Alumni Spotlight: Rivalry Wear Co-Founder Jorge Lee '07

Recently, we highlighted Rivalry Wear, an emerging sports apparel vendor. In case you missed it, the company was founded by two Cornell Alumni, Dan Hershberg '06 and Jorge Lee '07. We were able to hear from Jorge about Rivalry Wear, Cornell, his other business endeavors, and much more.

1. Could you tell us a little about your background, including your time at Cornell?

I am originally from Mill Valley, California, which is a suburb about 10 minutes outside of San Francisco. I went into Cornell with the intention of eventually pursuing a graduate degree in clinical psychology, but fell in love with entrepreneurship during my senior year. Outside of academics I played club soccer for Mundial for four years, frequented many hockey games, thought nothing beat a CTB pitcher on a sunny day, and remember several 3am runs to Shortstop for a double Sui.

2. What was your path from Cornell to your current endeavors, particularly Rivalry Wear?

During my senior year at Cornell I decided I wanted to start a business after graduation and spent the months following graduation working on a business plan. I launched my first business in March of 2008, and after growing the business for three years, decided to pursue an MBA to round out my business knowledge.

While completing an MBA at Georgetown I continued to run my business remotely, and returned to California in 2012 to grow my business further. Early last year I reached out to Dan to see if he would be interested in establishing a PhillyPhaithful-type business in San Francisco, and after several calls back and forth, Rivalry Wear was born.

3. Why Rivalry Wear? What compelled you to get into the sports apparel industry, and why was this the model you chose?

Initially I reached out to Dan because in early 2013 San Francisco teams had been doing very well, and I thought it would be a great opportunity for PhillyPhaithful to enter a new market. However, after several discussions it became clear the strategy should be to launch nationally all at once.

I was not looking to get into sports apparel, per se; I was looking for a business opportunity that would complement my existing business. At that point in my life I was looking for a business with high growth potential and an endeavor that I would be passionate about. With Rivalry Wear I am able to add value remotely, which was critical because I am currently based in San Francisco. As a lifelong sports fan, working in the sports space is a dream come true.

We built the business model from the ground up to address many of the issues Dan had experienced while running a sports apparel business. With our model we are able to manage inventory risk, focus on relevant content relating to any team/player/sport, and encourage users to share our designs throughout their social networks.

4. Can you tell us a little bit about your other business ventures?

After I had committed to the idea of starting a business after Cornell, I outlined several things I wanted to accomplish: to create a business that helped people, to run the business in San Francisco, and to start the business with minimal upfront investment (I had to pay my way through Cornell and had student loans to pay back). I decided to start a nontoxic housecleaning business because it fulfilled all of these goals.

I taught myself web design, spent 4 months writing a business plan, and learned how to make cleaning solutions from scratch out of things like vinegar, baking soda and club soda. We launched in 2008 and have been responsible for making homes healthier for hundreds of residents of the Bay Area as well as significantly reducing toxins that get released into the environment.

5. How do you balance your time between businesses?

Like any entrepreneur worth his/her salt, in the beginning of my business I had to pay my dues. I spent first months of Marin House Cleaning LLC scrubbing kitchens and vacuuming floors, which is something I do not think many of my Ivy League counterparts were doing at the time. I knew that in order to run a successful business I had to know everything there was to know about the industry, as well as experience what my employees would go through day in and day out.

My goal for the business from the beginning was automation, and after a few months I was able to hire additional employees so I could focus on management of the company. While completing my MBA in Washington DC I was able to practice running a business remotely, so when it was time to shift my focus to Rivalry Wear I was accustomed to working on several projects at once. At this point MHC is largely running itself, and I spend the majority of time on Rivalry Wear-specific projects.

6. Do you have any advice for entrepreneurial students interested in sports?

My best advice would relate to entrepreneurship in general rather than entrepreneurship in the sports space. I think the most common misconception is that your success will depend solely on the idea you have. I would argue execution is much more important than the idea, and sometimes you just need to take an existing business and improve it rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. While I do think you need an idea that will make money, I have seen many excellent ideas ultimately fail because of poor execution.

I would also suggest taking advice from everyone but acting with your own mind. While I was writing my first business plan some people thought it was a great idea while others thought it would not work. People will offer great advice and it’s important to listen, but at the end of the day you have to believe in yourself and decide which direction to take your business in.

My last piece of advice is practice getting comfortable with ambiguity and the unknown. As a business owner you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow, and more often than not you will have to deal with something you have never done before. For instance, one moment I’ll be designing a webpage, and then the next moment I will be creating an Excel table comparing pricing matrixes between different print shops.  

I think in school it is pretty straight forward what will come your way thanks to syllabi and lesson plans, but in entrepreneurship you have to create your own plan and decide what is most important at any particular moment. I think this uncertainty frightens some people, but it is what makes entrepreneurship truly exciting.

7. Could you think of an experience at Cornell that had the largest impact in shaping your professional life?

There was one class that changed my life forever, and it was AEM 1210 - Entrepreneurship Speaker Series. The 1 credit course was simply successful Cornell entrepreneurs speaking about their businesses and the path they took to get there. The class was the first time in my life I was exposed to successful entrepreneurs, as none of my friends or family had ever started a business.  

It during those class sessions that I began to view starting my own business as a legitimate option after graduating Cornell, and by the end of the semester I was convinced I had to try my hand at entrepreneurship. I think it’s a must for any Cornell student interested in entrepreneurship, and I truly believe it was the catalyst for future endeavors in entrepreneurship.

We would like to thank Jorge for taking the time to answer our questions. Be sure to check out the website if you haven't already. Rivalry Wear Company Website