Leather, Data and Grit — with Evan Fript of Paul Evans

On the 31st episode of the Loose Threads Podcast, a show about the intersection of consumer, retail and commerce, I talk with Evan Fript, a co-founder of Paul Evans, a brand bringing the best luxury Italian footwear for men to the states at a contemporary price point. Evan founded the company after questioning why luxury footwear was so expensive. This sent him down a rabbit hole as he tried to reverse engineer high quality footwear at a more affordable price. Evan and I had a good talk about the journey of building the brand, the early results from the brand’s first retail store, and where Paul Evans fits into a booming market of direct to consumer brands. I really enjoyed talking with Evan about his time building the brand and all of the ups and downs it took to get it to this point. The discussion about working capital is especially pertinent, as it’s one of the biggest struggles for physical goods brands today, which leads brands to use mechanisms such as pre orders to fuel growth. Even so, it seems that Evan continues to navigate the waters with a solid dose of pragmatism. — Show Notes — Paul Evans https://www.paulevansny.com/ Edited by George Drake Jr. — About Loose Threads — http://LooseThreads.com Join the newsletter: http://eepurl.com/buLQY9 Twitter: http://twitter.com/loosethreadscom The Loose Threads Podcast explores the intersection of consumer, retail and commerce. Hosted by Richie Siegel, the founder of Loose Threads, each episode features an in-depth conversation with one guest about their founding story and how it fits into the current state of the industry. Guests come from all different backgrounds, spanning the consumer goods, fashion, retail and technology industries. The unifying thread is always the rapid change facing the industry and how entrepreneurs are responding. You can listen to the podcast on any player of your choice, in addition to on LooseThreads.com.