Most people don't want to think about anything on a hot and humid summer day, but on Jeff Schattner came up with an idea for a new business at a wedding on such day in the summer of 2013.
"I was sweating my butt off," Schattner says. "It was one of those 90-degree days and I was in a full suit."
The business became
Lawrence Hunt, a clothing startup that makes dress shirts for men that employ breathable material, like what's used in work-out clothes to help keep the user cool and limit the amount of sweat that sweeps through.
"I wanted something that was more professional," Schattner says. "I wanted that crisp, 100 percent cotton look."
Lawrence Hunt pulled off a successful crowdfunding campaign a little more than a year ago to produce a few thousand shirts. That experience prompted Shattner to go back to the drawing board and redesign a better shirt. It relaunched the new design this month, and it is now for sale online.
"That has really brought down our costs between 50-75 percent," Schattner says.
He plans to keep building up the brand of the downtown Detroit-based clothing company in 2016. Splitting his time between Lawrence Hunt and his day job as a CPA, Schattner will focus on Internet sales to help keep costs low and create some brand recognition.
Source: Jeff Schattner, founder of Lawrence Hunt
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.