Impact

A note from Stefan

While clothing is our business, our values are rooted in empowering people's journeys and understanding that life is much more than what we wear.

There is nowhere I’ve needed more help in my life than in being an entrepreneur. Good lord, I had no idea what I was getting into. 

In fact, starting a company is so hard to do alone that venture capital firms are reluctant to back solo founders. They prefer teams who bring diverse skills and can band together when the going gets tough, as it inevitably does. 

When we imagine the myth of the hero’s journey in business, we think of a solitary founder, often pulling themselves up by their bootstraps.

But there is always a supporting cast. In Joseph Campbell’s definition of The Hero's Journey, he even assigned them roles: the mentor, ally, and guardian play major parts in helping a reluctant hero reach their goal. I never would have gotten this far with Bluffworks without heaps of help. Not even close.

A few years ago, I connected with an organization called Defy Ventures. They run programs and provide mentorship to get incarcerated individuals ready for the outside world as entrepreneurs.

The way Defy looks at it is that many of these individuals showed real entrepreneurial talent before ending up behind bars. And with the right support, success is achievable. 

In the past, Bluffworks has donated clothes to Defy Ventures, and it has consistently been the recipient of a significant percentage of my own annual financial contributions. 

Now, we’re increasing our support for Defy Ventures with a financial contribution and hope to offer mentorship in the future. (Sign up to stay informed.)

We are all on our own individual hero's journey. With Bluffworks, my goal is to outfit you to slay your own personal dragons — whatever they may be.

Because in reality, how many gigantic things can any of us reasonably expect to take on alone?

Bluff on,