Jake Danehy ’16, 2nd from left with his co-founder, Caroline Danehy ’19, 4th from left and two friends
Earlier this year we had the incredible opportunity to pitch Fair Harbor Clothing in front of the sharks at E-weekend. It was an amazing experience and one that helped give us the confidence and funds to make our business a reality. After also being selected as an Entrepreneurs Fund award winner, we took our combined awards totaling $20,000 and launched our first line of board shorts, t-shirts, and hats. The winnings allowed us to work on Fair Harbor for the entire summer and give the company our full attention. After working at the TIA incubator in Hamilton for the month of June, we moved into our new WeWork office in NYC where our first line of clothing was finally delivered. The summer was a whirlwind experience and one that we will never forget. We filmed videos, cultivated unbelievable relationships, learned a tremendous amount, and even managed to sell over 90% of our first round of board shorts; ultimately recycling a total of 5,500 plastic bottles!
Due to the success of our first line, we knew we wanted to continue Fair Harbor, so we brought on a graphic artist who helped us bring our visions into concrete designs. After months of collaborating, we are extremely excited to release seven new styles of board shorts. In addition, we are manufacturing our own short sleeve and long-sleeve shirts made from the finest and softest organic cotton in the USA.
To fund this next line we launched a Kickstarter campaign, to sell pre-orders and ultimately build our brand awareness. We launched our Kickstarter on December 1st and hosted a Kickstarter launch party at the TIA incubator on Friday December 4th. We are so thankful for the generosity and support that TIA and the rest of the Colgate community has given us; it was an amazing night! By Sunday December 6th we had already hit our initial goal of $11,000!
Right now we are just under $15,000 and are trying to keep the momentum going! We need everyone’s help to make our Kickstarter an even greater success than it is now. Every sale that we make on Kickstarter helps promote our brand and ultimately keeps us in business. Please share our Kickstarter campaign with your friends, family, and relatives. We are so passionate about Fair Harbor Clothing, and everything that it stands for: clean living and the simple summer life. Every contribution helps in making sure that we keep our dream alive!
We will be shipping out our new line at the beginning of March, the perfect time for spring break.
Thank you so much, we really are so appreciative all your encouragement and loyalty to Fair Harbor Clothing. Please help us keep plastic waste out of our oceans and off of our beaches for years to come!
Sea’s The Day and Keep It Clean!
The Fair Harbor Team
Jake Danehy is currently a senior at Colgate majoring in Geography and is the co-founder & President at Fair Harbor. He is also one of the goalies on the Colgate varsity men’s lacrosse team. Jake is extremely dedicated and driven to accomplish his goals and aspirations.He is very environmentally aware and wants to make a difference in the world. Besides lacrosse, Jake also enjoys surfing, rock climbing, stand up paddle boarding, and golf.
Caroline Danehy, a first-year at Colgate is the co-founder & Chief Creative Officer at Fair Harbor. Caroline has attended a fashion program at LIM College for several summers and has built strong relationships with many people in the fashion industry. She has had a fashion blog for four years now, and frequently updates it. Caroline is also very dedicated to the environment, and has a great respect for it.
Sam Jacobson is the co-founder and Vice-President at Fair Harbor and a senior at University of Southern California Marshall School of Business and a member of the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurship. He has had experience in developing enterprises in South Africa and has helped with the launch of apps like Treats by Clinkle and Toga (formerly GreekLink) in the California. Sam is from Larchmont, NY where he grew up with the Danehys.
Nice to see ingenuity, hard work and persistence paying off. Good luck (not that you need it). Well Done.