Wharton techie turns jean connoisseur

After years of studying technology and finance, 2010 Wharton MBA graduate Solomon Liou has made the leap into the fashion world.

This July, Liou will officially launch his new project, Parke New York, which offers specialized jeans online.

Though Liou has worked for companies such as Goldman Sachs and HotJobs, an online job site, he has always had a passion for fashion. The idea for Parke came to him when he had to go shopping for new jeans.

“I wanted high-quality premium denim jeans that not only fit well, but were also comfortable, durable and reasonably priced,” Liou said.

He dove into the denim industry with almost no prior background, but he learned from local craftsmen in New York the best way to create jeans. He then created a product that uses selvedge denim with a bi-directional stretch, made in the old-fashioned way of using one continuous thread to create unfrayed edges.

And with his experience in e-commerce, Liou wanted to offer his jeans online.

“More people are now shopping online … whether it’s for clothing, eyeglasses, groceries or electronics,” he said.

Once he had his idea, Liou turned to Kickstarter for funding. Kickstarter is a platform for budding entrepreneurs where the public can make small donations to their projects.

Management professor in the Wharton School Ethan Mollick, who has studied Kickstarter, said that with the investment platform, “you get some indication of demand and some advanced marketing.”

“The downside is, I found in my work, that 85 percent of large Kickstarter projects deliver late,” he added.

However, Liou might not be in this 85 percent. According to Mollick, only a small portion of Kickstarter projects are able to raise substantially over their goals. Liou had a goal of $50,000 and was able to raise almost double this amount.

“Parke has a lot of things going for him that make the project successful,” Mollick said. “Launching your starter campaign is not easy, so you have to make sure it’s the right thing for you.”

Liou claims his success on Kickstarter is due to the fact that he has a “great product and a great story.” According to Liou, there are two unique aspects about Parke Jeans: the jeans are available only online, and they are produced entirely in the U.S.

When shopping for jeans, College freshman Carolyn Rauch said other factors play an important role.

“I like to try on jeans in person,” she said. She also makes sure to look at the wash, the cut and the quality of the fabric, preferring to shop at places that carry multiple brands.

While some customers may miss buying their jeans in stores, Liou’s success on Kickstarter shows that people are interested in Parke jeans. With some initial funding secured, he is now gearing up for his official launch in July.

Right now, the company offers one wash in six different styles for $145 a pair. He hopes to move on to other apparel, including shirts.

“For now, we’re solely focused on denim and we want to make sure we perfect every product before putting it out on the market,” he said.

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