Harley Finkelstein

And so there weren't a lot of jobs out there that would allow a student to take a full course load. But the cool part of entrepreneurship is you as the entrepreneur, as you're building your business, you get to mold the business around your particular needs, your particular schedule, your particular set of circumstances.

And so a friend of mine was on student council at McGill University and told me that McGill Thank you. I knew that Montreal historically had a very prominent schmata business, clothing industry. You have companies like American Apparel and Buffalo Jeans and Parasuco and Aldo and Brown. A lot of big companies that are now global companies were built.

And so a friend of mine was on student council at McGill University and told me that McGill Thank you. I knew that Montreal historically had a very prominent schmata business, clothing industry. You have companies like American Apparel and Buffalo Jeans and Parasuco and Aldo and Brown. A lot of big companies that are now global companies were built.

Gildan, for example, were all built here in Montreal. And so... I knew that not knowing anything about the t-shirt business that I probably would be able to find people here in town who would either help me with screen printing or who I can buy blank t-shirts from. And it wasn't this big, passionate, I need to be in the t-shirt industry. It wasn't about t-shirts at all. It was...

Gildan, for example, were all built here in Montreal. And so... I knew that not knowing anything about the t-shirt business that I probably would be able to find people here in town who would either help me with screen printing or who I can buy blank t-shirts from. And it wasn't this big, passionate, I need to be in the t-shirt industry. It wasn't about t-shirts at all. It was...

I thought of an opportunity that McGill buys t-shirts. I was a McGill student. Most of the t-shirts that I had worn that McGill had given me in my first couple of weeks of school were not very good. They were ill-fitting. They had large rib collars, which are not fashionable. They were all kind of boxy. The logos didn't look very nice.

I thought of an opportunity that McGill buys t-shirts. I was a McGill student. Most of the t-shirts that I had worn that McGill had given me in my first couple of weeks of school were not very good. They were ill-fitting. They had large rib collars, which are not fashionable. They were all kind of boxy. The logos didn't look very nice.

It was obvious to me that I could do this better if I was given the opportunity to do so. And so... I ended up going to meet the student council at McGill and telling them I'm a student here. I told them I have a teacher business. I didn't. Fake it till you make it. But I told them I had a teacher business.

It was obvious to me that I could do this better if I was given the opportunity to do so. And so... I ended up going to meet the student council at McGill and telling them I'm a student here. I told them I have a teacher business. I didn't. Fake it till you make it. But I told them I had a teacher business.

And I told them that as a student of McGill, I think I have a lot more empathy and a lot more understanding of what other students may need. And I would really be grateful if they would give me a test order. And I remember they gave me a test order. And I always sort of believed this idea of just always over-deliver. Everything you do, over-deliver.

And I told them that as a student of McGill, I think I have a lot more empathy and a lot more understanding of what other students may need. And I would really be grateful if they would give me a test order. And I remember they gave me a test order. And I always sort of believed this idea of just always over-deliver. Everything you do, over-deliver.

And so I think their test order was for like 100 t-shirts, and I brought in 120 t-shirts. And I gave them my cell phone number because I knew that all these other big companies, there's no way the sales rep was going to give them their cell phone number. But it was my business. I was the secretary and the assistant and the CEO and the head of production. I was everything.

And so I think their test order was for like 100 t-shirts, and I brought in 120 t-shirts. And I gave them my cell phone number because I knew that all these other big companies, there's no way the sales rep was going to give them their cell phone number. But it was my business. I was the secretary and the assistant and the CEO and the head of production. I was everything.

So I gave them my cell phone number and said, if there's any problems at all, give me a shout. That first t-shirt went off without a hitch. It was fantastic. Then I began to realize that I can use the same model at other universities. where I would go in, I mostly focused on Canada, but I had friends at every university across Canada at that point, or at least I knew someone at each university.

So I gave them my cell phone number and said, if there's any problems at all, give me a shout. That first t-shirt went off without a hitch. It was fantastic. Then I began to realize that I can use the same model at other universities. where I would go in, I mostly focused on Canada, but I had friends at every university across Canada at that point, or at least I knew someone at each university.

And I would just call and say, introduce me. And they'd introduce me and I'd go in and I'd always over deliver. And the best part about it was, When I was competing against these larger businesses that were selling t-shirts, they would go in with a catalog, papers of, you know, you can choose this t-shirt, this. I would go in with actual working samples, physically printed samples.

And I would just call and say, introduce me. And they'd introduce me and I'd go in and I'd always over deliver. And the best part about it was, When I was competing against these larger businesses that were selling t-shirts, they would go in with a catalog, papers of, you know, you can choose this t-shirt, this. I would go in with actual working samples, physically printed samples.

So instead of saying, which GSM count, which weight of t-shirt do you want? Do you want a poly cotton or do you want just a cotton? Do you want something a little more stretchy, something a little bit more vintage looking? I would actually bring the t-shirts themselves in And so rather than having to select them using paper, they can select them with the physical samples.

So instead of saying, which GSM count, which weight of t-shirt do you want? Do you want a poly cotton or do you want just a cotton? Do you want something a little more stretchy, something a little bit more vintage looking? I would actually bring the t-shirts themselves in And so rather than having to select them using paper, they can select them with the physical samples.

And by the end of university, this is 2005, dozens and dozens of universities across the country were buying t-shirts from me and I was able to build a real business doing it. It was remarkable.