We're getting on the road to do some cool shit with the people we meet along the way
This is serious stuff that we talk to people about, but we think it's important that we see the hope and life in it. We want to lighten the load for people who are lighting the way for us and celebrate the opportunities to be more human after so many years of political and social conflict that hasn't left many of us feeling hopeful about this America we are leaving to our kids.
Joe
Coming soon, he swears.
Michael
When Joe came to me with the beginning of this idea, I know it was what I was looking for. I saw how my experience could add to it, and why not make cool things with good old friends?
My path is the kind that most would call a checkered one. Among innumerable service industry jobs, English teaching in foreign lands and graphic design jobs, I also founded and ran a small nonprofit organization that brought graphic design and communication skills to previously incarcerated and at-risk youth, in general.
The nonprofit world is noble, but I grew exhausted by the constant fund-raising and hard-selling friends and anyone who would listen, out of desperate necessity.
I’ve also been an entrepreneur / founder and had a lot of fun despite the bootstrap, day-to-day scramble to launch a product people want and, well, to just survive. In that chaos it becomes too easy for meaningful giving aspects to get sidelined out of de-prioritization. The entrepreneurial path is exciting and can lead to the wealth and security we all deserve, but not for everyone. It ends up missing some soul.
Our current approach and business model keeps the best of both worlds. A social purpose corporation (which adds things beyond profit to the bylaws of the company) and co-op that gives participants some skin in the game if it works is how we are doing it. We’ll see how it goes. No fundraising, a lot of hustle but all the while creating something people want in the world, hopefully.
It lets us support rad people and organizations and build a company we can be proud of. As I write this, it’s nothing more than copium, probably but we are doing it anyway. Stay tuned. Here’s to big, unprovable ideas and to an even bigger neighborhood!
Running a media/apparel brand like a touring band
D.I.Y. is the way we grew up and so we plan to just start this thing, learn as we go and do better each time through. We plan to source our products in the most sustainable way we can, and will always be looking for better ways to do that. Hit us up if you have any thoughts or processes on how we can improve. We welcome it all. We think we can do business in a way that is honest, transparent and focused on the communities we are from and travel to, but invite help from the neighborhood to help shape this, faster.
We plan to leave each place better than when we arrived. We donate 50% of our profits from the sale of our Neighborhoodies to a project that we meet in each location we do a roadcast. The 50% donation doesn't pay for any of our travel (or any of Joe's fishing supplies or whiskey), but goes directly to the stated groups and smaller giving efforts.
