While some successful business ideas are born of the axiom “necessity is the mother of invention,” Van Jewel’s growing apparel company was conceived under a maxim you might describe as “passion is the hotbed of entrepreneurialism,” or “nearsightedness is the inciter of prosperity.” “I was sitting with my husband with the satellite music channel on the television and I thought the name of the station we were listening was listed on the screen as ‘Smooch Jazz,’” said Jewel, CEO of SMOOCH Inc. in Tarzana. Of course, her eyes deceived her; the station was called “Smooth Jazz.” But the damage had been done; a company was born. “I started thinking about that word – smooch,” she said. “It really is as much a sound and a feeling – a feeling that is very diverse, depending on who you’re thinking about – as it is a word.” To Jewel, the word smooch means passion. It means love. And, it now means more than half-a-million dollars in revenue, which her firm reaps from sales from caps, jeans, T-shirts and fashion accessories. Buyers from major retailers such as Neiman Marcus have expressed interest, and gone so far as dispatching buyers to speak with Van Jewel to establish pricing for future orders (however, last year’s economic realities have put the Neiman’s order on hold, as stores have been extra cautious about taking on new brands, according to Jewel). However, to date, the bulk of SMOOCH jeans and sportswear sales have come via viral marketing, celebrities sporting the label, through pop-up-store retailing, and online sales. “We pitched a gifting suite at the Grammys,” she said. “That’s how we started getting celebrities to know and fall in love with our designs.” Hundreds of companies compete each year for gift suites at awards shows such as the Grammys, where celebrity guests of the events come to be gifted with swag of all types. To be chosen is a coup for young companies; to have celebrities actually be seen wearing or using a product has great value as a potential driver of sales; to have celebrities, such as Melissa Joan Hart say they love your stuff while wearing it is priceless, said Jewel. In fact, Jewel describes what sounds like a metaphysical effect, which she claims her jeans, caps and T-shirts have on people when they are first introduced. “A lot of people try to get into the Grammys and don’t make it,” she said. “You can pay a lot of money for a gifting suite, but when the committee saw our products last time, they said we wouldn’t even have to pay for a suite. And, we’ve been accepted as official Grammys gear.” Back to that evening in front of the TV when Van Jewel’s less-than-perfect eyesight gave birth to a new company. Her husband, a CPA, matched her own initial investment of $15,000, making a grand total of $30,000 in seed money. “It wasn’t long before we knew we needed more money,” she said. “A doctor friend invested about $250,000, and by the time we were done taking investors, we raised more than $1 million.” Seeing growth According to COO, Shawn Rivera, three years into the business, 2010 will be the first fiscal year in which SMOOCH, Inc. will begin returning money on its capital investment. “We’ve grown each year since we started,” he said. “This year we will operate in the black.” Rivera came to SMOOCH in search of a vendor for a music project he was working on. Van Jewel loved that project, so asked him to join her firm as its COO and to start a SMOOCH record label. “Developing the label has been an adventure,” Rivera said. “At first, I asked them ‘are you sure?’ That’s because I had learned as a music industry insider in the past that there is no coinciding of art and commerce in the music industry, no coinciding between purity of the music and politics of the business; and soured on the whole thing.” Rivera swore any re-emersion into the music industry for him would require his partners, employers and colleagues ascribe to a solid foundation similar to his core values…principles he was sure were incompatible with people in the music industry – or those who wanted to be. “They proved to me that they were the exception to the rule,” he said. “I was attracted to their energy and what they put into their products.” “What they put into their products” has a literal as well as a figurative meaning for Rivera. “It’s true their labels and some of the clothing actually display the text of the positive message of SMOOCH, which, by the way, stands for ‘sharing more of ourselves changes hearts,” he said. “But also, by sharing a portion of our revenues with children’s and abused women’s organizations, and by manufacturing all of our clothing in Los Angeles, with environmentally friendly fabrics, the company lives the principles I believe in. Among other “SMOOCHisms,” as the positive sayings that are a keystone of the company’s branding strategy are called, is the so-called “SMOOCH’s Law.” “It’s ‘whatever can go right will go right,” Rivera said. “And we’ve trademarked it.” Positive message In a nod to the power and value of viral and interactive marketing, customers are encouraged to go online to the company’s website and suggest their own positive-message SMOOCHisms, which, if adopted, will end up on T-shirts and on the labels of SMOOCH jeans. “What’s next for us is our Tush-up jeans,” said Jewel. “We can make anybody with a butt or no butt look good.” Jewel, whose innovations have included assymetrical hipline jeans, as well as hip-hop style ball caps with bills sewn in cocked to one side, expects her so-called Tush-up jeans to be a big hit. “I guess I’m not doing too bad for a girl who grew up as a foster child and suffered all kinds of emotional and other abuse,” she said. “I like to shake things up with creativity and positive energy.” Whether it was her term as a lead singer in a late configuration of the Fifth Dimension traveling around the globe or starting her own clothing line and music label, Jewel expects to do a lot of shaking things up in the future. “One reason we do pop-up stores, is because it’s more creative and allows our retail experience to be just that an experience – an event, a celebration,” she said. Pop-up stores are a phenomenon in which vacant retail spaces are leased to companies such as SMOOCH Inc. on a short-term basis. The SMOOCH music label will release its first albums this year with two “top-secret,” well established stars as featured artists. “One will almost certainly get the best new artist Grammy,” said Rivera. “This person is already well known as a literary artist and is required reading at almost every high school in the country.” If Rivera and Jewel are correct, SMOOCH may soon be on the lips of more people in 2010 than ever before. “We’re in it for the long haul,” Jewel said. “And we’ve got big, positive plans for this world.” SMOOCH Inc. Industries: Apparel and Music Start-up Capital: $1 million Founded: 2007 First Year Revenues: Under $100,000 2008 Revenues: $250,000 2009 Revenues: $500,000 Employees: 4 (plus dozens of contract vendors)
Smootch Operator
