only are we supporting the local neighborhood, but we love being able to oversee the quality of our product more closely. Our business is run by 2 moms; Ellen Pande-Rolfsen and Maren Einvik. Both partners have individual experience in the field of fashion, design, logistics, marketing and business.
Tell us about the project you’re currently working on. We just launched our company REWEAR NYC. We are currently working on getting it known and get the product in stores shelves’.
Why did you become an entrepreneur? Is starting a business something you always wanted to do? It was mostly by coincident. With a background in Fashion Design and Styling, Norwegian born Ellen Pande-Rolfsen designed her first baby carrier when her daughter was born in 2010. After requests she started to make baby carrier for friends and friends of friends. First in 2012 after Ellen met Maren, REWEAR NYC was born. Maren saw the potential and together they launched a small collection of carrier, nursing covers, diaper clutch and bags that all would follow the REWEAR family.
What is the number one thing you wish you could learn more about, and how will you learn about it? Accounting, so we’ll get a CPA to help us.
How has technology impacted your business? Customers can purchase our products on the go with payment apps on smart phones, at the same time is it easy for us to work on the go with wifi, and with social media it’s easier to network.
How do you use social media in your business? We are on most social platforms and connect with everyone who we think or want to be interested in our products.
Did you have a business plan when you started your business, and, if so, how much did you vary from it? We had a strong idea of concept and execution and have so far stood by it.
What was your biggest mistake and what did you learn from it? Launched too early, should have prepared better.
What advice would you offer to a first-time entrepreneur? Have a great pitch and you have to be passionate about your business.
Have you received funding from an outside source, and how has funding (or the lack of funding) impacted your ability to achieve your objectives? No, we have invested a small amount each and a lot of working hrs.
How do you spend your workday? Maren is doing social media marketing, research blogs and retailers, email correspondence and walking the streets of NYC to promote the carrier. Ellen spends her day working on production.
Who do you rely upon in your business most, and what does he or she do for you that is so invaluable? We both need each other equally
Do you believe that “luck” played any role in the success of your company? No, mostly hard work
If you had an extra $25,000 to spend on your business, what would you spend it on? Marketing, production and distribution
How neat or messy is your desk? Since we live in the city there is not much space for an office, so Maren has transformed her closed into an office – due to the lack of storage her desk is obviously cluttered. Ellen has a sunny workroom, with fabrics and products neatly stored.