When University of Alabama alumni Dustin Vann, Cody Foster and Michael Rosato first launched their Finn Apparel clothing line on Kickstarter, an online crowd funding website, they didn’t expect to surpass their fundraising goal amount.
They originally set out with the goal of raising $14,800 by Nov. 22but have now surpassed that goal, raising a current total of $29,116. With 287 backers and a little more than a week left before their campaign is launched, Finn Apparel is getting ready to unveil its new line. Now, the company is talking to boutiques in the Birmingham area about possible arrangements.
“We will have a fully operational website that will launch as soon as our Kickstarter campaign is over with,” Rosato said. “Finnapparel.com will be the main source to go through. We’re also looking for a show room-esque place.”
Vann, Foster and Rosato are all UA graduates, but they met long before they started brainstorming the idea to create a company together. Foster and Vann met in middle school, and later Vann met Rosato through mutual friends while rock climbing. They have been friends now for more than eight years.
“We’re all very different in our styles, which makes for interesting conversation when we’re together working on a new concept,” Vann said. “I would say that Mike has the more sophisticated, subtle details to his style, and Cody a bit more daring and bold with his statements. I’ve always considered myself fashion-forward – wearing, mixing, making and always looking for something unique and one-of-a-kind to include in my wardrobe. I don’t like to stand out, but I also don’t like to wear what everyone else is wearing and looks just like everyone else.”
The staff of Kickstarter originally placed Finn Apparel on their staff picks page, and a week later Finn Apparel was on the website’s main page. More than 5 million people have funded 50,000 campaigns on Kickstarter, but Rosato credits Finn Apparel’s success to more than just the support they’ve gathered through Kickstarter. He said the success is due largely in part to support from the people around them, particularly that of Courtney McGahey, who was Vann and Rosato’s adviser and is an assistant professor in the consumer science department.
“You have to try your hardest. If you just try a little bit harder than the average person, and you don’t want to do a job that fits a specific category, all you can do is try. It doesn’t matter your age, if you want to start something, then just start talking to the right people,” Rosato said.
McGahey said changing perceptions of social media have contributed to Finn Apparel’s Kickstarter success.
“I just think how awesome it is that social media is working better than people think, because people have these preconceived ideas about Twitter and Facebook, but they don’t realize that there are other avenues for these things,” McGahey said. “I’m so proud of them. I mean just the way they talk, you know something is going to happen, because they are just very passionate about it.”
When its Kickstarter campaign ends, Finn Apparel is looking to roll out its winter collection and add more styles to its collection in the spring. For the future, a women’s apparel line is in the works.
“My dream is for Finn to eventually stand on its own in a brick and mortar FINN store, similar to the way that Billy Reid has positioned his designs and collections. I think it would be huge if we could connect with a store like Fred Segal, Nordstrom or some of the higher end West Coast boutiques,” Vann said.
