These Married Co-Founders Started a Business With a Name 'Nobody Could Pronounce' — Then Bootstrapped It From Their Garage to 8-Figure Revenue

Irene Chen and Matthew Grenby, co-founders of functional luxury handbag and accessories marque Parker Thatch, are nary strangers to well-timed pivots — having utilized them to build a business that's been profitable since time 1 and will deed 8 figures successful gross this year.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Parker Thatch

Drawing inspiration from Chen's inheritance successful manner (as head of merchandise improvement astatine Donna Karan) and Grenby's successful UX and design, the mates sewage their commencement successful entrepreneurship pinch an e-stationery institution called iomoi, which launched successful 2001.

Although group liked the idea, it was up of its time, the co-founders say. The net wasn't yet mainstream, and imaginable customers weren't consenting to salary for a merchandise they thought should beryllium free. So iomoi began to connection beingness products, expanding into location equipment pinch a attraction connected customization.

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"I'm like, I want that connected a tote bag."

Then Grenby figured retired really to put their celebrated monogram designs onto 100% fabric — "and the wheels started turning," Chen says. "I'm like, I want that connected a tote bag." The business was (and still is) wholly bootstrapped, truthful the mates had to find a creative, cost-effective measurement to create the caller product.

"When you don't person a immense sum of funding, it really tests your expertise — how do I do this?" Chen says.

They did it by enlisting the thief of Chen's barren cleaner successful Danville, California. It was a family business; the female who hemmed Chen's pants did fantabulous activity and had a creation degree, truthful they asked her to create a pattern, and she agreed. The bags were made of canvas pinch 2 strips of leather attached by rivets for handles. The Goyard stripe was celebrated astatine the time, truthful Chen and Grenby added a stripe creation to their ain bag.

It was 2009, and the timing was conscionable right, the co-founders say: They "threw a bunch of Hail Marys retired there," which landed iomoi's bags successful vacation gift guides conscionable successful clip for the seasonal shopping rush. Their "Mimi" container was an instant hit, moreover catching Reese Witherspoon's eye, and is still a bestseller today.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Parker Thatch

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"In bid to standard and really go what we wanted to become, we needed to pivot."

Chen and Grenby continued to grow the brand complete the adjacent respective years, moving their cognition from their car shed to a mini agency successful Lafayette, California earlier they outgrew it and transitioned to a larger abstraction successful Orinda successful 2015. The caller agency had a awesome window, which inspired the co-founders to unfastened a showroom.

That aforesaid year, Chen and Grenby's friends and mentors Kate and Andy Spade, the husband-and-wife squad down manner institution Kate Spade New York, gave them immoderate important advice. It was clip to rename the company, which "nobody could retrieve aliases pronounce," Grenby recalls.

The co-founders often spent clip successful Napa pinch the Spades, and aft immoderate evening brainstorming sessions, playing astir pinch different ideas, Kate mentioned really she'd ever loved the sanction "Thatch." Chen and Grenby's daughter's sanction is Parker and their son's is Thatcher; "Parker Thatch" was a earthy fit.

Customization was an integral portion of the brand's handbags and accessories, but eventually, it became clear that it wasn't sustainable. "It's really difficult to standard that," Chen says. "We had a awesome container and a awesome business, but successful bid to scale and really go what we wanted to become, we needed to pivot."

"That had been our breadstuff and food for each those years," Grenby adds, "and that's what had allowed america to turn arsenic acold arsenic we had, but we benignant of went arsenic acold arsenic we could pinch that approach. There were conscionable truthful galore operational inefficiencies and bottlenecks that wouldn't fto america [continue to expand]."

Image Credit: Courtesy of Parker Thatch

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The co-founders besides wanted to present caller colors and materials, including leather, to Parker Thatch's line.

Although moving distant from the brand's original customizations was the correct decision, it was still a difficult one. Chen likens the acquisition to jumping disconnected a diving committee and being unsure of wherever you'll land, and Grenby agrees, adding, "You cognize it's water, but really heavy is it? Is location a rock? Is location a shark? You conscionable person to return that leap of faith."

"I want things to beryllium elegant and beautiful."

Taking that chance paid disconnected — and helped Parker Thatch redefine itself arsenic a marque that's "all astir functional and elevated luxury."

"I find that's wherever we deed our stride, and that's who I americium arsenic a person," Chen says. "I'm not a fussy person, but I want to look good, and I want things to beryllium elegant and beautiful. But I want to usage it each day, and I want you to usage your container each day."

Parker Thatch fto spell of 1 type of customization to scale, but it's since embraced another. Customers tin personalize their bags pinch interchangeable straps — for illustration 100% cattle hairsbreadth successful camo people pinch cognac leather trim aliases navy and achromatic beading pinch suede sides — and charms: hearts dangling from acrylic tortoise chains, mother-of-pearl evil eyes, and truthful overmuch more.

"That each stems from erstwhile we first started monogramming our bags," Chen explains. "Everyone has different personalities, and it should bespeak connected their bags. So I springiness you a container that everyone could carry, but I judge that the straps [and charms] that you take [are] a reflection of you."

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"If it's not authentic, group consciousness that."

Parker Thatch continues to waste direct-to-consumer from its website, but it's besides added a shop to its Orinda showroom. Customers tin make virtual aliases in-person appointments to shop and customize their look.

"We worth connecting pinch our customer successful that way," Grenby says, "and they worth it excessively because they get to touch and consciousness the product."

Next year, the co-founders look guardant to increasing the marque via caller channels of distribution and uncovering continued occurrence pinch its designs, for illustration the progressively celebrated broken-in leather conception that's attracting buyers to the "Jack" tote (which quickly sold retired and is now disposable for pre-order).

Chen and Grenby person learned a batch complete their past 20-plus years successful business, including really to enactment competitory successful a crowded market — and the quality betwixt entrepreneurs seeking flash-in-the-pan occurrence and those who want to build a institution pinch longevity.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Parker Thatch

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Doing the second requires a definite level of "grit," the co-founders say. "Sometimes group [think] grit intends you person to bent connected arsenic tight arsenic you tin and conscionable support going and spell hard," Chen explains. "But I've discovered it's much the longevity of it and the consistency of it. It's conscionable sticking to it."

And, yes, Parker Thatch makes handbags, but its "true mission" is astir giving customers a assurance boost, Chen says: "I want to make a handbag that erstwhile you put it on, you consciousness for illustration you sewage a small swagger. So erstwhile you're not emotion awesome that day, [you put that container connected and are like], Okay, I tin do this."

Finding that "why" helped supercharge the institution — and serves arsenic a coagulated defense against inevitable manufacture challenges, for illustration competitors that nutrient knock-offs, Grenby says.

"That 'why' is not thing that's not easy copyable," he explains. "If it's not authentic, group consciousness that, and they worth authenticity."