Editor’s Note: Watch all “In My Eyes” episodes on SES’s Resources page.
Mike West – file photo courtesy of 686
686 Technical Apparel Founder Michael West is launching a video series called “In My Eyes” which showcases the stories of brand founders who have spoken to Mike’s students at USC.
Mike teaches a class on entrepreneurship there and has invited a wide range of brand founders to share their experiences.
We asked Mike why he decided to create a video series based on their talks.
What classes do you teach at USC and why?
Mike West: The class I teach is called Entrepreneurship in the Consumer Goods & Lifestyle Industry. The core of it is how your passionate active lifestyle can lead to a consumer product business.
I basically tell my story – how I started 686 in the same program 28 years ago. I bring a practical point of view to the students, which the program appreciates. My class is for graduates students and we typically have an age range from late 20’s to late 30’s. There are a few MBAs, about a 50/50 women-to-men ratio and a lot of international students.
How long have you been teaching?
Mike West: I’ve been coming into the program as a guest speaker for well over a decade. Tommy Knapp, the Director of the Masters of Science and Innovation (MSEI) program, has been my guiding light.
When I was a student in 1992, Tommy came to speak and told his story about starting Club Sportswear. I vividly recall how he stressed the importance of strong relationships with your supply chain, which is a lesson that stuck with me. We have kept in touch ever since.
I received my Executive MBA a long time ago and but soon realized that learning while doing (aka, hustling to build your own business) was my thing. A teaching position opened up in 2018 and I jumped at the opportunity. My schedule only allows me to teach in the fall but I hope to also to add a spring or summer course sometime in the future
What kind of speakers do you bring in?
Mike West: The class is for three hours, one day a week. The first hour I lecture, the second is the guest speaker, and the third is reflection and group work.
Before teaching, I shadowed other professors to see how it works. I’m not a seasoned public speaker and was actually nervous to even start this. Everyone does it differently, but this format has worked for me. The speakers I bring in are all founders of brands in the active, outdoor and creative space. It’s a blended mix of people with start-ups to uber successful founders.
The first season I had Aaron Levant of Agenda/Complexcon/Hall of Flowers/NTWRK, Bobby Hundreds of the Hundreds, Chad DiNenna of Nixon, Mario Del Pero of Mendocino Farms, Dolly Singh of Thesis Couture and Brad Steward of Caravan Outpost.
The second season is Iva Pawling of Richer Poorer, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, Amanda Chinchelli of Seea, Selema Masekela of Alphanumeric, and Jeff Kearl of Stance.
What do you love about entrepreneurship and do you see lots of college kids with the same bug?
Mike West: As much as I went through the higher education route, I’m a DIY-er at heart. Being a sponsored skateboarder in the mid-80s to a snowboard instructor in the early 90’s taught me so much. I didn’t even know what entrepreneurship meant -I was just doing things that felt right, making mistakes along the way and getting back up and doing it smarter the next time around.
The “passionate lifestyle” was the driver and I stress this continually throughout the class. As a founder, you have to stand for something and have a purpose that can last through both the good and bad times. I discuss what branding means and how it can spread emotionally, physically and spiritually.
Although I’m in involved in multiple businesses, I don’t recommend this to my students. My definition of entrepreneurship is not having a large portfolio of brands nor creating startups and then quickly moving on. It’s about being self-motivated, focusing, executing, building a strong team and doing it for a lifetime.
From my short experience as a professor, I’ve had a mix of students. Meaning, there are some who really want to soak it all up and use the tools to start their own thing, while others are at USC to get the prestigious degree and then run the family business. What they all have in common is that they are eager to learn and listen, which is awesome.
Editor’s Note: Watch all “In My Eyes” episodes on SES’s Resources page.
