Thread wallet4/20/2023 “Colby was bodysurfing in Hawaii and lost his wallet, and at that point he was holding his cards and cash together with a rubber band. “It started with an accident,” says McKenzie. Your responses will help us improve.So how has Thread Wallets been this successful this fast? ![]() Click HEREand share your thoughts with us. We are asking for a couple minutes to quickly provide feedback on our Silicon Slopes quarterly magazine publication. Hi! The Silicon Slopes team is interested in your feedback. You can currently find Thread products in over 1,000 retail locations nationwide and in their three owned retail kiosks (soon to be four - their first out-of-state kiosk opens this month in San Diego, California). Thread continues to focus on growth by expanding its product line (they now carry bags, AirPod Cases, and phone cases) as well as their retail presence. ![]() 500 with a three-year growth rate of 3,363%. Since 2015, Thread Wallets has been featured as one of Utah’s fastest growing companies by both Utah Valley Business Q and Mountain West Capital’s ‘The Utah 100 Award’ and in 2020, Thread came in as #104 on the Inc. With their core values of Creativity, Humility, Entrepreneurship, Integrity and Freedom, McKenzie and Colby have built a culture of fun-loving, hardworking individuals who are focused on the bettering of their company, each other and the community around them. Thread is currently based out of Provo, Utah and has over 30 employees. In 2016, they began hiring employees and moved into their first office. The growth was enough for them to drop other career opportunities including professional soccer, financial planning and law school. Starting their business between Utah Valley University and Brigham Young University allowed them to reach their target demographic quickly as well as utilize the feedback of students to better their products and designs. They attribute much of their success in those early years to the incredible community here in Utah who first believed in their idea. Although challenging, their first year in business the couple generated close to $150,000 in sales. They designed, cut, printed, heat-pressed, sewed and marketed the product themselves (assisted by family and friends when the orders were too many to handle themselves). In 2015, after marrying and after both had graduated from Brigham Young University-Hawaii, the couple launched a Kickstarter campaign that went on to raise $35,000 (all while living out of McKenzie’s childhood bedroom). They fell in love with the simplicity of the product (and with each other) and began selling their wallets at local boutiques (like Called to Surf and Soel Boutique), pop-up shops, events, and farmer’s markets which validated the idea further than their own interested in the slim and stylish wallets. With a printing process called sublimation they began messing around with designs and patterns that stood out from the traditional black or brown leather and elastic that was already on the market. Because business, entrepreneurship, invention and creativity fascinated them both, they grabbed some white elastic from the local craft store and crafted up “a better rubber band”. Shortly after, Colby and McKenzie started dating. He fell in love with the functionality but the quality was subpar and he knew there had to be a better option in terms of style. As a college student he liked to keep things minimal so he found a rubber band that held a clump of broccoli together at the local grocery store and called it good. On top of that, the color options were limited. Once he replaced all his cards, he began the search for a new wallet and was bombarded with nothing but big, clunky bifolds (the kind George Castanza reps in Seinfeld). It all started back in 2013 when Colby lost his wallet to the ocean while visiting Hawaii. If you seem shocked by this, nothing compares to the shock McKenzie’s dad felt when hearing his son-in-law’s plan to provide for his future family was sewing elastic wallets. However enticing tech might be, husband and wife duo, McKenzie and Colby Bauer took their entrepreneurial pursuits in a different direction and in 2015 they decided to make wallets for a living. ![]() With the recognition big businesses like Qualtrics and DOMO receive it often invites young entrepreneurs to develop SAAS products, apps and other businesses driven by tech and powered by venture capital. Silicon Slopes is known for its booming tech scene. This article was published in the Summer 2021 issueīy McKenzie Bauer, Cofounder, Thread Wallets
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