{"id":4550,"date":"2015-04-20T21:26:18","date_gmt":"2015-04-21T01:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/?p=4550"},"modified":"2024-02-14T10:38:23","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T15:38:23","slug":"eph-apparel-inc-partnering-for-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/blog\/eph-apparel-inc-partnering-for-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Eph Apparel Inc.: Partnering for success"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Written By: Claire Gendron, Bilingual Marketing Content Coordinator, Futurpreneur Canada<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Becoming an entrepreneur is very rewarding, but it\u2019s not without challenges \u2013 especially if you\u2019re going it alone. Many entrepreneurs experience loneliness, as well as stress over the risk involved and the fear of failure. A recent article<\/a> by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index<\/a> revealed that 45 percent of entrepreneurs reported feeling \u201ca lot\u201d of stress the previous day.<\/p>\n

For some, co-founding an enterprise with partners might seem like the perfect simple solution to reduce pressure, increase confidence, share risk and enjoy the many other advantages associated with working in a team. But like with every relationship, you must be prepared for issues to arise and have the right tools at your disposal to solve them.<\/p>\n

At Futurpreneur Canada<\/a>, we see many of these kinds of partnerships among the start-ups we support: in fact, more than a quarter of those enterprises have two or more partners. One case in particular stands out as a paradigm of a successful partnership, and that\u2019s Alex Ethans, Andrew Parkes and Maciek Hunek, who launched Eph Apparel<\/a> in 2011.<\/p>\n

A fruitful partnership<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cThe transformation from men to gentlemen<\/em>\u201d, is how the three co-founders describe the evolution of their business.\u00a0 Established in Winnipeg, Eph Apparel specializes in made-to-measure clothing for men. The start-up already looks like a success after only four years in existence, with 38 employees, 25,000 clients and prestigious collaborations with the likes of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Winnipeg Jets.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe would not be in the position we are in today if this was a one man show,\u201d Alex acknowledges. \u201cStart-ups and all businesses can go through turbulent phases and it can be a rollercoaster ride, but a great way to mitigate these bumps in the road is by having partners to pick you back up.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The three co-founders met in business school at the University of Manitoba. After graduating, they got their feet wet working in local businesses, but felt stifled and decided to start their own business. Many start-ups form similarly in educational or social circles. However, it\u2019s also possible to find a partner from business incubators, start-up organizations or by participating in industry and networking events. Websites that connect entrepreneurs are also starting to emerge, like FounderDating<\/a> in the United States.<\/p>\n

Different skills, one vision<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For an optimal partnership, co-founders should have different, but complementary, skill sets. For example, Alex, Andrew and Maciek believe that their different backgrounds create a major advantage for their business: \u201cWe are lucky enough to have three partners and we couldn\u2019t stress enough how important it is to have partners whose strengths complement one another. Each one of us brings something different to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the beginning, they have all had a stake in each decision made in developing the business and each naturally turns to his own area of expertise: sales and human resources for Alex, marketing and operations for Andrew, and logistics, supply chain and Finance for Maciek. However, this doesn\u2019t stop the trio from collaborating. \u201cOur academic backgrounds laid the foundation for our \u201cspecialties\u201d as we were getting our feet wet with EPH, but we always collaborate on material decisions or ask the \u201cwhat do you think\u201d when we are stuck,\u201d says Andrew.<\/p>\n

Finding partners with complementary skills is one thing, but coming together with one vision and a common set of values is another \u2013 and it\u2019s essential to a good collaboration. These three co-founders were conscious of this fact and they share this with fellow entrepreneurs. \u00a0\u201cBe driven by passion for your idea and business instead of the potential pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and find other partners that have the same ambition, hunger and passion as you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Partnership thrives on organization<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In this type of partnership, having a strong organizational structure is key. The three entrepreneurs have gained a lot of experience on this subject: \u201cAs we transitioned from a business with a handful of employees to a team of 35, it wasn\u2019t easy letting go of the day-to-day tasks to focus on managing and planning. We collaborate on a daily and even hourly basis, but Wednesdays are set aside for strategy, planning, and status updates on each of outstanding projects,\u201d explains Maciek.<\/p>\n

Despite all the advantages of partnership \u2013 the support of colleagues, sharing skills and experiences and the benefit of a broader network \u2013 we can\u2019t forget the other side of the coin. Decisions affecting the business must be agreed on by the group, which can be challenging with the differing opinions. This means plenty of meetings \u2013 and finding those rare moments when everyone is available. \u00a0As Alex says, \u201cA partnership is like a marriage. Great times, rocky times and everything else in between, but all worth it in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thinking about formalizing a partnership with your co-founders? Read this article<\/a> by Tim Rudkins, Small Business Coach and Solopreneur.<\/p>\n

To learn more about Eph Apparel, read the full success story<\/a>. Visit their website<\/a> and follow them on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and Twitter<\/a>\u00a0to keep on top of their news.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written By: Claire Gendron, Bilingual Marketing Content Coordinator, Futurpreneur Canada Becoming an entrepreneur is very rewarding, but it\u2019s not without challenges \u2013 especially if you\u2019re going it alone. Many entrepreneurs experience loneliness, as well as stress over the risk involved and the fear of failure. A recent article by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index revealed that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4551,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entrepreneurship","category-futurpreneurs-and-partners"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futurpreneur.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}