QUESTIONS:

1) Tell us about you, what’s your name? Where are you from? What do you do?

Hello, my name is Graham Giangiulio and I am from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I currently attend Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, just outside of Orlando. I am a rising senior studying Business Management. When I arrived at Rollins, my goal was to start my own business while still in college and that is exactly what I did. This is very advantageous for me because I am able to directly implement what I learn from my classes into my start-up. I was a member of Rollins College baseball team for my first two years, so I naturally partnered up with a teammate of mine who has his own hair product company: Alex Miller Organics.

Also, worth noting, because this ties into my brand, I firmly believe that I was born after my time. I am an old soul without a doubt. Most of the time, I am found spinning an old vinyl record from the 60’s.

2) What about your brand? What’s its name? What makes it unique?

Manners Maketh (inspired by the old English proverb “manners maketh man”) is social clothing brand with a vintage feel that promotes being a gentleman by exemplifying manners, especially towards women in today’s society. Nowadays, music and pop culture are encouraging males to do the opposite. “Gee," what a shame. That is why at Manners Maketh we remind the masses of 1950s-60s culture where common courtesy was a little more common. Men dressed to impress everyday and music had more tasteful lyrics.

We call the men who wear this brand ‘modern gentlemen.’ They display only the best manners while always having a positive attitude. They live their lives by the quotes on their shirts and are quick with a joke to make any lady laugh. A gentleman treats all women like the queens they are. For we are living, breathing proof that chivalry is not dead but instead thriving. Our goal at Manners Maketh is to give all of the "good guys" who are underrepresented out there a voice and to show the younger generation that it is in fact cool to be nice!

Our favorite part about Manners Maketh is that 20% of all our profit provides aid to the homeless population in the greater Orlando, FL area. This aid is composed of free haircuts and beard trimmings as well as donated dress shirts for upcoming job interviews. Appearance goes a long way, not only in the eyes of a potential employer but for the morale of those facing hard times.

Be nice. Be witty. Be confident. Be smooth. The women will come. Ladies love a man with manners.

3) If it were a person, what would he/she be like?

My brand would actually have to be three people, because they are simply a package deal. This three men being the Rat Pack circa 1960. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. These three men were always dressed to the nines and were the best of friends. They were not only some of the funniest entertainers in history but they were the faces of music in the 60’s. Women loved them and fellas hated them out of shear jealousy. Their act every night in their Vegas residency at the Sands Hotel and Casino was all improv and it appeared natural while coming to them with ease. That is why their act naturally translated to the big screen in Hollywood along with their posse in classic films such as the original Ocean’s 11, Robin and the 7 Hoods, 4 for Texas and more.

The Rat Pack was always together in their signature tuxedos with a cigarette in each of their mouths and a glass of Jack Daniels in hand. Through all the fame, they remained great friends until their deaths. Their leader Frank Sinatra was not only a hero for all Italian Americans (along with Dean Martin) but he was also ahead of his time when it came to the civil rights movement in America during the 1950s-60’s where he took his counterpart Sammy Davis Jr., an African American, under his wing and treated him as an equal in a time where blacks were heavily discriminated against. Black performers during this era might have been cheered on stage but after the show, it was back to being spit on, no matter how big of a star they were. Sinatra made it very clear that this would never happen again when he was with Sammy; in fact he couldn’t relate to that ideology at all. Sinatra was great friends with and often times collaborated with other great African American artists such as Nat King Cole and Louis Armstrong which is a very pivotal symbol during this time. Sinatra made it clear throughout his career that prejudice and racism had no place at his concerts and black artists he preformed with across the board praised him for the respect they were showed.

4) Simplicity is key, describe your brand in three words.

Chivalrous, Charitable, Dapper

5) For how long have you been selling t-shirts? Any remarkable story you learnt on the way? Any advice for beginners?

I am about six months in from our launch, so I’m very new to this and I’m still learning, but does the learning really ever stop? My very limited advice from my minute track record of success, for what it’s worth, would be to firmly develop your brand image before any products you sell and build off of your foundation. You should have the mindset that you are selling your brand, not the products.

Second, in order to be successful, you have to dive in and become your brand, really embrace it. For me, that means only listening to music from the 60’s and watching old films so that I can be embodied by the era since obviously I didn’t live back then. It may sound weird to other people when they hear Dean Martin on full blast from a college kid’s room, especially when he’s singing along to it, but if you truly want to be successful you have to know the ins and outs of your brand.

Also, make sure you are representing your company properly as if everyone is viewing you under a magnifying glass. I’ll admit, this is probably a little harder in my case because I set the bar high for myself. I definitely always have to be on my P’s and Q’s when it comes to being well behaved. My girlfriend is not shy in calling me out for this buy “hey,” I did it to myself! You need to become a walking billboard for your brand. Think of it like this, it’s free publicity. People will stop you on the street and ask about what you are wearing, when you tell them it’s your company and you explain the brand, then boom, you have a sale. The only t-shirts I wear now are from my company. You have to be disciplined.

Pardon my cliché but be prepared to work every hour of the day. Trust me, this is more of a thrill than a negative because whenever an idea comes to you, you’re going to scramble to jog it down no matter if you wake up in the middle of the night because when you’re that excited, you feel like there’s no time to waste. My warning to you is that there will be times where you feel overwhelmed because of this, thinking that there is always things that need to be attended to, that’s because there are.

Prepare to wear multiple hats, in fact every hat when you are just starting out. For me, design is not my strong suit but I obviously have to do it. I do this by educating myself though experience and the abundance of resources out there on the web. I’m always learning new things each day and improving upon old designs or layouts. I learned in school that you should never be complacent because everything around you is constantly changing and can improving through competition. Even if you are successful, your competition is breathing down your back. This should provide you with a push to strive for more.

Know your numbers! You need to always know the price and margin on each of your products. Be familiar with your all of your costs and know the lowest you should sell a product for before it’s not worth selling. I made this mistake before, but you better make sure you aren’t losing money on shipping. I’ll admit that there is a bit of a learning curve, especially on international shipping. Explore other opportunities such as brand ambassadors. Sometimes however, you need to spend money to make money. At the end of the day however, it’s not all about the money, it’s a great way to learn about all aspects of a business, developing a brand and learning to be passionate about something while persevering through tough times. In fact, to me, I feel way more passionate about the social aspect of my company, making a positive impact on the world, no matter how small it may be. There’s no greater satisfaction than helping others.

The final thing I’d like to note is that you should never give up. People are right when they say the hardest thing is just getting started. You may have the best idea in the world but if you don’t go out and pursue it, it’s not worth anything. When you are just starting out it is tough. You’re going to wonder if you will ever get your first sale, but you just got to stick it out. The more sweat equity you put into your brand, the better off you will be. People will recognize your hard work, as long as it’s sincere. Start everyday with an achievable goal in mind and just take it one step at a time, don’t get bogged down by the bigger picture, especially if it’s looking grim. Just remember to stick it out through tough times, you’ll thank yourself in the good ones.

6) Key question, why should people be interested in your brand?

My brand is for men who feel under represented in today’s society

The good guys who are falsely told they finish last
The guys who treat women with the respect they deserve (not as sex symbols and not as inferiors)
The guys who prefer to take a lady out on a date instead of “hooking up” with them
The gentlemen in today’s society showing others that chivalry is not dead
People who like to support good causes
Old Souls

7) Are you on Social Media? Where can we find you?

Instagram: @Manners_Maketh

Facebook: @MannersMakethHQ

Twitter: @MannersMakethHQ

Rapid Fire:

Dogs or cats? Both! I’m definitely an animal lover. Growing up there were times where my family would own 6 or more pets. The more pets, the better. Surround yourself with the things you love most.

Apple or PC? Apple

Football or basketball? Basketball. Go Villanova!

Coffee or tea? Tea

Beach or forest? Beach

Favorite Color Red

A place Home with my family and friends

A quote

“Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot.”—Clarence Thomas

Interview with Printsome (UK)