1587 Sneakers

Why I quit UPS- zero integrity I define integrity as following through with your agreement, and doing it in a good faith way. 4 months ago UPS delivered this hot mess to my door- water damaged goods, missing sneakers, and I have not been able to get a penny out of them in my claims process. They have literally worn me down with their claims process- 10 phone calls, 2 hours of online forms (that seemingly always get lost and I have to resubmit by email), 3 in person meetings with drivers, and lots of cold calls that don't provide a way to contact back if you miss them. They are absolutely awful. Losing $1k in product extremely painful for a small business like me- both cost and time/energy to replace it. The most ridiculous request from UPS is the constant ask for photos of the missing/stolen product. It was stolen and not delivered to me... They eventually settled for a photo of my hand holding nothing. So I've decided to go exclusively with USPS- they have the same error rate as UPS, are 20% cheaper, and you can claim insurance when issues occur. UPS has best in class insurance, but this is worthless if you can never collect it. On the flip side, UPS is relentless with calls if you owe them money, and their system to collect is always seamless online. Farewell UPS and good riddance!

New Years Resolution: Not to get sucked into the highs and lows of start up life, and be more even keeled. December was the perfect example: one day we were celebrating hitting $50k in sales, and the next we were dealing with a theft/robbery of inventory! High- When we first launched and were figuring things out, we had sales of $3k. It was depressing and I wondered if I was a fool and should have listened to everyone that said an AA brand would never make it. Fast forward to December when we hit $50k in revenue, and were working around the clock to fulfill orders before Christmas (see image). Literally opening shipments from factory and shipping to the customer the same day. It was such a high- the validation, celebrating a community that is so dear to me, and being able to tell everyone that supported us (family, investors), "it is happening :)!!!!" Lows- Fast forward a couple days later, empty shipment boxes arrive from the factory and having to write emails to our customers saying they won't get items to put under the tree. The knowledge I failed someone and that pit in my stomach that came with each email was awful. Lots of grumpiness (sorry family) and crushing Trader Joes cookies. (also Fu*% Y&@ to the grinch who stole all those sneakers in Germany) Conclusion: I should not have been that high and happy when we hit $50k, and not so moody and depressed on the theft (and how awful UPS is if you ever have to do a claim. It is near impossible to get paid). I want feel my experiences at work, but leave them there when I get home. Because my patient wife and fun kids deserve it :). Happy LNY everyone!

Unboxing day featuring my gorgeous new trainers from 1587 Sneakers! Founded by Adam King Sam Hyun, MBA, MPP and Jerry Won, the brand celebrates the year when Asians first came to America. These are the AP87 in Lucky Red, my favorite color, made with full grain leather in Italy. "We are Asian American. Unapologetically." Get yours (allies, too!) ❤️ https://lnkd.in/eJ6j-DVx

"But that's the point... we want Asian American as part of our brand identity b/c we refuse to hide" When we were pitching our brand idea before launch, so many investors told us to downplay the "Asian American" thing b/c it could alienate some consumers. The constant theme was to hide our identity, and water down our message. And to be honest, I did question myself in the early months when we were working out the kinks, finding our consumer and had low revenue. When everyone is telling you to go in another direction, you either are onto something great or are the fool. I want to thank Sam Hyun, MBA, MPP, Jerry Won and Andrew Newby for believing in my mission, and encouraging me when self doubt crept in. I'm proud to say that NESN/Boston Globe did a 4 minute video segment on us, and that we are having a positive impact. It is my dream to highlight the strength of AA people and culture, and no kid growing up will feel the need to hide this part of their identity to feel accepted or cool. To mooncakes and beyond! https://lnkd.in/epviZcdw

Asking for advice- What solution is there for people asking to "chat to learn about the business," especially students? These are cold emails. This is something I usually like doing (even more so if they have done research on the company/me and/or are customers etc...), especially for students, but the number of requests I've received in the past month makes it very difficult. Between my work and young family, I'm running around like crazy and don't have couple hours a week to spend on this. And end up feeling guilty. Would love any suggestions people have, or things they have done. Thanks everyone! (someone mentioned a group Zoom?)

My whole life I've read the Boston Globe cover to cover, and it was my lens to the world. It told me Boston College is the best school in the country, the real name for a water fountain is a "bubbler," and that the Boston Mayor is equal to POTUS :). This paper means everything to me, and I am so proud that 1587 Sneakers is on the FRONT PAGE!!!! I would never dreamed this to be possible in a 1,000 years! Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen, especially the amazing 1587 Team who is always crushing it. Asian American culture is exceptional, and I'm so excited to celebrate it! Andrew Newby Jerry Won Sarah Vella-Labrador Sam Hyun, MBA, MPP Michelle Nam Thomas Lee Link to globe article https://lnkd.in/dwq5iHhG

When we launched 1587 Sneakers, we had one goal in mind- to empower Asian Americans to be unapologetically themselves. While I believe in the mission and product to my very core, I had no idea how it would be received- would I sell a single sneaker (outside of my parents ha)? I'm thrilled to see our message is resonating, and am proud of the NBC spot that launched a couple of weeks ago. Thank you to the team for all their amazing work (Michelle Nam, Sarah Vella-Labrador)! Also, thank you to my partners Sam Hyun, MBA, MPP and Jerry Won for guiding me in this process! https://lnkd.in/dv4zHk9b