Gabe is the cofounder of a vintage hat website called SNAPSTEEZ. The site, based in Dallas, TX, was founded in the summer of 2010 and has become a premium hat purchasing destination for those with retro or vintage styles.
Did you have a business plan when you started your business?
Yeah. It’s something that’ll change but it’s definitely a good way of getting your idea down. Essentially we just found these vintage hats, and did some research on them, just Googled everything. It turned out that “vintage hats” was a very relevant key word search, so we knew that their was a market of people that wanted to buy them. That’s the biggest thing, someone’s gotta buy it.
Do you think business plans are necessary for entrepreneurship?
Not really, but I do think you need a clear vision and normally the business plan is that, but I don’t think it’s entirely necessary.
What three pieces of advice can you offer developing arts entrepreneurs?
- Be resilient. Always have thick skin
- Mentors in the area
- Work hard. You’ve gotta grind. I know it may sound cliche, but if you work hard all of the rest falls into place.
Interviews conducted by Andrew Burgess. Andrew is a student in Developing an Arts Venture Plan, Arts Entrepreneurship at Meadows School of the Arts, SMU.
