PPB July 2018

after his college graduation, Winters had built Twisted into a $2 million business. When disagreement arose among the partners about the direction of Twisted, they made the decision to dissolve the company. Winters was hired as a headwear designer for Starter, an athletic brand that partners with professional sports teams. Combining his art talent with his passion for sports was a dream come true. Winters’s role at Starter led to a series of high-profile positions in the athletic apparel industry with companies such as Nike, Knights Apparel, HanesBrands and Iconix. But despite his corporate success, he yearned to do something on his own. In 2014, an industry friend suggested that Winters talk to a factory owner in China who specializes in polyester and poly- blended fabrics for blank athletic apparel and team uniforms, and performance technologies incorporated into apparel. He was looking for a partner. Winters booked a flight to tour the factories and find out more. He was intrigued by the idea of starting a company that would be 100 percent vertical—meaning all of the resources would be proprietary, not imported from other suppliers. Seven days later, Winters quit his job and forged a partnership. “I know it sounds crazy, but on the last day, we formed the outline of our partnership on the back of a tea shop menu,” he says. “I returned to New York, left Iconix and, with full support frommy wife, Holly, plunged into a startup called Jettco International, Inc. My son’s name is Jett, and my partner’s son is Cody, so the name fell into place.” Winters got straight to work, contacting everyone he knew in the apparel business. To get started, the company primarily focused on private label production for companies like G-III, Fancloth, Russell Athletic, Varsity Brands, BSN and others. “Once we got off the ground, we started importing blank athletic apparel, taking on an inventory position to support this market. Through trial and error, we built a strong following and branded the blanks business as EG-PRO performance gear.” It was not an easy road, though. “The biggest obstacle was that my partner does not speak English and I don’t speak Chinese. So, I had to employ a trusted team that is bilingual, and my partner had to do the same. Not only was communication a daunting task, but managing expectations and cultural differences was not easy during the upstart,” he says. Through persistence, Jettco flourished. The partners were able to introduce a third brand, appropriately called Elbowgrease, a young men’s “street leisure” fashion brand that is sold to trendy sneaker shops, boutiques and department stores across the United States. By tapping into the efficiencies of a vertical structure, the team at Elbowgrease designs and imports apparel that color coordinates with the latest sneaker releases and then ships it direct from the factory. The styles have been so popular that they often sell out before the containers are even loaded onto cargo ships. “At Jettco, we own our fabric mills, dye houses, cut/sew factories, screen print factories and embroidery factories in China and Africa,” explains Winters. “We even own the land all of our factories sit on. As a completely vertical organization, we have the luxury of importing ‘fast fashion’ direct from China to retailers, so we’re utilizing our capabilities to build all three tiers of our company with great success.” The private label, EG-PRO and Elbowgrease businesses are all experiencing year-over-year growth of over 250 percent. An additional distribution center was recently opened in Ontario, Canada, to further service the western U.S. In addition, Winters is in negotiations to take EG-PRO and Elbowgrease global. “We see the market continuing to expand as consumers become more comfortable wearing athletic apparel all day long,” says Winters. “Therefore, with the demand for technologies like cooling yarns, wicking and anti-microbial fabrics, as well as vapor-drying fibers, we integrate these attributes not just into our blanks and team uniforms but also into athleisure-inspired programs. We’re building items with high-end fabrics that have the look and feel of Lululemon or Nike, but at a fraction of the cost.” As president of Jettco, Winters works until three a.m. several nights a week so he can set goals for his team, correspond with the divisions, recap with sales managers and consult with his overseas partner since there is a 12-hour time difference. Life outside the office revolves around raising Winters’s active “The biggest obstacle was that my partner does not speak English and I don’t speak Chinese. So, I had to employ a trusted team that is bilingual, and my partner had to do the same. Not only was communication a daunting task, but managing expectations and cultural differences was not easy during the upstart.” | JULY 2018 | 23 INNOVATE